Chapter Nine
Alex felt unsettled and he knew exactly the reason why. Seeing Victoria again had set him on edge and he hated that she could affect him so deeply even after all this time. It wasn’t that he still had feelings for her—any remnants of the love he had once felt for her had been washed away when he found out the underhand way in which she’d conducted her affair with Winchester—but he was realising how many of his actions over the last three years had been influenced by what Victoria had done to him. It wasn’t just the functions that he’d avoided or the desire to stay an unmarried bachelor rather than risk his heart again, it was the friendships he’d let slip. Alex could acknowledge that he’d buried himself in his work the past few years, partly that was because he enjoyed the thrill of the race, but it was also a way to avoid people.
Well, no longer. He wasn’t proposing he give up training his horses, but he would stop avoiding situations just in case he came across Victoria. He’d survived his first encounter with her without serious injury, he could manage to be civil in the future, too.
‘If you do not move your hand this instant, I will punch you so hard you’ll be lucky to keep all your teeth.’
Alex paused outside the drawing room door, suppressing a smile.
‘I assure you, madam, this is the correct hold for a waltz.’
‘And I can assure you, sir, that I don’t care if it is how you would hold a nun. Move your hand or I will hurt you.’
Stepping into the room, Alex saw the spritely dance teacher swiftly step away from Lina, his hands outstretched placatingly.
‘I trust everything is going well?’
‘She is unteachable,’ Monsieur LeBon declared with a flourish.
‘There is no such thing as unteachable,’ Lina said sweetly, ‘just an incompetent teacher.’
‘I am the highest-regarded dance teacher in society!’
‘Then teaching a country girl to dance a waltz shouldn’t be that much of a challenge.’
‘If you would follow a single instruction...’
‘I’ve told you a thousand times. I. Do. Not. Speak. French.’
‘Of course you speak French. All ladies speak French.’
‘I speak Spanish,’ Lina said, ‘and Romani and a little German.’
The dance teacher flinched and took another step away.
‘I think you’d better leave, Monsieur LeBon,’ Alex said, his voice low, ‘before you say something you might regret.’
With a horrified glance at Lina, Monsieur LeBon gathered his belongings and hurried out of the room.
‘I apologise,’ Alex said quietly.
Lina shook her head and gave him a sunny smile, but Alex wasn’t fooled. The dance teacher’s reaction to Lina’s snippet of information about her origins had upset her.
‘Monsieur LeBon is a fool...’
‘It doesn’t matter, Alex. People like the music and cheap labour we provide at the country fairs, but they are suspicious and distrustful of us in any other situation. We have a reputation for stealing, for taking work away from the locals. My mother always used to say it was because we lived a different lifestyle—people always are fearful when someone is brave enough to go against the accepted norm.’
Alex remembered Lina’s fingers slipping into his coat the first time they had met. It was true; he hadn’t been surprised when he thought she was trying to pick his pocket, he’d been more surprised when she hadn’t followed through with her action.
‘Perhaps I could take you through the steps of a waltz?’ Alex suggested.
‘It’s no use. I can’t dance without music. I find it impossible, always have.’
‘That is easily remedied.’ Alex strode from the room and into one of the numerous sitting rooms where Georgina was reading through her correspondence. ‘We need your talents for a few minutes.’
Quickly, Georgina followed him into the drawing room and took her seat at the piano.
‘A waltz, please, sister. Something slow.’
Georgina adjusted herself on the piano stool and placed her fingers on the keys, taking a few seconds to decide on a piece before starting to play.
‘The waltz is beautiful dance, but considered by some members of society to be a little scandalous,’ Alex said softly. ‘The gentleman holds his partner much closer than for any other dance, but there still should be no contact except for a hand on the small of the back and the hold on the upper body.’
The waltz was a more intimate dance than many others and right now he was beginning to see how it could be both tantalising and sensual when danced with the right partner.
He placed one arm around Lina’s waist and pulled her closer to him. As he watched, her cheeks flushed with colour and her breathing became more shallow. Their bodies were almost touching, but not quite. That sliver of air between them taunted Alex and he wished he could gather Lina tight to his body.
‘The steps are simple,’ he said into her ear, noting how she shuddered as his breath tickled her neck and not for the first time he wondered how she would react if he placed his lips on the skin just below her earlobe. ‘Let me demonstrate. Follow where I lead.’
Gripping her firmly, Alex began to dance. He felt Lina stumble once or twice, her legs brushing against his as she tried to keep up, but after a few rotations around the drawing room he could tell she was picking it up. She was a talented dancer and quick on her feet, so he wasn’t surprised when she relaxed in his arms and allowed her body to flow with the music.
‘Certainly not unteachable,’ Alex murmured in her ear.
She smiled up at him, a smile of pure pleasure, then did something completely unexpected: she closed her eyes. Trusting him completely to guide her around the dance floor, she let herself succumb to the music. Alex was a good dancer—he had never struggled to pick up a new dance or lead a partner in a waltz or a cotillion—but never could he do so with his eyes closed.
Round and round they twirled, Georgina picking up the pace as she saw Lina become more confident, until all too soon, the music ended.
Lina opened her eyes and looked up at him, her mouth ever so slightly open as she caught her breath and her skin glowing from the exertion.
‘That was wonderful.’
