Laura Martin - An Unlikely Debutante

The marquess’s fair lady

Lord Alexander Whitemore would rather train racehorses than take unconventional but beguiling Lina Lock from gypsy dancer to perfect debutante. However, to win a wager, he’s willing to try!

Lina is tired of fairs and fortune-telling. So when Alex’s unusual proposition comes just in time to get her out of hot water, she seizes the opportunity. Skeptical of the aristocracy, Lina must curb her rebellious instincts as she’s swept up into Alex’s world and the unexpected passion he awakens in her...

‘You look transformed, Miss Lock,’ Alex murmured.

‘Like an ugly duckling into a swan?’

‘Something along those lines.’

‘Do I at least look suitable for an intimate dinner party?’

Suitable had been the word of the week. Alex had lectured her over and over again about ‘suitable’ clothes to wear, ‘suitable’ topics of conversation, ‘suitable’ people to converse with.

‘I’m not sure what the society matrons would think of a debutante in that dress,’ he concluded, after looking Lina up and down.

Lina looked up and caught the humour in Alex’s eyes, and felt a smile spreading across her face.

‘Is it the colour you object to?’ Lina asked innocently. ‘Or the cut?’

‘Both,’ he said quickly. ‘A demure debutante is only ever really seen in white or pastel shades. And she tries to leave a little more to the imagination with the cut of her dress.’

‘So this dress doesn’t allow the gentlemen to imagine what might be underneath quite so well as a shapeless dress?’ Lina was enjoying herself now. The nerves she’d felt as she’d entered the room were lifting.

‘You know that is not what I mean,’ Alex said, his voice tight.

Author Note

My inspiration for Lina, the heroine of An Unlikely Debutante, came from a summer stroll through a local country fair. There was music and dancing, as well as stalls selling food and various artisan products, but what interested me most was the automated booth in which a clockwork woman promised to tell your fortune. It immediately sparked my interest in the history of telling fortunes, and a few weeks later I found myself rummaging around the Internet trying to find out as much as I could about gypsies and fortune tellers in Regency times.

What I discovered was a diverse group of people, hailing from all across the world, who travelled around England and Europe, never settling for long in one place. Their nomadic lifestyle and completely unique set of social customs contrasted wonderfully with the more rigid way of life of the aristocracy, and instantly I knew a romance between a gentleman and a gypsy would be enjoyable to write.

Lina is without doubt one of my favourite heroines. She’s a woman who knows her own mind and doesn’t back down easily. I hope you grow to love her as much as I do.

An Unlikely Debutante

Laura Martin

www.millsandboon.co.uk

LAURA MARTIN writes historical romances with an adventurous undercurrent. When not writing she spends her time working as a doctor in Cambridgeshire, where she lives with her husband. In her spare moments Laura loves to lose herself in a book, and has been known to read from cover to cover in a single day when the story is particularly gripping. She also loves to travel—especially visiting historical sites and far-flung shores.

Books by Laura Martin

Mills & Boon Historical Romance

The Pirate Hunter

Secrets Behind Locked Doors

Under a Desert Moon

A Ring for the Pregnant Debutante

An Unlikely Debutante

The Governess Tales

Governess to the Sheikh

The Eastway Cousins

An Earl in Want of a Wife

Heiress on the Run

Visit the Author Profile page at millsandboon.co.uk.

For Luke, for making it all possible.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Author Note

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

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

Epilogue

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

Lina ducked under her uncle’s outstretched arm and darted forward. Normally she was too quick for her lumbering relative, but today Uncle Tom had abstained from the drink that often addled his brain and slowed his body, so he caught her roughly by the arm.

‘One week, Lina. I want my money in one week.’

‘I’ll get you your money.’

She wriggled to get free, but his fingers were gripping her too tightly.

‘You’ll pay me one way or another, don’t you doubt it.’

Her uncle released her, but before Lina could escape to a safe distance his hand caught her wrist and gave one final warning squeeze, tight enough that Lina knew she would have bruises in the morning. Lina felt herself begin to panic as the pain mounted, then just as suddenly as he’d cornered her, Uncle Tom was gone. She had no choice, she would have to find the money she owed from somewhere, but right now she had no idea where.

As Uncle Tom scurried away Lina wondered at the furtive looks he was casting around him. He’d always been unlikeable and secretive, but never before had he threatened her as he had today. Quickly Lina hurried off in the other direction before he could change his mind and return to collect the debt there and then.

Not for the first time she cursed her impulsivity, the flaws in her personality that meant she found it almost impossible to say no when directly challenged. If only she had been a little more circumspect, a little more cautious, then she wouldn’t be in such trouble.

‘Tom giving you trouble again?’ Raul called as she ran past him.

‘Nothing I can’t handle,’ she lied, flashing her brother a dazzling smile and hurrying on. Raul knew nothing about the debt she owed Uncle Tom, nor the foolhardy bet she had made that had got her into this predicament. He’d saved her too many times from her own foolishness, this time she would figure out a solution without her brother having to swoop in and put things right.

Money. She needed money. One week wasn’t very long to raise ten pounds. Ten pounds—what had she been thinking? It was more money than she’d ever seen in her life and she’d tossed the figure out there as if it was a couple of shillings. She’d been so confident when they had passed the field full of wild horses, so sure that she would be able to coax and mount one of the magnificent animals, all she’d had to do was ride it the length of the field and ten pounds would have been hers.

Lina knew it wasn’t only her impulsivity that had driven her to shake Uncle Tom’s hand as he eyed up the frisky horses. Ten pounds would give her a new life, fresh opportunities, the chance to actually do something she wanted to do for a change.

‘Lend me a hand, Lina,’ Sabina called out as Lina wove her way through the crowds.

The whole family were working the Pottersdown Fair. A few of the older men, including Uncle Tom, were busy sharpening their tools and setting out the hand-carved pieces of furniture they were hoping to sell. The older women had set up a rickety table with jars of sweet jams and other tempting treats. Raul and the other young men had started to pluck away at their instruments, providing a lively tune for the villagers to dance to. Sabina, with her wide smile and fluttering eyelashes, was doing a great job of enticing the young men and women of Pottersdown to get a glimpse of the occult and hear exactly what their futures had to hold.