Page 33 of Her Duke By Accident
Lucy groaned and pulled her arm out of Alicia’s grasp so she could spin around and walk backward. “How can it be my fault that the world just beckons me too much to listen to Latin or to read books about a proper lady’s etiquette?”
“What is it about the world that beckons you so?” Alicia asked, thoroughly entertained and enamored by the girl’s free spirit.
Miss Ayles rolled her eyes as she stood next to Alicia. “Please, Your Grace,” she muttered, “don’t get her started.”
But it was too late, because Lucy was running, kicking up grass and rocks. Her joyous laugh got caught in the breeze as she held out her arms and ran as though she was about to take off in flight.
“Lady Lucy!” the governess called out. “Your skirts?—”
“Can be primped!” the girl yelled back, giggling and shouting with glee. She ran till her face was bright red and her hair was a wild mess behind her. When she stopped, breathing heavily infront of Alicia, she could not wipe the grin off her face. “That, Alicia, is what beckons me so.”
“Running?”
Lucy groaned. “No!”
“I don’t understand,” Alicia said with a laugh.
Miss Ayles rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry,” she said under her breath, “she’ll explain.”
“It is the feeling in my legs after running,” Lucy said, still breathless. “The burning, the needles. It is the wind running through my hair.” She raised her arms over her head. “It is the sky that lends me its wings to make me feel as though I can fly. It is the earth, the dirt and ground below us.”
Lucy paused, reaching to take Alicia’s hands in her own. The young girl’s hands were sweaty and warm. “Fate has put me in a lady’s shoes, Alicia,” she said. “I will wear them as well as I can, and I will learn and become better for my debut. But I cannot forget the life I was supposed to have, the life amongst the wild.”
Alicia tilted her head. “The life you were supposed to have?” she repeated.
“Don’t fret,” Lucy said, loudly now, flattening her dress and brushing the dirt off her shoes. “I cannot wait for my debut. Society beckons me just as much as the world does.”
“But,” Alicia interjected, “what did you mean by that?”
Miss Ayles cleared her throat again. “Might we continue on the path, Your Grace?”
Alicia tried to settle the feeling that arose in her stomach, but it was hard to ignore. She reached for Lucy as they kept walking, intertwining their arms so they might be right beside each other. The governess still lingered, and Alicia began to take her presence as a wall being placed between them.
“There is nothing wrong with not truly finding yourself within the ton,” Alicia said.
Lucy sighed. “I want to find myself there,” she replied. “Debuting and fitting in with London’s society would make my brother proud, so that is what I will do.”
Alicia smiled and saw herself within the young girl. “That does not mean you need to lose your wildness.”
“I believe it does,” Lucy said with a sad smile, “at least to some extent.”
As the trio rounded another corner, leaving the garden behind them and nearing the front of the manor once more, Alicia tightened her hold on Lucy.
“How would you feel about a ball?” Alicia asked, quietly so the governess might not hear.
Lucy gasped and practically shouted. “A ball?”
“What was that?” Miss Ayles loudly asked, now walking directly alongside the pair. “Is Garvey hosting a ball?”
Alicia winced. “Not exactly,” she said. “I haven’t had the chance to discuss it with the duke, but?—-”
Miss Ayles scoffed. “He would never agree to it.”
“How could you possibly know that?”
“There has not been any sort of ball in Garvey for ages,” she explained. “This is a private family, Your Grace.”
Alicia pressed her lips together. “I understand that, but?—”
