The Reluctant Debutante (11 page)

This little slip of a woman managed to infuse him with desire every time she was near. He was no stranger to the pleasures of women, although his experiences had mostly been with other Indians or saloon girls in St. Louis. But none had ever tugged at his heart this way. He had always been able to dismiss women from his mind as soon as he left their beds. He knew to his core the nearness of Ginger would probably destroy the fragile hold he still had on his control, so he made one excuse after another to avoid attending the opera, ballet, and musicals — so much a part of the Fitzpatrick family’s entertainment in the past month. If it were not for this blasted race Basil had roped him into, Joseph would have taken his leave of New York weeks ago.

Now he could avoid her no longer. The time had come to face her. He and Basil had just ridden abreast of the Fitzpatrick carriage, and Basil reined in his horse to keep pace with the buggy. Joseph had no choice except to fall in with him, or risk being seen as ungracious. Despite himself, he eagerly looked toward the carriage and spotted the reddish-brown locks of the woman who invaded his dreams every night.

• • •

Ginger’s eyes rested on Joseph’s familiar face as he sat astride the large stallion — the same horse she had been standing beside when he revealed his desire to strip off her bloomers and ravage her. The horse she had named Midnight. That day had been the most momentous, fateful day of her life. The past three weeks had been excited torment for her, as each event approached where Joseph might be seen in her presence without raising any eyebrows. But her excitement was repeatedly dashed as he declined one invitation after another.

Her stomach flipped over as she looked at those chocolate eyes. They were smoldering, and she knew he could probably see the desire in her eyes too, before she lowered her gaze. She felt strangely short of breath, and was warm and damp in places she barely knew she had. She wove her fingers into the fabric of her skirt, remembering how she had threaded them into his hair in the livery. That day would forever play in her mind as the one when she lost her heart, and she knew her life would never be the same again.

Basil and Joseph rode alongside the carriage for ten or fifteen minutes, making idle conversation with her parents until they tired of the slow pace.

“We’re going on ahead, Mother. Joseph is anxious to get to the Currans’ and let his horse rest before the big race. We’ll see you when you arrive.” As they rode off, Ginger melted back into the seat.

“Are you all right, my dear?” Charlotte noticed her daughter’s flushed cheeks and labored breathing. She took one of Ginger’s hands and held it between her own. “Did you bind yourself into your corset too tightly?”

“No, Mother, I’m fine. I’m just restless and eager for the weekend’s festivities, I guess. I wish I could have ridden out here like Basil and Joseph are doing. At least I would have been able to get some exercise.”

“You’ll have plenty of time for exercise.” Charlotte smiled at Ginger. “Between a dip in the ocean, croquet on the lawn, and the hide-and-seek games, you’ll be able to stretch your legs to your heart’s content once we arrive at the estate. Your father and I will be looking at some properties while we’re here, too, and you’re welcome to come along with us, if you’d like.”

“Thank you, Mother, but no. For a change, I don’t want to think about investments of any kind. The horserace will be the highlight of the season, and I want to ride out for a front-row seat. I am beside myself with excitement. I just want this blasted road to end so I can get there and enjoy the weekend.”

“Well, it’s nice to see you’re excited about something. You’ve been so moody these last few weeks I was beginning to wonder whether the long season was taking too much out of you. It’s nice to see my Ginger has her snap back.” Charlotte brushed a hand over Ginger’s hair and kissed her on the forehead. “We’ll get there soon enough. Put your head back and try to nap for the rest of the trip.”

Ginger melted back into the seat and closed her eyes. A vision of Joseph on his mighty steed immediately popped into her head, and she sighed. She was too wound up to fall asleep, but replaying visions of Joseph would be just the thing to make the time pass faster.

To give both horse and rider enough time to recover from the journey from Manhattan to Roslyn Harbor, it had been decided the race would take place on July 4, with fireworks following in the evening. So the day after the long trek to the country, the guests indulged themselves in a most luxurious and decadent manner. Most of them were not expected to rise until late in the morning. A breakfast buffet was set up in the long dining hall, where guests could avail themselves of all manner of muffins, eggs, bacon, and toast whenever they did manage to stumble out of bed. They could spend the day at the beach or at lawn bowling and croquet. In the evening, there would be a formal dinner and dancing.

