The Debutante (Season Series #2)

Chapter 31: Striking a Bargain

"How are you faring without your brother?" Georgina asked as our horses crunched along the newly frosted ground. I'd made my escape to the stables and found her waiting for me, a saddled Juniper dancing with anticipation in her stall.

"He seemed happy to go, so that's what matters," I said, deflecting the question. In truth, Xavier's absence was just one more storm cloud among the many I'd accrued thanks to the rigorous schedule the queen insisted I follow.

As if it wasn't enough that I had to muster the energy to plod through tedious sessions of the queen's social council and force my eyelids to stay open while we watched the king's council from the gallery, now that I was very clearly Andrew's front runner, I was rarely left alone at balls any more. Dorian Fletcher was the most persistent of my new suitors, somehow always waiting to snap me up the moment Andrew was forced to leave me.

However, as much as my skin crawled in his presence, Dorian's company wasn't as annoying as the other inductees because at least I knew he would gamely ignore the insults I flung his way. Oliver Pendleton, the poor dear, blushed and fumbled whenever we danced together now, while Philip Easton, the moneyed social climber that had ignored me at dinner, was suddenly all too eager to befriend me. Without Xavier to give me a reprieve between dances, the palace balls had rapidly become far more tedious and far less enjoyable.

"Do you miss him?" I asked, glancing over at Georgina. She dropped her gaze and made quite the show of fussing with her riding gloves.

"Very much," she said, "Though if he's happy..."

"He'd be happier if you paid him a visit, I'm sure," I said, only for Georgina's cheeks to flame.

"I doubt that," she said, "But enough about me. What of you and Andrew?"

"Don't change the subject!" I chided, laughing, "Why do you doubt that Xavier would want to see you? As much as he loves his books, I'm fairly sure he-"

"Because I tried to call on him. Twice," she said, so mortified she couldn't even meet my eye. I coaxed Juniper forward to block her mare's path, forcing her to look at me.

"What do you mean, 'tried'?" I asked. Her pretty mouth turned down into a frown as she studied her gloves again.

"I went to the Conservatory and requested to see him. The first time I was told that he was in classes, but they wouldn't tell me when his classes let out. The second time, I snuck into the dormitory dining hall around dinner time," she said, her cheeks still burning, "As it turns out, they don't allow women anywhere near the men's dormitories. It was quite mortifying, being escorted out like a trespassing vagrant."

I laughed so hard I nearly fell out of my saddle as Georgina huffed, crossing her arms.

"Wee Georgie sneaking into the men's dormitory!" I crowed, "How wonderful that I'm rubbing off on you!"

"Libby it was awful!" she wailed, swatting me with the end of her reins, "Don't laugh at me!"

"You should have pretended to be me! Surely they'd allow a sister to visit her brother!" I said, still unable to control my giggles. Georgina's freckled brow furrowed in a frown.

"I hadn't thought of that," she said, looking at the pieces of auburn hair that had escaped my hasty bun after our gallop away from the stables, "But I look nothing like the two of you, they would never have believed me!"

"Then it's simple," I said, turning Juniper back around so our horses could walk next to each other once more, "I'll send Xavier a note telling him that I'm coming calling, but you'll be the one who shows up. He's enough of a gentleman that he wouldn't leave his darling sister waiting!"