The Reluctant Debutante: A Sweet, Regency Romance (Ladies of Mayfair Book 4)

by Wendy May Andrews

  “I have made his acquaintance. How do you come to know Lord Lynster?” he continued his questioning.

  “The children and I met him in the park this week. By coincidence we seem to have been there at the same time on a few occasions of late.” Victoria’s efforts at making light of the matter were dashed to pieces by Daniel’s addition.

  “He and the duke saved me from my harrowing deal,” Daniel said with importance.

  “What duke?” Pickering demanded while his wife gasped.

  “What harrowing ordeal are you speaking of, Daniel?” Lady Bartley asked somewhat shrilly.

  “Fell in the river,” Daniel answered hesitantly before shoving his thumb in his mouth, nervously realizing the adults were getting upset. He edged closer to his dear Victoria for comfort.

  The earl and his wife gazed at Victoria with dismay. She had still not answered the earl’s question, as the countess was peppering her with questions of her own.

  “Daniel fell in the river? When did this happen?”

  The three girls were now silently gazing at their parents with wide eyes. Vanessa’s lower lip began to tremble and tears gathered in her eyes.

  Seeing the children’s distress filled Victoria with dismay and she gathered them to her, pulling Vanessa onto her lap and cuddling the others close for comfort. Keeping her voice as calm as possible she endeavoured to answer her aunt’s questions.

  “It was not such a big thing, which is why I did not mention it before. There was naught to be concerned about. Daniel did fall into the river and I jumped in after him. We then had the dilemma of how to get back out. These gentlemen had been passing along at the time, and stopped to help us with our predicament. That is how we met. Then today they saw us again and kindly stopped to ask how we were faring. Then Lord Lynster joined Daniel and the girls in a bit of a ball game.”

  “Thank you for saving my darling,” Lady Pickering declared with uncharacteristic feeling while her husband interjected.

  “The children and the baron played ball leaving you to talk with a duke?” he questioned harshly, seemingly unconcerned with his son and niece’s frightening experience.

  Victoria allowed herself a wry smile over the very different reactions of her uncle and aunt. Enjoying the countess’ rare appreciation, Victoria smiled at her aunt. “Of course, my lady. I love Daniel. And truly it was not such an ordeal. We did appreciate the gentlemen’s help, but we could have managed on our own.”

  Growing ever more frustrated by his niece’s avoidance, the earl insisted, “Victoria, who was this duke who had the audacity to speak with you?”

  “I assure you, my lord, no audacity was involved. He was the epitome of kindness. It was the Duke of Wychwood.”

  Unaware of the history between the duke and her uncle, Victoria was surprised to see him first grow pale and then his face flood with hot colour.

  “How did you come to be speaking with the Duke of Wychwood?” he demanded angrily. “Was he following you?”

  Confused, Victoria eyed her uncle questioningly while answering in all honesty. “I strongly doubt that, my lord. He had never made my acquaintance before that day. He and his brother and the baron just happened to be passing through the park on their way somewhere when they saw Daniel fall and me jump. Being the courteous gentlemen that they are, they felt duty bound to assist.”

  “And we shall be forever in their debt,” declared Lady Pickering with uncharacteristic feeling. Her husband glared at her before turning back to Victoria.

  “You are to have nothing to do with those men, Victoria.”

  Victoria was taken aback, and found herself questioning her uncle’s decree. “Why not, my lord? As my lady pointed out, we are in their debt for helping Daniel and me. It would be churlish to rebuff them if our paths should cross in the future.”

  “If you cannot abide by my dictates, then you must keep the children home,” her uncle countered, without explanation.

  Staring at her uncle with a mixture of growing dread and determination, Victoria kept her voice steady, not allowing any belligerence to enter her tone. “That would be fine, except that you have not yet hired a governess and the children really must take the air. I would be happy to relinquish that responsibility to someone else.”

  There was a moment of strained silence while the earl and countess looked at each other almost guiltily. Seeing their exchange, Victoria realized her suspicions were correct. She was the children’s governess. Bolstered by the sensation that there was nothing to lose, she launched into renewed speech.

  “While we are on the subject, I realize this may not be the time for this discussion, but I feel I must bring this up now. It would be very helpful if you could hasten to find a replacement for the governess, as the Season is about to commence and I feel that it really is time that I take my place in Society.”

  Stunned silence followed this statement. The children were quietly watching the adult interaction with their eyes widened by curiosity, unaccustomed to seeing their father at a loss for words. The countess had dismay clearly painted on her face while the earl struggled to contain his anger at his niece’s words. Striving to regain control of the conversation and his usually tractable niece, he demanded in cold tones, “To what do you refer when you speak of your place in Society?”

  “My father was the Earl of Pickering before you took on that role. As his daughter, it is my duty to take my place in Society. I have already turned twenty. I should be searching for a husband in order to set up my own household.”

  Seeing the closed look upon her uncle’s face, she tried a different tack. “I cannot presume upon your kindness forever. It was fine when I was a child, but no doubt you and my aunt would be happy to be free of my care.”

