Alanna gazed at her new friend with an arrested expression before bursting into laughter. “Because I am a disgracefully spoilt urchin who has no compunction about spending my brother’s seemingly endless wealth. You will be salving my conscience if you take my wasteful gowns off my hands and give them a new life.”
Victoria blushed fiercely. “I meant no offense, my lady,” she stammered.
“None taken. Now, did we not say we are to be friends? So we must stop ‘my lady-ing’ each other. Victoria, my dear, please say you will allow me to take you about with me. How soon can we start? When did your uncle say the new maid was to begin working in the nursery so that you might have some free time?”
“I do believe she was to start right away. I would be most comfortable to wait a day or two to ensure the little ones are going to accept her.” Victoria trailed off before turning stricken eyes to her new friend. “That is why you asked me whose interests I would put first, is it not? I always put the children first. But in this case, I believe it is the right thing to do. It will not ruin your plans any, will it, if I wait a day or two?”
“Not at all,” Alanna answered. “It will take me a few days to plan my party and get the invitations out, anyway. I would like to take you around a bit with me at least a time or two before the party, though, so let us say in two days from now you come to my house in the late morning and we can look through my frocks and gowns and decide which will work for you. That should not take overly long. The next day you can come and accompany me upon my morning calls. And perhaps a se’nnight later you could tell your family you are staying over at a friend’s house and we can have my party.”
“That seems like a sound plan, my lady—I should say, Alanna.”
So intent were both ladies upon their conversation that they had not noticed the approach of the duke. “What is your sound plan?”
Startled, Victoria turned a sweetly blushing face to gaze at the duke, but Alanna was not put off by her brother’s presence. “Victoria has agreed to come with me about Town a wee bit and we have figured out a good way to accomplish it.”
“Do you care to divulge your ideas to your big brother?”
“As it turns out, I have no need of your help,” Alanna answered dismissively.
Victoria could not allow that to pass. “In all honesty, we could never have had this conversation if the children were anywhere nearby. They have the sharpest hearing and would be far too excited about it to keep it to themselves.” She turned an impish smile upon the duke. “So you were of some help.”
“Thank you for your acknowledgement of my worth, my lady,” was Bryghton’s reply as he made her an exaggeratedly elegant bow.
Victoria could not resist a fit of the giggles over his antics, but then sat back with a sigh as she gained control over her mirth. Squeezing Alanna’s hand with gratitude, Victoria smiled a trifle sadly. “It has been much too long since I have laughed like that. Thank you for the lovely visit. And thank you for your efforts on my behalf, however puzzling I find your attentions. I appreciate it regardless. And I shall look forward to our meeting two days hence. But now, I surely must take my leave of you both and see that the children are returned home at an appropriate time.” She stood to leave and took a few steps away before turning back abruptly.
“I shall do my very best to meet you as we have arranged. But if something should arise to detain me, I cannot be certain if I would even be able to get a message to you. It would be unforgivably rude of me should I not show up without sending my regrets, but I must warn you that there is a possibility that that could be the outcome. I apologize in advance if that should become the case.”
Alanna laughed light-heartedly, springing up from the bench and embracing her new friend. “You, my dear lady, worry far too much. Do not borrow trouble. If you stand me up, I am forewarned of the possibility and will not hold it against you. I will do my best to re-establish contact, and we shall cross that bridge if we come to it.”
Victoria grinned, dropped a quick curtsy to encompass both her noble visitors, and hurried away to collect the children.
Alanna was still smiling when she turned to her brother and observed the arrested expression upon his usually impassive face as he watched the lovely lady stride away. Alanna’s smile turned into a grin, as she could not resist teasing her brother.
“What happened to you, brother dear? You look completely flummoxed. Are you afraid the Earl of Pickering will be coming after us in retribution for this adventure?”
Blinking himself out of his reverie, the duke turned to his sister in puzzlement. “Whatever are you yammering on about, Alanna? Why would you think I could be afraid of the likes of the Earl of Pickering?” His frosty tones brought astonishment to his sister.
“Gracious, Alcott, you sound positively fierce on the subject. Did I strike a nerve, perhaps?”
Bryghton forced his thoughts into order as he gazed at his sister, his face once more inscrutable. With a pleasant, if somewhat tight smile, he held up a hand to stem the tide of his sister’s ill-timed teasing.
“Perhaps you are right, little sister dear. I am experiencing a bevy of mixed emotions on the subject of the earl. On the one hand I have absolutely no fear of the man towards myself. There is naught he could do to harm me or mine. However, I would not entrust the man with my enemies, let alone a friend, and certainly not a sweet, innocent, inexperienced, young woman like Lady Victoria. I will admit to you I have some trepidation over what will become of her from this adventure of ours.”
“Are you taking responsibility for things then, your grace? You call it “our” adventure.”
Bryghton shrugged nonchalantly. “You did say it was my words that set you on this course in the first place. I must take at least some responsibility, would you not agree?”
“I think you have a level of interest in our lady to which you will not admit, perhaps not even to yourself,” Alanna speculated.
Bryghton would not acknowledge any truthfulness in his sister’s words, saying dismissively, “You, my dear girl, have an overly active imagination.”
