The Reluctant Debutante (3 page)

“Yes, he sent word yesterday afternoon that he and his friend have arrived, and will meet us tonight at the ball.”

“Why on Earth did he not come over last night?” Ginger asked.

“I asked him not to disturb you until this evening. I didn’t want you to get terribly excited yesterday. Basil is here now, and will be in attendance at your special night. You’ll see him soon enough. Besides, it’s only right for your father and eldest brother to lead you down the staircase tonight at the Cotillion.”

“And into the horde of men who will want to jockey for a position on my dance card.”

“Oh, Ginger, don’t consider it as a foot race. These young men are only interested in getting to know you better. Most of them have their mothers to blame, too, for participating in the ball. I bet they are every bit as nervous as you are.”

Ginger bristled at the comment. “I am not nervous, Mother. I am merely anxious to get this over with, so I can put it behind me and move to St. Louis as Papa promised. If I could, I would fill up my dance card with the males in my family. Then, there would be no time for any of the other men at the ball.”

Unless maybe I could have the good fortune of dancing with the marvelous, tall man who helped me escape the police yesterday afternoon
, Ginger thought.

She glanced in the mirror one final time and smoothed her dress again, placing her fingers lightly on her stomach. Well, all right. She could admit to herself, if not to her mother, she was maybe a little nervous. Taking a deep breath, she finally exited the room.

Her anxiety mounted when her father helped her into the carriage and her mother straightened her gown. When they pulled up in front of the beautiful Metropolitan Hotel, Ginger caught sight of her best friend Elizabeth Martin and several other friends alighting from their carriages in their gorgeous gowns. Excitement finally overtook her nervousness and she began to look forward to the night ahead.

Ginger watched as her father helped Halwyn straighten his white cravat, and then correct his own. He flattened the tails at the back of his long formal tailcoat and then turned back to his son.

“We resemble a couple of matching bookends with Ginger in between us.” George’s laughter helped dispel some of their collective nervousness before he turned to his daughter and offered her his arm.

“Are you ready?” He smiled at Ginger as she fiddled with her skirt.

“Yes, let’s get this over with,” she grinned up at him. “Then I can mark it off the list, and I’ll be one day closer to St. Louis.”

“There’s my girl. Or should I say, young lady? When did you grow up anyway, Ginger?”

“It’s the dress, Papa.”

“No, it’s you. My little girl is all grown up and ready for a husband.”

“Oh, my, not you too? Mother keeps telling me the same thing. I can find my own way in this world without dancing attendance on a husband.”

“You’ll change your mind when the right man comes along, believe me. But speaking of dancing, you are next in line to go down the stairs. Come along, Halwyn. Let’s take our places.”

Charlotte had struggled for two months to impart years of essential etiquette into a compressed amount of time. Ginger now knew how to perform a deep curtsy, how to embroider, albeit not well, and the proper way to delicately pour a cup of tea. She had a difficult time seeing the relevance of these accomplishments and she often expressed her discontent to her father, who calmly listened to her complaints. But in the end she learned what was expected of her.

They arranged themselves at the top of the staircase. Ginger took a deep breath, threw her shoulders back, and held her head high. When her name was called and she moved forward to be introduced to New York’s wealthiest families, Halwyn and her father stepped back. She bowed her head and sank into the deep curtsy she had been practicing for months. Quite unexpectedly, tears formed in her eyes as she stared out over the crowd who clapped for her. The soft light of a thousand candles made her eyes sparkle. She blinked the sudden tears away, rose from her curtsy, and stood proudly as Halwyn and George Fitzpatrick resumed their places on either side of her. As one, they descended the wide marble stairs of the grand ballroom.

Ginger’s dance card filled quickly, as some of the most eligible bachelors claimed their places. The noise of the crowd intensified as more people arrived at the ball and joined in the chatter. The gentlemen surrounding Ginger and Elizabeth kept raising their voices higher and higher, adding to the din. Ginger thought these fine men looked like gnats flying around her body, getting in her face, causing her to squint at them and shoo them away.

Ginger and Elizabeth covered their ears to partially drown out the clamor. Suddenly, everything went blissfully quiet. The air stirred with excitement. The only sound came from the swishing of fabric as people turned to find out the cause of the break in their conversations.