  The countess had no reply for this. She looked to her husband, who, rather than answering Victoria’s question, demanded harshly, “Did the Duke put you up to this?”

  “I do not know what you mean by asking if he put me up to this, my lord. I am not asking for anything out of the ordinary. Are you not expecting to present your daughters to Society when they come of age? Do you not think my father would have expected the same for me? I am well past the age at which most girls enter Society. If I do not do so soon it will be too late for me. The Duke of Wychwood has nothing to do with this. He did ask me why I do not go about in Society, and I was embarrassed to not have an answer to his question, but I have been pondering the situation for some time.”

  This was again followed by strained silence. As she had spoken, Victoria had felt her resolve harden. She did have a desire for a home and family of her own. While she loved her uncle’s children dearly, they were not her children. And she did not wish to be her uncle’s unpaid servant any longer, nor had she ever felt welcome in his home.

  “You are not to speak to the Duke of Wychwood any more, Victoria,” the earl said with conviction before continuing in an effort at a reasonable tone.

  “As to your desire to enter Society, I am sorry to say that we cannot spare the funds. We are somewhat strapped financially at the moment. I am hoping to recover in time, but right now funding a Season is out of the question.” He paused for a moment, making an effort to gauge her reaction. Victoria held herself stoically at his pronouncement. “We will also make an effort to get you some help in the nursery so you could have a little spare time for yourself in recompense. And if you truly wish to be married, perhaps I could look about amongst my acquaintances to see if there is anyone suitable so that you could marry without the expense and effort of a Season.”

  Moving Vanessa off her lap, Victoria stood gracefully and held herself with quiet dignity. “I would appreciate help in the nursery, my lord. I am not a governess, I am your niece, and I would like some time for myself. I would also prefer to choose my own husband were I to marry, so thank you for your offer, but I do not think I will take you up on it at this time. Now, I think it is time for the children to have their supper, so we will bid you adieu.”

  W
ithout another word, Victoria watched as the children dutifully kissed their mother and father before joining her by the door. Victoria curtsied to the earl and countess before gliding from the room. The children were quieter than usual, but they still made enough noise to cover over the conversation that followed their departure.

  Pickering got to his feet and began to pace about the room while his wife watched him anxiously. “The poor dear has a point, my lord. It really is her right to take her place in Society. While I do not enjoy the Season overmuch, should we not make an effort? It might be good for me to get some experience at it before I have to do the whole thing for our daughters.” The countess quaked into silence at her husband’s furious expression.

  “Have you any idea how much a Season might cost?” he demanded angrily.

  “Not really, my lord, but surely we are not in straightened circumstances,” she answered meekly.

  “Near enough.”

  “But what about the girl’s funds?” asked the countess, appreciation for Victoria’s saving of her youngest child causing Lady Pickering to persist. “Did she not inherit quite a large fortune from her parents? I would think this would be exactly what it should be used for, therefore making it unnecessary to worry about our finances in connection with launching her into Society.”

  “You know nothing about the matter,” the earl insisted. “Her funds are not currently available for something so frivolous.” He refused to say anything more on the matter and his wife finally subsided.

  Mrs. Marks, though, had heard the entire exchange as she had neared the door to collect the tea trolley. She filed the conversation away to think on later and decide what ought to be done for the darling lady of the house. The entire household worried over the future of Lady Victoria. Most of the servants had been with the Bartley family since the previous earl had been alive. Much of the staff had been let go by the penny pinching current earl, but those that remained had a sense of loyalty towards Lady Victoria. Mrs. Marks was no exception, and she wondered how best to help her.

  Chapter Ten

  “Did we get you in trouble, Aunt Victoria?” asked Gwendolyn in a small voice once they had returned to the nursery. “Daniel did not realize he shouldn’t mention about falling in the river.”

  Victoria gave her cousin a quick hug. “Do not worry your dear little head for a moment,” she said. “I am not in any trouble. And you children should never keep secrets from your parents.” Seeing the dubious look on the girls’ faces, Victoria could not help but laugh, but then she hastened to change the subject.

  “I don’t know about you, but I find that I am quite famished. This has been an eventful day all around, and I am definitely looking forward to seeing what Cook has prepared for us.”

  Her statement did the trick; the children were distracted and the evening progressed as usual. They were joined by Everett for their evening meal and a few games before they all bundled into their nightclothes and were tucked into their beds.

  Victoria heaved a sigh of relief once all five were finally asleep and she could make her way to her own room. Her thoughts were a tangle of frustration and longing. Unsure what to make of her uncle’s promise to hire extra nursery help, Victoria allowed her mind to wander over the possibilities. Looking into the mirror as she took down her hair, she had a conversation with her own reflection.

  “Why would the earl demand I not speak to the duke, I wonder. He seemed like a perfectly respectable member of Society to me, not that I know much about these matters. The earl’s command did not strike me as being motivated by concern for me or even the children, but I have no idea what moved him. And do I still need to obey the earl now that I am twenty years of age? Do I need his permission to enter Society with or without any funds? What am I to make of the duke’s offer to lend me some of his sister’s gowns? Would it be scandalous to take him up on the offer?”

