Debutantes Don’t Date (6 page)

He brought his cup back up to his lips. Ick, the coffee had gone cold.

This wouldn’t have happened if Anne had been more forthcoming. She should have hurried
Bingham along ages ago. Actually everything would have been fine if this Miss Lancaster
hadn’t shown up last night. Robin fiendishly wished she had never been born. If she
would only disappear back to where she came from, everything could go back the way
it should be and he could once again count on that money. Hmm. Robin took a big drink
of his cold coffee. Maybe he could make her disappear.

“Willis!” Robin shot to his feet and called for his footman; at least his father still
paid for his servants. Robin wasn’t sure if he resented that or not. On one hand at
least their wages were paid so they stayed on, but on the other hand, if his father
could pay for that, surely he could spare a few bob for his own son?

“Bring me my curricle.” He was off to see Rupert Caine, the man he owed the least
amount of money to but who was by far the most dangerous of the lot. Maybe he could
help Miss Lancaster disappear.

Bright sunlight streamed through her window and across her face. A maid had just opened
the curtains.

“Good morning, miss. Lady Harrison says it is time that you got up.”

Grace cracked an eye open and moaned. Her blood beat a tempo against her temples;
it felt like little men trying to escape the inside of her skull, and her eyelids
were gluey with sleep. She knew she should’ve stayed away from the champagne last
night.

She sat bolt upright in her bed. Last night! She looked around the room. This was
not her hotel room so that must mean that it wasn’t a dream.
Oh no
.

The maid kept on chattering and didn’t take any notice of the panicked sounds coming
from Grace’s direction. “What is it you would like for your breakfast? I brought up
some toast and tea, but if you prefer chocolate, I can fetch some.” The maid took
a deep breath and opened her mouth again as if to pour more words out. Grace quickly
filled the small pause before she was bombarded again.

“I would like some coffee please, if it is not too much trouble? Milk, no sugar please.”
She desperately hoped that it was not too much to ask. Her head was fuzzy and she
was having a hard time putting together the pieces of last night. She blushed bright
red when she thought of the kiss. My God, could she really have done that? She attacked
the poor man! Surely she wasn’t remembering it properly…it couldn’t have been as bad
as that.

“Coffee, miss? Are you sure?” The maid gave her an odd look.

“Yes. Coffee.” Grace really tried not to growl, but from the look on the maid’s face,
she didn’t hold out much hope.

Grace waited for the maid to slide out the door before she threw off the covers and
jumped out of bed. Damn, she forgot to ask her name. How rude. Oh well, she had more
important things to think about this morning, like how she was going to get back home.

The room she was in was beautiful…and huge. She didn’t have the energy to look around
when she was shown up here late last night. The furnishings gleamed in the sunlight
now shining through the window. Grace smiled at the antiques furnishing the room.
They were gorgeous. The detail carved in the wood was far better than her Ikea dresser
and standing wardrobe. There was really no comparison.

An army of maids must be working here to keep a spare room in such good condition
to be used at the drop of a hat. Grace ran her fingers along the dresser and found
not a trace of dust. She walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked out
at what must be the back yard. The fresh snow from last night covered everything,
leaving interesting lumps and bumps hiding under its softness. She tried to pick what
bumps might be hedges and bushes and which ones might be bench seats.

Now that she was awake and out of bed, her head was beginning to clear, making it
easier to put together the pieces from last night.

Victoria had called the doctor, as she said she would, and Grace had played her part
as best she could and everything was going quite well until Grace suffered an attack
of giggles when the doctor was announced. He looked like a young version of Santa
Claus. His cheeks were even rosy from the cold night air. Grace half expected him
to pull handmade toys from his black doctor’s bag. He instead placed a hand on her
forehead and told her to shush.

The doctor had kind eyes as he examined the back of her head where she had hit it.
He gave her a smile and ordered her to be put to bed for a night’s rest. Grace was
able to regain some of her ‘memory’ before he left and he seemed to think she would
be fully recovered in a few days.

Grace wasn’t sure what story Victoria had come up with but by the time she was safely
in her room everyone seemed to accept that she had no escort or maid or clothes and
wouldn’t be expecting any of those to arrive.