“What is it?” Ginger whispered to Elizabeth. She grabbed the arm of a gentleman near her, who gazed down at her adoringly. She stood on tiptoe, trying to peer over the shoulders of everyone in the room. Then she found her answer. At the landing of the stairs stood two tall muscular gentlemen with broad shoulders and narrow waists, both impeccably dressed in formal attire. One of the men intently searched the room, looking for someone. As his eyes met Ginger’s, he grinned and waved.

“Basil!” She swatted away the hands of the men around her and made her way through the crowded room to him.

Ginger launched herself into Basil’s arms, and kissed him on both cheeks. She was aware that every eye in the ballroom watched them with interest, but she threw convention to the wind and welcomed her older brother warmly as she had always done.

“Oh, I’ve missed you so. When did you arrive? How handsome you are in your formal wear. Have you grown taller in the past year?”

Laughing, Basil took her hand. “One question at a time, Sis. But before we get to the answers, I must introduce you to my good friend from St. Louis.” He clapped his other hand on the shoulder of the man standing next to him. “Ginger, I’d like you to meet Joseph Lafontaine.”

Ginger turned her attention to her brother’s friend. The dark chocolate eyes of the elegant man made her breath catch in her throat. It was him! The mysterious, handsome man on horseback whom she’d met on Broadway during the protest! He raised an eyebrow in recognition before he bowed low and kissed her hand.

“
Enchanté, Mademoiselle
.”

Little pinpricks of delight raced up her arm from the spot where his lips had touched her hand. She could feel each of his fingers as they enveloped hers — even through the cloth of her glove. Her heart pounded faster, as it had the previous day when she watched him handling his horses with quiet authority. She was mesmerized then, and she was now.

She gazed up at him, noting his sculpted cheekbones, tanned skin, and hair that was black as night. The air suddenly felt as though it had been sucked from the room. She could not catch her breath, and when she opened her mouth to reply, no sound emerged. She swayed on her feet. Basil wrapped an arm around her.

“Whoa there. I think you need some air. Come, Joseph. Let’s take her out to the balcony.”

Just what I need
, Ginger chided herself, feeling foolish for exhibiting such a display of weakness.
To go into the semi-darkness with such a magnificent man. I’ve never met a man so strong, handsome, and well-muscled. He is so unlike any other man here tonight. He definitely does not remind me of a gnat!

As they reached the balcony, Elizabeth hurried to her friend’s side. “Ginger, are you all right? I saw you run up the staircase and then suddenly you were being rushed outside!”

Ginger smiled. “I just got a little emotional over the return of my favorite brother. Surely you recognize Basil under all these fine clothes, do you not?”

Elizabeth turned toward the man standing beside Ginger, peering at him closely. “Is it truly you, Bas? You look so different from a year ago.”

Basil grabbed Elizabeth in a big bear hug, sweeping her off her feet. “Lizzie-Beth! I would not have recognized you either, except for your telltale blonde hair. You and Ginger certainly have blossomed into beautiful young ladies. You both are lovely tonight.”

When he released her from his hold and placed her feet back on the floor, she turned to the other member of the group. “You must be Basil’s secret friend. He has taunted us for weeks with your promised appearance, yet we have been told nothing about your background.”

Basil turned to the man beside him. “Let me make the proper introductions. This is Joseph Lafontaine. He joined me on the trip to New York because he has some horses to sell. And, because he’s such a big lug, he acted as my bodyguard during the trip, as I was transporting some holdings from the bank. I could think of no better man to help me than this imposing French-Canadian.”

After acknowledging Joseph briefly, Elizabeth returned her gaze to Basil, and began to bombard him with questions about life in the West
.

Charlotte and George Fitzpatrick arrived on the balcony and halted the girl’s deluge. They hugged and kissed Basil, whom they hadn’t seen in more than a year. As they all returned to the ballroom, the orchestra struck up a waltz.

Ginger pulled on her brother’s arm. “Dance with me, and tell me all about your life on the frontier.”

“Ginger, dear, you already have a young man on your dance card for this number, and he’s coming this way right now,” Charlotte reminded her.

