“But…”
Fiona held up a hand to stay her. “Ye agree Alasdair appeals to the ladies, nae?”
“Well, yes, but…”
“And he can be right gallant when he wants to be, nae?”
“True, but…”
“So, all we need to do is decide which heiress will do and make sure we match them at every chance we get.”
“I do not think…” Lorelei stopped to change course. She wasn’t sure what she thought. Certainly, keeping Alasdair occupied with an…interest…would mean he wouldn’t hover over them. Neither she nor Fiona needed him glaring at would-be swain and scaring them off. Still. The idea was disconcerting. “I have no idea how we would do that.”
“We can ask Louisa.”
Lorelei stared at her. “You think Louisa would keep Alasdair occupied?”
“Nae, silly.” Fiona shrugged. “But she kens who the available heiresses are that might return his interest.”
“I do not know if that is wise. She may think it is mercenary, too.”
“We will explain it means our freedom from being followed around.” Fiona grinned. “I will wager she’ll be interested in that.”
She kept her expression neutral. Louisa might like the idea, but Lorelei wasn’t so sure she agreed with it. At all. She knew she was being contradictory—she didn’t want him kissing someone else—didn’t want some other girl experiencing the tingling she had felt when his warm, firm lips had covered hers—but shedidwant her freedom for this Season. She just didn’t want to encourage his courtship now by flirting with him.
She sighed inwardly.Why hadn’tAlasdair stayed home in Scotland?
Chapter Three
Louisa looked up from the book she was reading the next morning as Lorelei and Fiona entered the parlor and closed the door. Her eyebrows went up questioningly.
“Are we plotting another getaway?”
Lorelei smiled. After their successful ruse two days ago, the three of them had had a long talk. Louisa had confessed that Mrs. Montagu, the founder of the Bluestocking Society, had indeed invited her to join, and she’d been having a dickens of a time explaining her supposed shopping outings to her mother when she returned with few packages. She was delighted to have coconspirators aiding and abetting her now.
“Something like that.”
Louisa closed her book. “The Society doesn’t meet until Monday.”
“This is about Wednesday,” Lorelei said.
“More specifically, Wednesday night,” Fiona added.
“Wednesday night? Is that not the first Almack’s ball?” Louisa frowned. “I do not think we can come up with an excuse not to attend.”
“We want to attend,” Fiona said quickly. “After all, it will be my first London ball.”
“Mother made sure we all have invitations,” she replied. “You do not have to worry about that.”
“We are not worried about that.”
“Then what?” Louisa paused, then spoke hesitantly. “Are you concerned that, because you are Scottish, you might be given the cut direct?”
Fiona looked puzzled. “Cut direct?”
“She means people might act like you are not present,” Lorelei explained. “Sometimes they even go so far as to turn their backs.”
“I willna fash about that,” Fiona said. “I ken some Sassenachs doona like Scots any more than some Scots doona like Sassenachs.”
