Debutantes Don’t Date
Read Debutantes Don’t Date Online
Authors: Kristina O’Grady
At the stroke of midnight…
One minute Grace Lancaster is an overworked event manager organising 2013’s New Year’s
Eve ball… The next she’s kissing a rather gorgeous man at the Regency themed party.
Everyone’s entitled to an out-of-character New Year’s kiss, right? Except Jasper Mossman,
Earl of Bingham, isn’t at a costume party - he’s a real-life gentleman from 1813…
And, it seems, kissing a man in Regency London has consequences!
What Grace considers
normal
behaviour scandalises Regency society and so far she’s provided the irrepressible
gossips of the
ton
with a season’s worth of conversation! In a scramble to protect her reputation, as
well as his own, Jasper insists that they marry for the sake of her honour. Marrying
Mr Darcy might be a 21
st
century girl’s dream – but the reality is far from romantic. Corsets are uncomfortable,
no running water is disastrous! Grace had always planned on falling in love before
she got married, but when Jasper takes her in his arms she just might believe she’s
finally found her very own Prince Charming.
Debutantes Don’t Date
Kristina O’Grady
KRISTINA O’GRADY
has always loved telling a good story. She took up writing at a young age and spent
many hours (when she should have been doing her math homework) writing romance stories
in a book she hid in her sock drawer. She still remembers the first romance book she
ever read. She was without anything to read (oh no) while on vacation with her family
and bought a book in the small shop in the hotel lobby. It involved an Earl, a horse
and, of course, a Lady with a very bad fever. Since then she has been hooked on the
Regency era.
Kristina grew up on a cattle ranch in Western Canada and although has been told many
times she should be writing about cowboys, she can’t seem to leave the fantasy of
Dukes and Earls alone. She worked in the Oil and Gas Industry for several years first
as a labourer, machine operator, crew foreman, technician and eventually as an environmental
consultant. She loves getting out in the fresh air and enjoying the peace of nature.
In mid-2000 Kristina met her own knight in shining armour/cowboy who swept her off
her feet and across the world to New Zealand, where she now lives on a sheep and beef
farm with her amazingly supportive husband, three gorgeous young kids, seven working
dogs and one very needy cat.
Contents
I would like to thank all the people who helped me bring this book together. You know
who you are; all the babysitters, cheerers, readers, writing partners/critiquers,
friends and family. Thank you all so much, I don’t think you could ever know how much
your help and support means to me.
A special Thank You to RWNZ for your fantastic writing support, to Harlequin’s SoYouThinkYouCanWrite
2013 contest for passing my manuscript along to Carina UK and finally to my editor,
Victoria Oundjian.
To Gramma Lee, for inspiring me to write in the first place.
To Carl Block and Doug Moss, for the motivation to follow my dream.
And to Mick, because I love you.
The Duke and Duchess of Kensington’s Manor
New Year’s Eve
London, 2013
“For crying out loud, woman, take a break already! This party’s not going to come
apart if you take ten minutes.”
Grace Lancaster’s headset vibrated with her boss’s gruff voice. There was so much
to do before midnight; she really didn’t want to stop. She knew from experience that
as soon as she did, some disaster would strike. And with this being the biggest account
she’d ever handled, she couldn’t afford to listen to her boss’s advice. And why did
he always yell into his headset microphone? He did the same thing with his cell phone;
it drove her absolutely nuts. She reached up, turned down the volume and rehearsed
a little lie in her head before responding.
“Thanks, Ron. I’ll take a break after I do one more check around the room. Oh and
Jane,” she said to her assistant through her headset, “could you check the refreshment
room for me? A little old lady told me the crab cakes have run out; we have to keep
to the theme so we need them. And the Duke wants to speak to you, Ron. He mentioned
something about a bonus.”
She knew the mention of a bonus would keep Ron off her back for a little while, and
that part wasn’t a lie; neither was the thing about the crab cakes. It was just in
the part about taking a break that she stretched the truth. She watched the crowd
flow around her. They were all dressed in costumes from the Regency era. The Kensington
Kings and Queens New Year’s Eve Ball was an annual event and this year’s theme was
the early 1800s. The Duke and Duchess of Kensington had been putting this ball on
for generations. In fact, the ball itself dated back to the Regency period. Of course
then it wasn’t a charity event, but a ball for high society, all the Lords and Ladies
of the
ton
would vie for an invitation. Nowadays, you had to pay for the privilege of attending,
and it wasn’t cheap: at over £3,000 a plate, the charity that was supported always
made a hefty profit for the night.
Surprisingly, Grace was able to take a quick break just before midnight; she figured
she might as well take one now as getting one after 2014 rolled in would be impossible.
She grabbed a flute of champagne from a passing waiter and downed it quickly before
replacing her glass with another. The bubbles tickled as they slid down her parched
throat. She didn’t usually drink and she definitely didn’t like sparkling wine, but
she was so thirsty she couldn’t help but have another glass. She could feel the alcohol
make its way through her bloodstream. She leaned her head against the wall and closed
her eyes for a moment to relax.