“Oh, bother,” Ginger replied under her breath, as the gentleman who had claimed the dance appeared by her side. “Don’t you dare leave, Basil. I want to talk to you some more about St. Louis.” She turned to her dance partner. “Mr. Gray, I’d like to reintroduce you to my long-lost brother Basil. Bas, you remember Quentin Gray, don’t you?”

The two men shook hands just as the music began.

Ginger took the hand of her suitor and glided out onto the floor with him. Her mother had pounded the rules of society into her head over the last two months so, in keeping with her etiquette training, she smiled up at her partner encouragingly. She watched Quentin Gray’s Adam’s apple bob before he spoke.

“So, Miss Fitzpatrick, remind me again. How long has it been since you’ve seen your brother?”

“He’s been in the West for over a year. He looks completely different. I mean, he was always charming and handsome, but he was rather pasty-faced and not so rugged ... ”

Her voice tapered off when she realized she was describing the same characteristics that Quentin possessed. She cleared her throat and decided to wait for him to ask the next question instead of digging a deeper hole for herself. She glanced around the room while waiting for Quentin to pick up the reins of the conversation, and spied Joseph standing beside Basil.

Her gaze flickered from Joseph to Quentin as she assessed the two men. Joseph had beautiful light brown skin; Quentin’s pale white flesh hadn’t seen sun in months. Joseph’s strong black eyebrows arched above eyes that were like pools of dark chocolate; Quentin’s unruly brows met in the middle over pale blue nondescript eyes. Joseph had lips she wanted to kiss; Quentin’s protruding lips made her skin crawl. Joseph’s touch left her weak in the knees; Quentin’s sweaty palm made her want to pull back. Her head swiveled back and forth as Quentin made no further attempt at conversation and merely moved through the steps of the dance. She thought the waltz would never end. The moment the music stopped, Quentin deposited Ginger back at her mother’s side and quickly walked away.

Ginger turned to her mother in exasperation. “I don’t care if my dance card is filled for the night. I want to talk to Basil. It’s been forever since we’ve seen each other. And we should welcome his friend into our midst, don’t you think?”

“You will have all night to talk to your brother, not to mention the next few months during his visit here with us. It is such a coup to have your card filled so early in the evening of your first ball and you need to honor the requests of these fine gentlemen. Glance around the room and see all the women who are sitting by the walls, unable to find a partner for even one dance. You are an extremely lucky young lady, and I won’t have any of your foolishness. However, you’re right. We should welcome Mr. Lafontaine. I will let you have one dance with him. He’ll replace Halwyn on your dance card.”

A shiver crept up Ginger’s spine. A dance with Joseph! She ducked her head as she replied, not wanting her mother to see her excitement. She willed her voice to be calm as well. “As you wish, Mother. One dance with Mr. Lafontaine. Basil can wait.”

Charlotte and Ginger approached the two men at the edge of the family gathering, Charlotte spoke, “Mr. Lafontaine, we wish to welcome you to our town and into our family. I told Ginger she can have one dance with you this evening.”

Joseph and Basil exchanged glances before Basil smiled slyly. “You’d best do what our mother says, Joseph, if you value your life.”

Joseph took Ginger’s hand, and they took their place among the other couples on the ballroom floor. The crowd hushed as the strings of the violin and harp plucked out a gentle rhythm. As the dancers began moving around the floor, Joseph placed one hand on Ginger’s waist. She gulped and put her hand on his shoulder. And promptly tripped over her feet.

She glanced up at him, horrified. He smiled slightly.

“Calm down,
ma petite
. I will not bite. Just follow my lead.” His voice was soothing.

She took a deep breath and raised her eyes to him again. “That’s exactly what you told me when we met yesterday. ‘Just follow my lead.’”

“And by doing so you were spared the experience of going to jail and missing your ball. How is your arm?”

“Oh, it’s fine. A little Pear’s Almond Bloom was all it took to hide the bruising.”

“And your friend? Have you heard of her fate?”

“No, I read in the paper that she had been arrested, but I haven’t had a moment to myself to talk to her. She gets arrested frequently,” Ginger said with a smile.