Free The Reluctant Debutante by Becky Lower Page B

before turning his attention back to Ginger.
    She laid her hand on his arm. “Thank you, Joseph, for the refreshment. Perfect timing, for I’m absolutely parched. The second act is about to begin — we should take our seats.”
    Joseph maintained his stance until William turned to follow Ginger back to their seats. Joseph took his seat immediately behind them once again, being certain to bump William’s chair slightly during the remainder of the performance, reinforcing the fact that he was being watched.

Chapter Ten
    May, 1855
    The two Englishmen, Richard Douglas and Cedric Smith, huddled over the roughly hewn table at a small tavern off Broadway. As Cedric raised a foamy mug of ale to his mouth, Richard’s hand came down on the table.
    “Damn it, Cedric. We are running out of time. It’s already been two month’s worth of dances, that boring opera, and calling on young ladies in their parlors at tea time — and we have gotten nowhere.”
    “I know,” Cedric said as he rubbed his stomach. “It seems there’s not a good scone to be had in the Colonies.”
    “I’m not talking about food, you oaf. If we don’t make some progress toward finding a wealthy young American woman who wants to be affiliated with English royalty, we are doomed! Our fathers will yank us home in another month or so, and we will have to live in poverty.”
    “What do you suggest? Surely, we’re doing all we can.”
    “Well, since our natural English charm seems to be falling on deaf ears, we need a strategy. Our two best bets are Ginger Fitzpatrick and her sidekick, Elizabeth Martin.”
    “Yes, I agree. I rather fancy that Elizabeth Martin,” Cedric replied.
    “And both of their fathers have loads of money, so we can continue to live the lives to which we are accustomed, should we marry one of them.”
    “But they are the most sought-after women this season. We have never even been alone with them.”
    Richard’s eyes took on a gleam of excitement. “Unless I miss my guess, both of these young women seem to be adventurous. Suppose we issue them an invitation to join us for an evening’s entertainment at Niblo’s Theater. Then, we can entice them into the Pleasure Garden for some night air.”
    “And what good would come from having them join us for some air, pray tell?”
    “For God’s sake, Cedric, do I have to spell it out for you? All we have to do is be discovered by someone while we have these ladies in a compromising position, and they’ll have to marry us in order to preserve their reputations!”
    Cedric scratched his head, running his hand through his thinning blond hair. “So, how do we get them into these ‘compromising’ positions? The ladies seem to be joined at the hip.”
    “We separate them from each other. When we get them into the Garden, you’ll stroll one way with Elizabeth and I’ll go the other direction with Ginger.”
    Cedric thought for a moment. “Although the idea of getting Elizabeth alone in a dark garden is making me hard as a rock, I still don’t see how it will advance my cause of getting her to marry me.”
    Richard sighed. Sometimes Cedric could be so thick. “I will arrange for our good friend and patron, Mr. Harris, to find us once we have sufficiently undressed the ladies. He knows our purpose for being here this season, and he knows we are running out of time. He’ll be more than happy to be able to report back to our fathers of our success in finding heiresses to marry.”
    “All right, then, if you think this is our only option. I do rather fancy Miss Elizabeth, and I’m happy for the opportunity to see more of her.” He winked at his friend. “If you know what I mean.”
    Richard groaned. “Okay, then, let’s put together an invitation.”
    • • •
    Between dinners, the opera, and the other events comprising the high social season, Basil and Joseph had been kept busy. Everyone who hosted an event needed available single men to balance out the young ladies who