He had the urge to kiss her, to lean down and cover her lips with his own. His fingers, gripping her waist, ached to roam over her body and explore every inch of her skin. Looking down into her eyes, he could see she felt it, too—that physical pull, the desire for two bodies to come together as one.
‘I thought you said you couldn’t waltz?’ Georgina said.
Quickly they stepped apart and Alex saw the confusion on Lina’s face before she turned away.
‘I couldn’t waltz,’ Lina said with a shrug. ‘What a wonderful dance it is.’
‘Some of the older members of society will leave the ballroom when the musicians start to play a waltz, it is considered that controversial.’
‘We were barely touching.’
Until today Alex had agreed with Lina, but now he could see how dancing a waltz might inflame a man’s desires.
‘If we are to win the wager, you need to fill your dance card on the night of the ball. That will mean dancing at least one or two waltzes,’ he said. ‘But to avoid any hint of scandal it will be better if you dance them with people you have already been introduced to or know well.’
‘You?’
‘Perhaps for one of them. And Pentworthy for another.’
Lina nodded, biting her lip. Whenever he reminded her of the conditions of the wager she looked nervous, as if anxious not to get anything wrong. He found how much she cared rather endearing and not for the first time marvelled at how much time and effort she was investing to help him.
‘You’re ready,’ Alex declared.
‘What for?’
‘Your first country dance.’ He enjoyed the shocked looks both Lina and his sister gave him. It felt good to surprise people sometimes. ‘I’ve accepted an invitation to the Pottersdown country dance. I’m told it isn’t a grand affair, but it will give you ample opportunity to practise the skills you have learnt so far.’
‘You are voluntarily going to a country dance?’ Georgina asked.
‘What is so strange about that?’
Georgina shook her head in disbelief.
‘Do you truly think I am ready?’
Alex turned to Lina and saw the worry on her face. She was normally so confident, so sure of herself, but something about his latest suggestion had worried her.
‘You’re ready. You can dance. You can converse about the weather and other mundane subjects. You know how to address people correctly. What could go wrong?’
‘Do I have to converse about mundane subjects?’
He could just imagine her regaling the ladies and gentlemen of the gentry with tales of gypsy life. Although it was tempting to allow her that freedom of speech, he knew it would not help him win his wager.
‘Most certainly. That is the only way to blend in with the other debutantes.’
‘What if someone asks who I am?’
Alex had considered this question time and time again. Keeping Lina’s true identity a secret was vital to his final aim—passing her off as the perfect debutante. No discerning gentleman would ask her to dance if he knew of her background. Equally, he didn’t want to lie outright about her origins.
‘We shall say you are a family friend and that Georgina and I are sponsoring your first Season.’
Lina nodded, satisfied.
‘Lina, dear, we need to decide on your dress,’ Georgina gushed. ‘I will meet you in your bedroom in just a moment. I need a to have a quick word with my brother first.’
Perhaps not the most subtle way to get rid of Lina, but she didn’t seem to mind.
‘Careful, Alex,’ Georgina said once she was sure they were alone.
‘Careful?’
‘Lina is a pretty girl.’
‘She is.’
‘And she’s easy to spend time with.’
‘Mostly.’
Georgina sighed. ‘I am delighted you have started to take an interest in the fairer sex again, Alex, but couldn’t you choose someone more appropriate to become closer to?’
‘I do love you, Georgina,’ Alex said with a grin. ‘Nothing is going on with Lina.’
‘But you want it to.’
Alex shrugged. He wasn’t above lying to his sister, but she must have seen the spark between them as they danced. He didn’t think denial was his best policy.
‘As a man, I am subject to certain desires. I respond if I hold an attractive woman close. That doesn’t mean I would ever act on those desires.’
‘I wouldn’t want to see her get hurt.’
‘I am well aware we are from different stations, different worlds even.’
Georgina laughed. ‘Could you imagine the scandal if you decided to marry a gypsy girl?’
Alex stiffened as he realised he and Georgina were talking of completely different things. She was talking of marriage, a lifetime with one woman. All he was contemplating was a few enjoyable months with Lina as his mistress.
‘You married a man considered beneath you.’
‘I was young and in love. Anyway, Richard and I were only a few rungs apart on the social ladder.’
‘I like Lina and I will admit on one or two occasions I have found myself attracted to her, but I also respect her.’ Alex realised it was the truth, but a small part of him wondered if that was enough to temper the desire he felt building whenever her hand brushed against his or their bodies swayed together. Alongside that desire was a budding friendship. Not in a long time had he felt able to talk and laugh with anyone like he did Lina. She was witty and sharp, but had a kindness about her that you didn’t encounter much amongst the people of the ton.
‘I’m glad to hear it. I wouldn’t want her to get her heart broken. I think she rather likes you, too.’
‘What is there not to like?’
Georgina raised her eyebrows but didn’t answer, instead she swooped out of the room.
Alex sank on to the piano stool and ran his fingers across the keys, picking out a few notes. He could play the piano proficiently, but he was no master of music like his sister. Too long spent on horseback rather than practising his scales meant he would never be able to play a piece by heart as Georgina just had.
Closing his eyes, he pictured Lina in his arms as they waltzed around the room. It felt right to hold her body so close to his, to feel her fingers gripping his shoulder. Georgina was right, probably nothing good could come out of a liaison with Lina, but it didn’t mean his imagination wasn’t already building the fantasy in his mind.