Joseph did not plan to attend any of these events. He wanted to be near his horse at all times. He did not trust William Davenport. He had seen the gleam in the man’s eyes when Joseph reluctantly agreed to this race, and knew William would not be above putting Joseph’s steed in danger in order to win. Until the race, Joseph would stay in the stables to ensure the stallion was fed the proper food, and nothing untoward took place. On the racecourse, he would let his common sense and his years of riding experience take over as he bested his competition.

He quietly entered the house early to help himself to the spread of food in the dining hall. As he predicted, he did not encounter any of the other guests. It was too early for these pampered New Yorkers to be up and about. He filled a napkin with food and took the improvised sack back to the stables and to his horse.

Immediately upon entering the building, he sensed there was someone else in the barn, someone other than the stable boys and grooms. Someone the horses didn’t know, for they were on edge. Joseph’s ears quickly registered the pawing of the horses as they nervously clawed their hooves at the straw in the stalls. Joseph went on high alert, set the bag of food on a bale of hay, and crept silently toward Midnight’s stall.

He peered over the railings and caught sight of a boy in the stall, standing next to his horse, causing the horse to nicker and bray. He dragged the intruder out from the stall, balling his hand into a fist as he prepared to deliver a crushing blow.

But suddenly his senses told him he had hold of a woman’s arm, not a man’s. And he knew who the woman was. He pulled her to the center aisle of the stables and dropped his hand as if she were a hot coal.

Ginger looked up at Joseph, questioning. He finally blinked and exhaled a long breath as he unclenched his fist. He shook his head to clear his thoughts.

“Do you realize how close I came to knocking you senseless? What are you doing here? And why are you dressed as a boy?” His voice was gruff and clipped, but his eyes blazed.

“I wanted to see you, and your horse, before the race. I figured dressing as a stable boy would be the best way to get out here unnoticed. Besides, it’s early, and I knew no one will be stirring for hours.”

“And what could be so urgent that you would risk the possibility of me hitting you?”

Ginger blushed at his harsh words. “You’re obviously in a foul mood, so I’ll just go back to the house.” She straightened her spine and began to stalk away, then turned back. “No! It took a lot of planning and effort for me to borrow these clothes and to get out of the house undetected, so, I
will
ask you the questions I came here to ask. What I want to know is why, Joseph? Why have you avoided me since the day in the livery? Was the experience of kissing me so dreadful for you?” She broke off as her eyes filled with tears and her voice choked.

Joseph sighed softly as he noticed how the boy’s outfit did nothing to hide her lovely curves. His heart pounded as he said the words he knew would cut her to the quick. “It is for the best you think nothing more of the day in the livery. I regret it happened. That is all you need to know.”

“But, Joseph, I know you felt as I did when we kissed. After all, you threatened to ravage me!”

Although she had whispered these words to him, Joseph still glanced around the stables to make certain no one was listening. He turned back to her and spoke softly. “As I said, I regret it happened. It would be for the best if you would forget about it, and forget about me. I beg you to select one of the many young men who are better suited to you and accept his advances. Now, leave me and Midnight and get back into the house before you are discovered.”

Ginger’s breath caught in her throat, and she placed her hand over her heart. “Oh, are you calling him Midnight? That means you do care for me, in spite of what you say, if you let me name your precious horse.” She wiped her tears away. “Well, bless my bloomers!”

Her laughter filled the air as she skipped out of the stables.

Joseph went to his horse and put his head on the steed’s neck, stifling his groan. It was true he regretted the day in the livery. He knew Basil’s anger would be uncontrolled if he discovered Joseph had kissed Ginger. If Joseph had lost all of his control and taken her, as he wanted to do, Basil would surely cut him out of his life in St. Louis, and would cease doing business with Joseph and his father. For the sake of the family business, and so as not to lose Basil’s friendship, he must never touch her again. He had been trying to tamp down his feelings for her since the day he had lost his senses and kissed her in the livery, and thought he had regained his control.

