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

  The Reluctant Debutante

  Ladies of Mayfair

  ~ Book Four ~

  Wendy May Andrews

  ∞∞∞

  Sparrow Ink

  www.sparrowdeck.com

  Copyright © 2017 Wendy May Andrews

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced, transmitted, or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  ISBN-13: 978-1-7750069-0-9

  www.wendymayandrews.com

  Are the possibilities worth the price?

  The Duke of Wychwood seeks retribution from the Earl of Pickering. When he finds out the earl has a beautiful young niece, the duke thinks to involve her in his feud, but is shocked to discover he is attracted to her.

  The orphaned niece of the earl, Lady Victoria, serves as governess to four of his children and is made to feel like an interloper in her own home. A chance encounter with the duke affords her the opportunity to enter Society, but to take it means risking what little security she has.

  Revenge and love don’t sit well together, to have a future can they learn to give up the past?

  Dedication

  To everyone in my life who has stood by me through this amazing journey, especially this particular project when I had to second guess everything.

  Mum & Dad, you have supported me through thick and thin since birth. Thank you so much!

  To my hubby, you are the very best! Your support means the world to me and makes all this possible. I love you forever.

  Angelika and Monika, thanks for listening to everything over and over. I couldn’t do it without your friendship xoxo

  Contents

  DEDICATION

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Acknowledgements

  Jahleen Turnbull-Sousa, this was the best edit ever. Thank you for taking on this project and helping it become even better. I look forward to this new adventure together.

  German Creative, I am in love with my cover. You were so easy to work with and so kind despite my insistence when something wasn’t quite right and my not really knowing what I was doing. Thank you for your patience and the final beautiful product.

  Clean Indie Reads, my online tribe, thank you for kindly answering all my newbie questions. The online world can be a very scary place so it’s wonderful to find such a large group of supportive, knowledgeable writers who are willing to lend a helping hand or a listening ear.

  Chapter One

  “Who is that ravishing creature entering the devil’s lair?” Bryghton Alcott, the fifth Duke of Wychwood, asked his friend, his gaze arrested by the slender figure climbing the stairs to a midsize townhouse as they rode past.

  Turning in his saddle to gape at the young woman, Lord Lynster grinned, thrilled to know something his powerful friend did not. He turned back to face the duke. “You don’t know who that is?”

  “Would I be asking you if I knew?” Bryghton said, with a wry twist to his lips.

  His left eyebrow tilted at a somewhat haughty angle, the young baron finally answered with a touch of dramatic flair, “That, my good fellow, is the devil’s niece, Lady Victoria Bartley.”

  “Really?” the duke asked, incredulity now echoed in his voice. “How did I not know that the devil had a niece? Surely this information could be used to my advantage.”

  “I have no idea how you could have researched your enemy so thoroughly and yet not know that he is living in his niece’s house. I never thought to mention it since it seemed to be a matter of common knowledge. Of course, the lady was a child when the devil inherited her father’s title, so I suppose you took no note of her existence.”

  Alcott’s face held a far-away expression for a few moments before his gaze sharpened on his friend’s face. “You said the devil is living in her house. What do you mean?”

  “The earl only inherited what was entailed. The previous earl doted on his only child and left everything that was unentailed to his daughter, including the London townhouse we just rode past. The new earl, the young lady’s uncle, is her guardian until she gains control of her own fortune. As such, he and his family live with Lady Victoria when they are in Town. She lives with them in her former home when they are in the country.” Alfred, Lord Lynster, “Fred” to his friends, looked at Bryghton with a touch of anxiety, unsure of how his friend would use this information to his advantage. “The young woman faced much tragedy at a tender age, losing both her parents in that terrible carriage accident that made the devil the earl.”

  “Yes, and no doubt she could use a friend, being stuck in the same house with Bartley and his family as she is,” concurred the duke, his handsome face darkened by a sinister cast.

  “What are you about, your grace?” asked the baron with sharp suspicion.

  “Oh don’t ‘your grace’ me, Fred. Despite my vendetta against her uncle, I am not about to begin preying upon an innocent young woman. She is perfectly safe from me. If I were to manage an acquaintance with her it would merely be a fact-finding mission, I assure you.” Bryghton mustered an almost convincing look of innocence despite his strong desire to grin over his friend’s evidently mixed feelings.

  “I fully understand your desire to seek your revenge from the earl, but you really should leave his female relatives out of it.”

  “Of course, of course,” the duke soothed, without full sincerity. “Now where were we riding to? I declare your chatter has completely discomfited me.”

  Alfred, placated, answered with a low chuckle, sarcasm dripping from each syllable. “I am sure it was my chatter which distracted you. You are just trying to avoid seeing your mother.”