There was a quiet knock on the door and the maid returned with her coffee. The aroma
warmed her soul even before she took a sip of the hot, rich liquid.

“Lady Harrison has sent some things for you to try on. It’s a pity all your lovely
clothes were lost when you arrived. She told Hoskins what happened. It must have been
so scary, travelling all that way only to arrive with nothing and nobody. It’s a miracle,
that’s what it is, that you’re even here with us today.”

What had Victoria told them?

“I was sayin’ to Polly, I was, we’s lucky you’re here, what with the fire aboard the
ship and all. Lucky, that’s what I says.”

There was another knock on the door and another maid came in, again, without Grace
telling her to enter.

“Kamy, Cook needs you in the kitchen.” Once the first maid left the second introduced
herself. “I’m Polly, I’m to be your personal maid. If there’s anything you need at
all, you just ask me.”

“Oh. Thank you, Polly, that’s very kind. My name’s Grace. It’s very nice to meet you.”

“Thank you, miss.” Polly turned towards the wardrobe. “Now, should we get you ready
for breakfast?”

Chapter Six

It took a while to find him but Robin finally located the man he was looking for in
the dark part of London. Gentlemen generally avoided this part of town but if he was
ever going to see Bingham’s money he needed to act fast and he couldn’t trust anyone
to do it for him; besides, he couldn’t pay anyone to fetch the man he sought and,
since losing his money, he’d found his friends to be few and far between.

Rupert led him down a dark alley away from prying eyes and curious ears. He was beginning
to question his own intelligence for following him, when they reached the back of
the alley and Rupert focused all his attention on him.

“You got me money?”

“Umm no. But I know how to get it.” His eyes drifted to his feet no matter how hard
he tried to look the man in the eyes.

“You dare come ’ere without me money?”

Robin’s eyes flew to Rupert’s face at the violent outburst.

“I’s gonna tear ye apart.” Rupert stepped close enough to grab Robin’s collar and
Robin closed his eyes, waiting for the impact of Rupert’s fist. “Ye really are a pansy,
aren’t ye, boy?”

Robin cracked one eye open to see Rupert laughing down at him. “I am not a pansy,
but seeing as I owe you money and cannot pay it, I was going to take what was coming
to me like a man.” Robin stood as tall as he could but gave away his false bravado
with a loud sniff. He straightened his jacket and smoothed his hair. His hands were
shaking so badly he did more damage to his appearance than good.

“What’s this grand plan ye have then?”

“Getting rid of one Miss Grace Lancaster.”

“Of
the
Lancasters?”

“How do you know the Lancasters?”

“Everyone knows ’em. Ol’ Lord Lancaster has done a lot for us blokes down on the wharf…besides,
his son owed me a lot of money,” he added with a smirk.

The blood drained from Robin’s head and pooled at his feet when he saw the gleam in
Rupert’s eyes as he rubbed his hands together. Things had not ended well for Colin
Lancaster. “Well, we need to get rid of her. She’s managed to weasel a betrothal out
of my sister’s intended. He is the one who owes us the money.”

“Huh?” Rupert stood staring down at him with a look that Robin couldn’t quite read.
“You sure about this, boy? They be no going back, you know? Once it’s done, it’s done.”

Robin wasn’t a short man himself, but at the moment he felt like one of those little
people he saw at the fairs, as he craned his neck to look the other man in the eyes.
“That’s exactly what I want; for it to be done. There’s no other way.”

“Right then, leave it to me, boy, no one will know she ever existed.”

Robin nodded and turned to go but he paused before he reached the end of the alleyway,
Rupert’s last words ringing in his ears.

“I’ll do this favour for ye for double my normal fee plus another fifty per cent on
top of the bill you already owe me; for your stupidity. Now get out of here before
I decide to take it out of your hide!”

Robin fled to the sound of Rupert’s cracking knuckles and his menacing laugh.

***

What was he going to do about Anne? Jasper mulled this over as he walked the two short
blocks to his sister’s house. He was glad when she married Neal they didn’t move too
far away. He liked to have his family close by. Now he would have a family all of
his own when he married Grace…there was a thought.

