Page 13 of Highland Champion
“She could have come along. She knows London.”
Lorelei raised a brow. “Yes, and there is not any way we could have fooled her into letting us go out on our own.”
Fiona grimaced. “Still. Alasdair is the most likely of my brothers to be suspicious of our motives. He kens me too well and he likes ye, which means he will keep a watch on both of us.”
Did helikeher? Or did he just “like” her? She wasn’t sure. She’d had only one dance with him at the ball, but he had managed to pull her closer than was proper on some of the steps, and his hands had lingered, his fingers sliding along her wrists before letting go. Even with her gloves on, she had felt the warmth of his touch.
And…the way he’d let his hand linger at tea…she’d had a hard time keeping her expression impassive.Had that touch been intentional, too?He was somewhat accustomed to Society’s nuances, since he was the brother who did the most traveling, and Medusa—Melissa—had practically clung to his side all night.
Not that she wanted him hovering atherside. She didn’t. Goodness. This Season was her one—maybe her only—chance to adventure out on her own. No older sisters to keep an eye on her and, thanks to Louisa, Lady Bute didn’t question their weekly “shopping” rounds. Lorelei knew she was expected to find a husband, and she wanted one. Ever since Mama had told her stories about ordinary girls turning into princesses, she’d imagined a lavish wedding with a beautiful gown that would make a real princess envious, but at eight-and-ten neither she nor Fiona wanted to make a choice this year. This was their year to flirt and be fancy-free. To enjoy social engagements without worry and, most of all, to venture to places that would definitely be off-limits if Emily came to Town next Season. And it wouldn’t happen if Alasdair escorted them everywhere. Yet, she couldn’t forget his provocative smile while he had managed to brush against her at the dance.
“Hopefully, Louisa was firm enough about her maid and footman that your brother will not feel the need to check on us too often.”
“If I ken Alasdair, he’ll be making inquiries about Mary and Garth.”
Lorelei frowned. “But he said he would not insult them by tagging along.”
“He only said he wouldnainsultthem.”
“But”—she chewed her lip—“that is what he would be doing if he accompanied us, too.”
Fiona gave her a skeptical look. “It would nae be an insult if he befriended them first.”
She felt her eyes widen. “You think he would?”
Fiona sat up and shrugged. “They are Scots. ’Tis a natural kinship even if we are nae related by clan.”
“But…” Lorelei paused. She had been about to saybut they are servantswhen she remembered that in Scotland, “servants” were not treated the way they were in England. There was little class distinction. “Well then. We will just have to make sure he does not have a chance to meet them.”
“Aye. We can alert Louisa. She will ken how best to keep them separated.” Fiona stood. “Mayhap we should go find her before he thinks of a way to do it.”
Lorelei nodded and rose as well. Alasdair spoke fluent Gaelic, so it was entirely possible that he would charm Mary and Garth easily if he was allowed any time with them. And that would spoil all of their plans.
…
This was only the second Almack’s ball of the Season and Alasdair was already wishing it were the last, as he stifled a yawn. It wasn’t that he didn’t like dancing. He did. But London Society attached a whole list of propriety and protocol to everything. It wasn’t “proper” to ask for more than two dances from the same lass in an evening. More than that was practically declaring intention to court. Melissa’s aunt, acting as her chaperone, had informed him of that. He would be diligent this time not to dance with Melissa more than twice tonight, even though she’d clearly hinted she wouldn’t mind.
What frustrated him was not being able to dance more with Lorelei. They’d had only the one cotillion at the first ball. In Scotland, they could have shared a number of reels, jigs, Strathspeys, and even Ceili without fear of banns being posted. Instead, he’d be expected to sign his name to a number of cards tonight and hopefully recognize whichever debutante he was supposed to find for each dance.
He stifled another yawn. John—Lord Mount Stuart—liked to be at work in Parliament Square by nine o’clock in the morning. Since he’d generously moved a small desk into his office for Alasdair to work at, he felt obliged to be there at that time, too. He didn’t want the man to think him a laggard.
Unfortunately, Alasdair needed to gather as much support as he could for legislation that would be needed to return lands to the MacGregors. Mount Stuart had sponsored him for a guest membership at Whites, although he left early to go home to his wife and children while Alasdair lingered late. Gaining support also meant attending these social events that often went into the wee hours of the morning.
“I wanted you to be the first to sign my dance card.”
Alasdair started, then chided himself for not noticing that Melissa had come to stand beside him. He could almost hear his brother Rory—whose skill in tracking was near legendary—laughing at him for being caught unawares. And his brother Devon, who’d been captured by dragoons several years ago, would scowl in contempt that he’d letanySassenach sneak up on him. Carr would tell him to focus on the reason he was in London and Ian…well, Ianmightunderstand his woolgathering, since he’d married Lorelei’s sister. Luckily for him, though, his brothers were in Scotland.
He took the proffered card and signed his name for two of the most vigorous dances, ones that would mostly eliminate the need for a lot of conversation. It wasn’t that he found Lady Melissa boring. Quite the opposite, in fact. Sidestepping her thinly veiled invitations to partake of something scandalous was similar to facing a predator in the wild who might spring and attack at a wrong movement. And, brotherly competition aside, he rarely made the wrong move.
“Only two dances?” Melissa’s lush mouth turned into a pout.
“Aye, lass. I’d rather nae draw the ire of your mother by taking advantage of ye.”
She gave him a coy look. “My mother is taking the waters in Bath at the moment.”
One point in her favor then. Meeting mamas was too akin to declaring intentions, even if he was in Town to secure support for his clan. “I am sorry to hear that. Will she be returning soon?”
A slight frown creased her brows. “I do not know.” Then she brightened. “But my aunt is quite taken with you and suggested you could call on me tomorrow.”