But seeing her today, in the clothes of a stable boy — so typical of her lively spirit and her sense of adventure — brought his desire to the surface once again. Not to mention her beautiful face and curvaceous body, which a boy’s attire only accentuated. He thought he had been successful over the past few weeks, forcing her from his mind and keeping his distance from her physically, even though she played a starring role in his nightly troubled dreams.

He replayed the scene in Niblo’s Garden when Richard tried to seduce Ginger. He had managed to undo her bodice before Ginger fought him off and Joseph had caught a momentary glimpse of her exposed bosom. The vision of her creamy swell of breast and that luscious pink nipple played in his head nightly as sleep overtook him. On the evenings when he could sleep. He spent many a restless night in the livery, bestowing extra attention on his horses as he relived the afternoon when she rescued him from the runaway buggy. Their close encounter had caused him to take advantage and kiss her. If not for his rigid self-control, he would have given in to his need to plunder her there and then.

His manhood had sprung to attention today the very second he grabbed her arm and pulled her out of Midnight’s stall. He did not need to look at her or to see her telltale reddish locks to know it was Ginger in the clothing of a young boy. His body knew the minute he put his hand on her.

With his head swimming, he pondered what to do next, and decided. He would leave New York immediately after the race, and head back to St. Louis. Once he got out of this privileged and cultured environment of New York City, which was totally foreign to him, and fell back into his hard routine of finding and breaking horses, sheer exhaustion would put Ginger forever out of his mind. At least that is what he had told himself every day since their kiss in the livery.

He grabbed a brush and began to groom Midnight to a sleek, coal-black sheen worthy of his name.

Later in the day, Ginger and Elizabeth, along with the Englishmen Cedric and Richard and the other guests, took their places on the wide expanse of carefully manicured lawn in front of the large estate house, in preparation for a game of hide-and-seek. In actuality, the game was an excuse for couples to steal away from the crowd for a few moments of pleasure out of the view of the mothers and other chaperones who were constantly in attendance.

Ginger knew she could not count on Elizabeth to run interference between her and Richard. Elizabeth and Cedric were among those couples who wanted to find a hidden spot where they could kiss. And she knew Joseph would not leave Midnight alone in the stables until after the race. Even if he were free, she could not imagine him playing such a foolish game. So, it was up to her to defend herself against Richard’s unwanted advances. Fortunately, it was an overcast day, so she thought it wasn’t too unseemly of her to carry her parasol with her as she ran lightly over the grass with the others in search of a place to hide.

She ducked behind one of the large, squat boxwoods running along the side of a stone wall. Their pungent smell filled the air, reminding her of cat urine. Perhaps their odor would keep other people away. After all, it wasn’t nearly so romantic to crouch behind stinky boxwoods as it was to lie in a field of sweet-scented lavender.

She sat quite still and enjoyed hearing the whoops of laughter as one person after another was found, or tagged home. She had no desire to leave her spot and rejoin the game. Doing so would just mean she’d have to be the one to find the others, and she had no wish to intrude on intimate scenes like the one she knew Elizabeth and Cedric were having, maybe even at this very minute. She had to admit she was a bit jealous of Elizabeth. Cedric may not be the man she would have picked for her friend, but at least he hadn’t sent her away from him and told her to forget his existence! No, Cedric was more than willing to kiss and fondle Elizabeth. Ginger propped her head on the stone wall and closed her eyes, imagining being kissed and fondled by Joseph. Her lips parted as she thought of his mouth touching hers again.

“Aha, there you are, my little minx.”

Her eyes popped open as she recognized the cultured British accent. She had only a second to brace herself before Richard fell on top of her, pinning her to the ground.

“Get off of me, you big oaf,” she said as she pushed against him.

“Not this time, my love. I made sure the Frenchie is nowhere near us before I came to you. This time, you will be mine.” His hands moved over her breasts as she continued to struggle. “I must admit, even though your money is what I need, your body is what I lust after. It will be no hardship to be married to such a comely lass as yourself.”