  “How could you say such a hurtful thing to a peer of the realm?” Wychwood mocked.

  “Well then, lead on. Our tea is no doubt growing cold as we speak.”

  “You just want to witness another one of my mother’s scenes where she tries ever not so subtly to persuade me that I am ready to be leg shackled.”

  “She merely wishes to secure the succession. Wychwood is a fine old name and it would never do to allow it to die out, my friend.”

  “With Drake still hale and hearty it is in little danger of dying out,” the duke declared with a roll of his eyes.

  “Well, according to your mother one of you needs to produce an heir before she leaves this world.”

  “And there you have hit the problem right on the nose. Ever sinc
e I had the nerve of doing something so déclassé as entering my thirtieth year, my mother has been taking on the airs of one who is on her deathbed. Never mind that she is only fifty and is as healthy as a work horse.”

  With a twinkle in his eye, Alfred struggled for seriousness. “Never allow your mother to hear you comparing her to a beast of burden, nor revealing her age. I am quite sure she is still trying to convince her suitors that she is barely a day over forty.”

  “Well, she will catch cold at that, since she is forever harping upon my thirty years. She may have been a young bride, but I am quite sure my father did not invade the schoolroom in order to marry her.”

  Having the final say as always, Alfred said the only thing that his friend could not argue with. “At least you have a mother to harp at you.”

  Bryghton glanced at his friend uncomfortably. Loving his mother fiercely despite her meddling in his affairs, Bryghton could not imagine how his friend had endured the loss of his own the previous year. Alfred’s words won him the argument, and for the first time in several months the duke was relieved to see his mother’s house come into view, having been struck by a sudden urge to see her.

  Riding around to the mews, the two gentlemen threw their reins to the waiting grooms and dismounted. As the head groom came out to greet them, the duke addressed him.

  “We shall be a while with the duchess, Gerrard. Be so kind as to ensure they are properly watered while they wait.”

  “Very good, your grace,” answered the servant deferentially before continuing in more familiar accents. “Enjoy your visit with your mum.”

  Grinning, the duke answered with a wink, “I shall try.”

  Striding towards the front of the elegant townhouse, Bryghton called over his shoulder to his shorter friend, “Hurry along Fred, you did say you do not wish to drink cold tea.”

  He struggled to maintain a straight face as he heard a snort coming from behind.

  Chapter Two

  “The Duke of Wychwood and Baron of Fielding to see you, your grace,” intoned the faithful butler.

  “Thank you, Walter. Please have the tea brought in shortly,” answered the duchess as she rose gracefully to greet her guests.

  “Hello, Mother. You are looking lovely as ever.” The duke bent over her hand and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

  “I am so pleased that you have finally graced me with your presence, you naughty boy. And you brought your friend Alfred, how lovely. Come give me a kiss, Alfred, and tell me all that is new with you. How is my dear friend, your Aunt Sybil? It has been some time since I have heard from her. I hope she has not fallen into ill health.”

  “No, no, your grace. Thank you for asking after her. She is quite well. Aunt Sybil has been staying with my little sister since my mother passed. Now my sister is getting ready to come up for her first Season, so you can just imagine what an uproar the household is in.”

  “Is little Eloise really coming to make her debut? How delightful! Yes, poor Sybil must be nearly beside herself. I remember what a time we had with Alanna’s first Season. Well, I look forward to seeing them about Town when they come up. I must remember to write to her and make some arrangements. Will they be on your estate for a while yet?”

  “Oh, yes, your grace. I would not think they would leave home for at least a se’nnight. If you post a note in the next couple of days they shall certainly receive it before they get under way. I am sure Aunt Sybil and Eloise will be delighted to hear from you. It is kind of you to remember them.”

  “Not at all, Alfred,” dismissed the duchess with graceful kindness before turning to her son. “Now you, my boy, are another thing all together. Why has it taken you so long to get around to visiting your mother?”

  Surprised by the urge to blush and stammer out an excuse, the duke managed to maintain his composure and answer in a voice tinged with ennui, “But surely it has not been that long since my last visit, has it, your grace?”

  “Oh, don’t get all starchy with me, Alcott. I was merely jesting. You know a fond mama would be very happy if her children visited her every day. Or better yet, if they did not have to visit at all because they still lived under the same roof.”

  Alcott suppressed a sigh. His mother had never gotten over his desire to have his own home, but lately this conversation had turned into a routine. He vaguely wondered if it was his milestone birthday this year, or her upcoming turn of the half-century that had brought this about. With a thinning smile, he decided to ignore her statements and tried to turn the conversation to something innocuous.

  “It is quite lovely outside today, Mother. Have you had an opportunity to take the air?”