Seeing she was about to argue the subject further, he curtailed further discussion by rising from the seat beside her and reaching for her hand. “Now, my little lady, what say you we make our own way home? Our presence here is no longer required. I dare say we are soon to become a spectacle if we do not vacate the premises.”
Alanna allowed herself to be tugged to her feet, smiling at her brother’s droll words, and allowing the duke to divert the conversation away from his unadmitted feelings for their new protégé. “Very well. You are correct, it would be best if I returned home shortly, as I have much to do in order to prepare for this evening’s activities.”
As the duke handed her back up into his phaeton she made pleasant conversation. “What are your plans for the rest of the day?”
“I have places I need to be this evening and people I must see,” he answered with a teasing twinkle in his eye, as his sister swatted him playfully over his intentional lack of information. “And mayhap I shall look in on whichever entertainments you are attending.”
“But you were not included in my invitations for this evening,” Alanna protested.
The duke turned an incredulous expression upon his sister. “Do you truly believe I would be turned away by any of the potential hostesses?”
Alanna could feel her eyebrows arching towards her hairline, so surprised was she at her brother’s haughtiness. “Until I heard you use those words I would have said no, but I have a suspicion now that no one would want you around if you were to be sounding like that.”
Delighted, Bryghton could not resist tweaking his sister’s distastefully wrinkled nose. “I shall make an effort to curb my haughtiness for your benefit, little chick. I apologize if I offended you by my seeming expectation of a welcome wherever I go. But truly you must admit that most hostesses would be happy to have an unattached duke attending their gatherings.”
“
Mayhap,” replied his sister, unconvinced, “but I am sure you are supposed to at the very least feign a lack of knowledge on the subject. It is surely not done to acknowledge such a ridiculous state of affairs.”
“Again, I apologize, my dear. Truly, I was merely funning. If you think it best, I will sit at home this evening and twiddle my thumbs, contemplating my obvious lack of couth.”
This finally moved his sister to relent as she erupted into a delightful gurgle of laughter. “Now that is a mental picture I shall carry with me for some time. But no, Duke, one cannot leave you languishing at home. You may accompany me on my rounds this evening. No doubt you are quite right that the ladies will be absolutely delighted by your presence. We must not disappoint them with the news that you are repenting of your arrogance. That is just not done, to be sure.”
Chuckling with good humour, the duke arrived at his destination, pulling his carriage to a standstill and helping his sister to debark. Alanna was climbing the stairs to the door being held open by an attentive servant when she glanced back over her shoulder and noticed Bryghton was not following her.
“Are you not coming home with me?” she asked in some surprise, having greatly enjoyed the afternoon spent with her brother.
“Not right now, little chick. I have things I must attend to before I join you in the social whirl this evening. I shall meet up with you somewhere along the way tonight. You shall be perfectly fine with the duchess,” he concluded soothingly as his sister stuck out her lower lip to sulk her disappointment.
Alanna shrugged herself out of her brief dispirit. “It would seem you are spoiling me, your grace. I could become used to the attentions of my big brother. Very well, have a lovely evening. I shall see you when I see you.” With that she turned back, swept up the stairs, and entered the large house without a backward glance.
Chapter Nineteen
Bryghton sat in his phaeton staring absently at the door of his mother’s house after it closed behind his sister. He supposed idly that it was his house, as he had inherited it from his father at the same time he had come into his title, but he could only ever think of it as his mother’s. He was quite happy to have his own smaller but much more comfortable townhouse not far away on Charles Street. His mother was rather horrified that he chose to maintain his own residence, but it would turn out to be a blessing if he ever did decide to marry, as his mother was obviously eager for him to do. Where would he put a wife otherwise, he wondered as he deftly turned his carriage in the narrow street, setting off back towards St James Street, hoping to catch up with Alfred at White’s.
He was in luck. As soon as he stepped through the front door of his club he was hailed by a number of gentlemen, and, briefly acknowledging their greetings, he made his way straight to where his friend was sitting savouring his brandy.
“Alcott, my good man, where have you taken yourself off to all day? I have not seen hide nor hair of you since you demanded my sister partner you in the waltz.”
“I can assure you I returned Eloise to your aunt Sybil just as soon as the dance was concluded,” Bryghton protested in mock defense.
Laughing, the baron persisted, “Yes, but where have you been?”
“I am surprised you did not notice me, Freddy. I spent most of the night on the dance floor with various partners that I allowed the duchess to pick out for me. When I had danced with one too many vacuous debutantes I escorted my mother and sister home. You had informed me that you needed to remain in attendance overseeing your little sister, so I did not bother to invite you to accompany us.”
Alfred nodded. “Let me tell you, Bryght, I would have bolted with you if you had offered, so it is no doubt a good thing that you didn’t. Eloise is a sweetheart, but she is not the brightest of ladies, if you know what I mean. We were practically the last to leave the ball! This Season just might be the death of me.” The shudder he displayed was only half in jest.