  Victoria saw herself blush at the thought, which made her laugh lightly. “Yes, it would be a trifle irregular, I am sure, but probably not utterly beyond the pale. Perhaps, were I to run into him again and he brought it up we could manage to come up with some sort of scenario in which it could be managed. But only if the earl actually does get someone to be with the children,” she concluded with another sigh. “While it should not be my responsibility to care for them, I do love them and could never live with myself if something were to happen to them because I was not here to watch over them.”

  Thus resolved, Victoria pushed the matter of the Season from her mind for the moment and took to her bed. She slept deeply while the duke’s handsome face figured prominently in her dreams that night.

  Over the next few days Victoria obeyed her uncle’s edict that she not venture to the park despite her newly minted conviction that it was no longer his right to dictate her life to such an extent. She reasoned that he was well within his right to dictate his children’s behaviour, and since they were currently still in her hands she felt duty bound not to take them where there was a chance that they would bump into the duke.

  By the third day after the conversation with the earl, though, with no change in sight as to her getting any help with the children, she and the youngsters were climbing the walls with frustration over being cooped up inside. Victoria reasoned that the children really did need some fresh air and there were other places they could go besides Hyde Park.

  After their morning lessons were concluded Victoria delighted the children with a proposal. “All right children, I think we have been inside this house for much too long. What say you to a walk around the block?”

  The three girls stared at her unblinkingly for the space of a couple of heartbeats before bursting into noisy cheers. Daniel, not really receiving lessons, had been playing on his own in the corner, and quickly ran over to see what the noise was about.

  “What’s going on, Aunty?” he asked anxiously.

  “We, my little man, are going for a walk. Put your toys away and we shall hurry and put our books aside, and then we will go out and see what is to be seen on our block.”

  The children were so excited that it was challenging to get them ready. Victoria regretted that she had not thought of it sooner, seeing how happy they were about the prospect of going outside. She determined to speak to her uncle about what parameters he considered appropriate, since it was obvious she could not keep them cooped up inside.

  They managed to make it down the street to a small parkette without incident. The children made good use of the opportunity to run around playing a game of chase within the confines of the small space. They made no comment on how poorly it contrasted with Hyde Park, but Victoria felt sad for them nonetheless. After a short time she felt frazzled from continually glancing over her shoulder, unsure if she was looking forward to or dreading the possibility of seeing the duke. When she could no longer bear the tension she rounded up the children and shepherded them back to their house.

  Responding mechanically and distractedly to their energetic chatter, Victoria was relieved when they reached their own front stairs. She was halfway up the stairs when a distinctive jingle caused the fine hairs on the back of her neck to rise. Turning her head sharply, she saw the Duke of Wychwood riding towards her on his beautiful large horse, its ornate harness jingling distinctively with each step.

  Her breath froze in her throat as their eyes met and held. For a moment she could not even blink. He pulled up at the bottom of the steps and was about to swing down from his saddle when Daniel caught his attention.

  “Aunt ‘Toria, it’s the Duke, what do we do?” Bryghton’s smile of amusement quickly turned to puzzlement at the discomfort displayed on the children’s faces.

  Vanessa, who rarely had much to say, answered his unasked question.

  “We aren’t allowed to talk to you, m’lord.”

  “It’s ‘your grace,’ noddy,” hissed an older sibling.

  Bryghton ignored the interruption. “Why not, my dear?” he asked calmly, bending to be at eye level wit
h the bashful little girl.

  She shrugged uninformatively, turning her eyes to the ground. Bryghton looked to the child’s cousin for explanation.

  Victoria, too, shrugged helplessly. “The earl was quite clear on the subject, although he did not provide an explanation.”

  “Is that why you have not been in the park for the past few days?” he asked quietly.

  Victoria’s eyes rounded in surprise. “How do you know we have not been there?”

  Bryghton blushed at his admission. “I rode through the park every day hoping to see you there.”

  Victoria’s face turned a bright red before all colour drained from it. “I am so sorry, your grace, but we must be going. Come along children.”

  The duke could only blink in surprise as the young woman who had seemed to have the steadiest of nerves appeared to be on the verge of panic. He could barely reconcile the lovely lady who had stood defiantly in the river just days ago with this skittish, wide-eyed maiden looking pale and distraught.

  Quickly shaking himself out of his inertia, Bryghton jumped down from his horse and approached the stairs as she was hastily urging the four young children up to the door. “My lady, please, might I have a moment of your time?”

  Casting an anxious glance back at him before quickly checking on the children’s progress, Victoria took a step down the stairs in his direction. In a hushed undertone she pleaded. “Not in front of the children, please.”

  Realization dawned on him. The children would not be able to keep a secret, nor would their cousin ask them to. If she spoke to him in defiance of the earl’s clear orders she could face a great deal of difficulty. Bryghton stopped in his tracks and watched with a crease of worry forming between his brows.

  As the children reached the top of the stairs, Victoria again turned to him. “My uncle has promised to provide me with a little more freedom shortly. Perhaps I might run into you then.” Her whisper was barely audible. She blushed fiercely at her own boldness, which the duke found quite charming.