  “Not yet. I shall be making some visits later this afternoon. I wanted to stop in and welcome that wonderful diplomat’s family that has just returned from some assignment or other. You know, they have a charming daughter who will be making a rather late debut into London Society this year. Perhaps you should escort me so that you could meet her,” the duchess said with a hopeful lift as her sentence trailed off.

  Alcott made every effort not to glower at his mother, turning his glare instead onto his unfaithful friend, who could not quite suppress his snicker at the anticipated direction the conversation had taken. Turning back to his mother after withering Fred with his glare, Bryghton managed to politely decline the invitation. “I must make my excuses, mother, and decline your enticing invitation. Lynster and I are promised elsewhere. Perhaps another time.”

  “That would be quite lovely,” she said, beaming with joy.

  Bryghton felt like biting off his tongue at his mother’s reaction to his final polite statement. She lived in constant hope of arranging an advantageous match for her children. Thus far she had focused mainly on her oldest son and only daughter, leaving his brother to his own devices for the time being, and much to the duke’s disgust. Misery did love company, he thought with sarcastic humour. Thinking of Drake seemed to conjure him from thin air, and the young man strolled into the room with graceful nonchalance.

  “Alcott and Lynster! Walter just told me you were here to visit the duchess. How pleasant to see you.” The younger gentleman belied his air of disregard by gripping his brother’s hand in an affectionate shake and allowing his eyes to twinkle with glee at seeing their mutual friend.

  Fred, used to the young lord’s pretence of indolence, greeted him with enthusiastic good cheer. “Drake, my boy, it is a delight to set eyes on you. Where have you been? It has been an age since I have seen you about Town.”

  Seating himself in an elegant sprawl, much to his mother’s disgust, Drake shrugged and answered his friend in a voice of studied boredom. “I was rusticating on the family estate, old chap.”

  His fond mama could not abide by this and interjected. “Do not mind him, Alfred. He wants everyone to think he is the laziest young man in all the king’s realm, but he was really doing a round of all our estates checking on our stewards and overseeing the spring breeding programs.”

  “Mother, must you interfere with my image?” the young man protested, fighting a blush rising up his cheeks.

  Happy to have his mother’s attention elsewhere, the duke felt his mood lightening and allowed himself to relax and enjoy the moment. He could not resist a pleasant chuckle at his brother’s expense. Despite his own discomfort, the young man grinned at his older brother in perfect harmony.

  Drake’s grin turned devious and he questioned his mother in an innocent tone. “Who did you say you were going to visit this afternoon?”

  The duchess grinned in delight over her son’s question. Drake’s plan to tease his brother fell flat, however, when his mother kept her attention on him. “Would you like to join me, dear? Your brother is busy this afternoon but I would dearly love your escort.”

  Keeping his smile fixed in place, Drake managed to excuse himself. “I believe I too am occupied this afternoon. But thank you for the invitation. Where are you going?”

  The duchess was not overly d
isappointed, but sighed slightly and said, “Next time then,” not bothering to go into detail.

  She turned from her sons and focused her attention on Lord Lynster. Although he was merely a baron, his title was an old one and he was reputed to be very wealthy.

  “My dear Alfred, you have not yet responded to my invitation to the supper I shall be hosting when the Season gets under way in two weeks. You really must attend in order to ensure my darling Alanna has a successful night. This is her third Season, and I am hoping it will be her last.”

  Poor Fred, suddenly looking quite uncomfortable, replied “Of course, your grace, I apologize profusely for my negligence in not responding sooner. I would not dream of missing your event.” He quickly sought to steer the conversation elsewhere. “Your grace, on the ride over here we saw someone we thought we should ask you about. Are you familiar with Lady Bartley?”

  Bryghton was surprised at his friend’s choice of conversational gambit, but delighted that he had brought it up. It was actually a brilliant idea on Fred’s part, since it would keep the duchess from getting her hopes up about a Fred-Alanna alliance, and it helped the duke get the information without needing to ask himself. He would never in a million years ask his mother about any female, since she would instantly be set on arranging a match, even one as ineligible as this—Bryghton would never have a romantic interest in the devil’s niece.

  “Lady Bartley? The Earl of Pickering’s wife? She is a rather mousey woman who has nothing of interest to say if her husband is anywhere around, but on her own she can be a pleasant enough companion, I suppose.” The duchess paused and wrinkled her nose as she gave the matter more thought. “She almost never goes about in Society. She has a somewhat bourgeois background and is no doubt not completely comfortable in highborn company. Why would you be curious about her?”

  Looking embarrassed, Fred explained himself. “I apologize, your grace. I was unclear. I actually meant Lady Victoria Bartley.”