The Reluctant Debutante Read Online Free Page A

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