She felt a bit ridiculous dressed in full costume of Regency England, especially with
her event manager’s headset on, but then again everyone else was dressed up so she
fitted in with the rest of them. There were even several Prinnys, the Prince Regent,
present, all dressed as flamboyantly as possible. She thought she looked quite respectable
with her simple but elegant dress. She loved the puffed sleeves and high waistline.
The style suited her body type and she was happy she’d found this costume yesterday
at a second-hand store. It was too bad she couldn’t wear this kind of clothing every
day instead of her business suit and stilettos.
She reached up and took her headset off for the first time in seven hours. As she
set it on the small table next to her, she noticed something sparkling on the floor
under the table. She bent down to pick it up. She didn’t have anything sparkly on
her costume so it must have fallen off someone else’s dress. She would put it in her
bag and take it to the Duchess in the morning. Just as her fingers clasped the object,
the power cut out and the room plunged into darkness. Amid the screams she could hear
the clock striking twelve.
***
The Duke and Duchess of Kensington’s Manor
New Year’s Eve
London, 1813
Lady Anne Higgins waited beside her mother, Lady Alderton, for Lord Bingham to come
and escort her for a set. Her mother had already turned away three suitable gentlemen
in her confidence that Lord Bingham would walk her out for the first dance. Lady Anne
didn’t think he was even here yet.
“Anne, darling,” said her mother in a low voice, “I heard a rumour today from Lady
Bishop that Lord Bingham is planning on speaking with your father tomorrow to ask
for your hand. About time he did. I can’t understand why he didn’t ask for your hand
when you first came out. He does need an heir, as we all know, and it has been arranged,
I just don’t see why there is the delay.”
“Really, mother, I don’t see how Lady Bishop would know if or when Lord Bingham is
going to marry.” Lady Anne turned her head and tried to pretend she was somewhere
else.
“Of course he is going to marry, darling. He can’t make you wait much longer. It is
your third season after all. He won’t want to wait until you are too old to bear children,
so it must be soon that he will ask.” Lady Anne knew her mother was getting nervous
for her. If Lord Bingham didn’t offer for her soon, she would be on the shelf and
then she would never attract a suitable husband. “Where is that man? He should be
here to escort you to the floor.” Lady Alderton craned her neck around trying to see
if her future son-in-law was anywhere to be seen. “Oh, here comes your brother.”
Lady Anne watched as her brother, Robin Higgins, Baron of Wester, came towards them.
Even though he was dressed in the latest fashion, he looked bedraggled as though he
had been in a scuffle. He didn’t appear to be bleeding or bruised, so he couldn’t
have been fighting. Besides he wouldn’t have wanted to mess up his pretty face, she
thought cynically, he had probably just been drinking again at his club. She loved
her brother dearly, but she knew he wanted something otherwise he would never seek
her and their mother out.
“Hello, fair ladies. You are shining more brightly than any other belle here tonight.”
Robin bowed formally over each of their hands before flashing his signature smile
at them. “I was hoping you’d saved me a dance, dear sister. What do you say? Will
you twirl around the floor once with your dear older brother?”
Lady Anne smiled in spite of herself. He was always able to charm her. “Of course,
dear
brother, I would like nothing more.” She placed her gloved fingers on his arm and
followed him out onto the dance floor where the other dancers were waiting for the
set to start, glad at least to be away from her mother.
“I needed to get you away from mama. I have a favour to ask,” Robin whispered in her
ear just as the music started so that she spent the rest of the dance waiting for
the inevitable. Just as she thought, he wanted something.
As the dancers caught their breath, Robin whisked her out the door into the garden.
“Follow me, Anne. We won’t be disturbed down here.” Anne followed closely, trying
not to trip on a wayward branch or stone. It was dark in the garden and cold. She
shivered and regretted not being able to retrieve her wrap before venturing outside.
His Grace should invest in some more lights. Maybe she should mention it to the Duchess
next time she saw her, although she supposed that the dark corners of the garden provided
some privacy for couples seeking some air.
Anne’s thoughts about lights and dark garden corners disappeared when Robin opened
his mouth. “I have decided when Lord Bingham marries you, I’ll put half of your monthly
allowance into investments on your behalf.” He held his hand up and waved it around
when she opened her mouth to protest. “Now now, don’t thank me. It’s the least I can
do for my little sister. I wouldn’t want to see you not being looked after when you
leave father’s care, now would I? I’ve already had my man draw up the papers. I’ll
bring them around first thing in the morning for you to sign. Well, maybe not first
thing, eh? I think that I will go off to my club and celebrate your good fortune.
Take care, sis.” Before Anne could say anything at all he kissed her cheeks and turned
and walked away from her. He left her alone in the garden! He was going to
invest
her money was he? She’s like to see him try! He must have run out of money again.
He was always living far above his means. Father had cut him off last year after having
to bail him out one too many times. Now he was after
her
money! It wasn’t as though Lord Bingham wouldn’t look after her himself. And besides,
she had plans for that income. Oh, he made her so mad!