And what about Grace? Her lips had glowed and her checks flushed after that wonderful,
disastrous kiss they shared. If only Lady Barrett had not seen them. Although if they
hadn’t been interrupted he imagined things would have become a lot more heated than
they had. Either way he was not sure he would be able to walk away from any lady he’d
compromised so thoroughly. There must have been something in the water last night.
He’d never behaved that way before. He’d always thought of the consequences before
he did anything. Maybe it was a good thing they’d been caught before it had got even
more out of control.

But he worried at her reaction to their conversation in the library. She seemed genuinely
distressed when the Duchess arrived. He could have sworn she honestly thought she’d
organised the ball herself. Did he believe what the doctor said and accept that her
behaviour was due to hitting her head? If that was the case, what about the kiss?
Did she even know what they’d done?

And Lady Anne? He just wished she hadn’t been left wondering where her engagement
went. Damn. He’d just passed his destination. Turning sharply on his heel he walked
back the way he’d come and stalked up the steps to the door.

Hoskins opened the door well before he reached the knocker. “Good Morning, my lord.
Lady Harrison is in the breakfast room with Miss Lancaster.”

“Thanks, Hos. I’ll show myself in.”

***

Grace savoured the tangy sweetness of the grapefruit as it slid across her tongue.
She was apprehensive about how the food would be and worried that it wouldn’t be very
fresh, but this was divine. The fruit had been picked from the conservatory this morning,
just for her. Well, not just for
her
but just for breakfast and Lady Harrison hadn’t touched the other grapefruit on the
sideboard, so maybe it was just for her. A small sigh escaped her lips just as Lord
Bingham walked into the room. He looked directly at her with an expression in his
eyes she couldn’t read and she felt her face flame with a blush. Really, it was not
as if she was moaning about him! Her face got hotter with the thought.

“Jasper! Come and join us, won’t you?” Victoria smiled up at her brother and waved
a hand holding her fork at an empty chair at the table.

“I’ve already breakfasted hours ago, sister dearest. But, I was hoping to steal your
companion away for a few moments, if I may.”

“You may have already had breakfast, my lord, but I have not. You can wait until I
am done, thank you very much.” There was no way Grace was leaving her grapefruit,
and the eggs looked nice too. Oh, and the bacon. She must go and have another look
at what all was on offer. She knew she was putting off what needed to be done and
she knew she was being rude to the only person who could help her, but she felt it
was the only way she could keep her distance. Besides she needed to talk to Victoria
again first.

“Of course. I will enjoy a coffee while I wait until you are free.”

Infuriating man! How dare he dismiss her rudeness as if it never happened? And Victoria
wanted her to align herself with this man? She might as well get it over with; she’d
lost her appetite anyway. She pushed her chair back from the table and winced at the
sound it made as it scrapped the tiled floor. “I’m free to see you now, My Lord.”

Jasper paused in pouring coffee into his cup and raised a brow in her direction. “As
you wish. Victoria, may I use your drawing room?”

“Of course you may.” She smiled at her brother and then turned to Grace. “Remember
what I said.”

As if she could forget.

Grace followed Lord Bingham down the hallway to the drawing room near the front door.
Even after Mrs Walters gave her a tour this morning she was awed at the grandeur of
this home. She was amazed it was so clean. Everything sparkled, even the rooms that
were so obviously not in use. She couldn’t even keep her one-bedroom apartment this
clean. She was so busy gazing at the crystal chandelier, she didn’t notice Lord Bingham
stop at the doorway.

“Ouf.” Strong arms wrapped around her body and his scent invaded her nostrils. Suddenly
she was back at the ball and her body melted into his.

Jasper tightened his arms and planted his feet so he didn’t topple over. He tried
to move his hips back so the bundle in his arms wouldn’t feel his sudden desire. She
was having none of it. Her prickliness earlier at breakfast melted away and she became
the woman who seduced him last night. Her arms wrapped around his neck and her lips
begged to be kissed. Well, he was a gentleman after all, and if that was what the
lady wanted…