A Most Unconventional Courtship

The next morning the children were wide eyed with delight at being collected in the Residency chaise, luggage piled behind and the kitten in a basket on Dora’s knee. Alessa had a momentary qualm about Lady Trevick’s attitude to cats, but mostly her mind was dizzy with thinking about Chance and how it would be when she saw him again.

She had hardly slept the night before, and when she had her dreams were full of him, romantic in white shirt and pirate sash, or naked, holding her in the water, or making love to her so tenderly, despite the cruel lashings on his wrists or—

‘Alessa! We’re here!’

Disorientated, she stared around her. The front entrance, of course. They were guests.

She settled the children in their rooms and found they had been allocated one of the local girls to look after them. She understood all about cats, and the appetite of small boys, and carried them off to the kitchen courtyard where Dora could play safely with the yet-unnamed kitten and Demetri could try his charms on his friend the cook.

Alessa changed into one of her fashionable new morning gowns, feeling trussed up round the ribcage and scandalously unclad everywhere else in the floating fabric. She had Peters to look after her again. Their eyes met in the dressing-table mirror and Alessa asked anxiously, ‘Do I look all right?’

‘You look beautiful,’ the maid assured her, tweaking little curls out at Alessa’s hairline. ‘He will admire you.’

‘Who?’ Peters merely looked coy. ‘Peters, I wish to be suitably dressed to please my aunt.’

‘Yes, Miss Meredith. But that doesn’t stop a gentleman admiring

you, does it?’

For goodness’ sake! Does everyone know? Am I that obvious?

Alessa directed what she hoped was a suitably repressive look at the maid and went downstairs to the sitting room used by the young ladies. Frances was there in animated conversation with Maria and Helena and they jumped to their feet and ran over to hug and to kiss her. She had never had female friends of her own age before; their uninhibited pleasure at seeing her touched and startled her.

‘We are so glad to see you,’ Helena exclaimed. ‘Frances has been telling us all about how brave you were.’

‘She was wonderful too.’

‘And Maria has such good news. Go on, tell Alexandra.’

‘I am betrothed to Mr Harrison.’ Maria went pink and tears welled up in her eyes. ‘It is like a dream and entirely due to Lord Blakeney. But you must not tell anyone it was all his idea, because we do not want to cause trouble for him.’

‘But what did he do?’

‘Incited Henry to compromise me in my bedchamber yesterday evening. Darling Henry was too scrupulous to declare his feelings when Mama and Sir Thomas wished me to marry someone else, but Lord Blakeney was so clever. He made Henry tiddly, then he pushed him into my chamber and waited outside looking suspicious and saying he was looking for Henry when Mama came along. So she burst in—and Henry was kissing me.’

‘Good heavens,’ said Alessa blankly. ‘And I thought Lord Blakeney was so conventional.’

‘He wasn’t on the pirate ship, was he?’ Frances pointed out.

‘Oh, Maria, Helena, I cannot begin to tell you how swooningly handsome he was in those loose trousers and the white shirt with a great scarlet sash with a cutlass stuck through it. And we used to think the Count dashing!’

‘Excuse me, ladies. Lady Blackstone wishes Miss Meredith’s presence in the morning room.’

‘Thank you, Wilkins.’ Would Chance be there? Alessa remembered to pick up her skirts properly and followed the butler.

Yes, he was there, the very antithesis of that dashing pirate in rigidly correct pantaloons, Hessian boots and dark blue swallowtail coat. Alessa ventured a small, private smile and was met by an expression of blank politeness. He has to be careful in front of Aunt Honoria, she thought uneasily, trying to convince herself that there was nothing to worry about. All the confidence that Kate had instilled yesterday seemed to be seeping away through the soles of her kid slippers.

‘Please sit down, Alexandra.’

‘Yes, Aunt Honoria. I do hope you are somewhat recovered this morning.’

‘Thank you, Alexandra, yes. I have asked Lord Blakeney to join us so we can make arrangements.’

‘For the journey to Venice?’

‘Of course not—to deal with the fact you are comprehensively compromised, of course.’

‘But I’m not!’