Bryghton grinned and continued his explanation. “What I have been doing with my afternoon is why I wished to speak with you. My sister has managed to convince Lady Victoria to accompany her about a little during this Season and I wanted to enlist your help in keeping the two of them out of trouble and away from the earl. I feel responsible for this blasted situation, as it was my ill-thought words that sent Alanna on a search for the lady in question.”
“Of course, Alcott. I quite like the lady anyway, so I would be happy to be of assistance to her if at all possible. What, though, did you have in mind?” he asked, with a touch of hesitation.
“Oh man up, my lord, you should not sound so weakwilled about it. It is not as though I am going to ask you to do anything havey-cavey. I merely meant that you should go out of your way to make her feel welcomed and comfortable at whatever occasion you might happen to encounter her.”
“Well, of course, I would do that anyway. But are you expecting there to be some sort of trouble from her uncle?”
“The Earl of Pickering does not go about amongst Society—no doubt he is not welcome in most places—so I am not overly concerned that my sister and Lady Victoria shall run into him face to face. But he does have some friends who might make it their business to make her uncomfortable. And then there is the fact that despite being an earl’s daughter, she will not have a proper sponsor, and being a rather attractive young lady she might attract some catty behaviour from some of the other ladies.”
Alfred nodded in agreement. “Have you had any luck finding out about the lady’s affairs? What did your secretary find? Are you concerned about fortune hunters being after her?”
Bryghton sighed. “As you were probably quite aware, women in fact have no rights. As a single woman, she is a little better off than a married one with regards to being able to inherit. In her particular case, it is, as expected, that she doesn’t actually inherit until she turns twenty-five or gets married. And the way it was set up, if she is not married she will never gain full control over her own funds even after turning twenty-five. That might be part of why Pickering doesn’t set her up with a Season. As long as she remains unmarried, he is guardian over her fortune.”
“So Pickering will have all the more reason to prevent her from associating with you or anyone of the ton. Do you think it wise, then, for Alanna to be embarking on this adventure? Could you not dissuade her?” Alfred questioned, worry showing in his tone.
“Really, Alfred? You ask me this now? You were the one who could not dissuade her from even meeting the lady. Now that she has, Alanna has decided that it is her mission in life to ensure Lady Victoria has been given a chance to mingle amongst the ton. She will not rest until she has seen to it and we shall all be borne along in her wake. I thought Lady Victoria was made of sterner stuff, but she has fallen to my sister’s persuasions. So there is naught we can do but go along and do our best to smooth the way for her.”
“As you said, her uncle doesn’t go to ton events. Perhaps all will be well in that quarter.” He paused in thought and remembered what else the duke had said. “Do you really think the other young ladies could give her trouble? She is such a lovely young lady I have a hard time imagining anyone could be unkind to her.”
“You have a sister—I am surprised you even have to ask. If you ask me, women are considerably worse than men in their behaviour towards one another. For example, Alanna cannot be friends with Miss Sophie Beckett because Sophie’s mother and our mother had some sort of squabble when they were making their debut.”
Alfred was so nonplussed by this information, thinking about his own sweet and innocent sister, that he felt the need for fortification. After draining the last of his brandy he hailed a passing footman to bring him another. Turning back to Bryghton, he asked what was uppermost in his mind. “What is Alanna planning to do with Lady Victoria? Is she going to take her in and sponsor her Season?”
“No, no, nothing like that. She is going to have Victoria accompany her about somewhat, such as on morning calls or walks in the park. Alanna is also planning to
host some sort of a dance or soirée next week, I believe, so you had best make sure that you and Eloise are free to attend. I cannot imagine your sweet little sister participating in the sorts of dramas I will expect from some of the ladies.”
“I should think not, she is a Lynster after all,” said Alfred rather huffily.
Both men paused, their eyes met, and they burst into loud guffaws of laughter, causing some of the other club members to turn and glare. Bryghton regained control of his mirth but almost lost it again when he realized he actually had to wipe tears from the corners of his eyes as a result of his hearty laughter.
“We sound like a couple of doting fathers worrying about our darling daughters’ first Seasons. What have we come to, my friend?” asked the duke drolly.
Wiping his own eyes rather ungraciously with the sleeve of his coat, the baron continued to chuckle for another moment before he too shook his head and answered truthfully. “I have no idea how it happened, but it would seem we have left our carefree bachelor days behind us. Mayhap your mother was right, and it is time we thought about setting up our own establishments and taking wives for ourselves.”
“Do you really think so? If sisters and their friends are this much trouble, just think what kind of a circus a wife would cause.”
Alfred gazed at his friend thoughtfully for a moment before his face became creased with a playful grin and he waggled his eyebrows suggestively. “They may be a passel of trouble, but they can be an awful lot of fun to have around, too.”
Bryghton’s jaw dropped open in shock, and he choked on more laughter. “Are you suggesting you might be considering getting yourself leg shackled, my lord?”
“I do believe I would, your grace,” Alfred answered gravely. A grin broke over his face and he shrugged. “Really, we are both going to have to one day, so we might as well face the challenge head on and start looking for the least annoying female we can find.”
The Reluctant Debutante: A Sweet, Regency Romance (Ladies of Mayfair Book 4) Page 18