Page 78 of Doxy for the Ton
“Lady Portia,” Mimi said, “are you enjoying the ball?”
“Not particularly.”
“Sister…” Foxton growled, and Lady Portia tilted her face to one side and gave a wide smile.
“Oh, I’m havingsucha pleasant time!” she trilled. “The company leaves a lot to be desired, but I can at least console myself that my brother will soon be exerting his dominance over the gaming room, which might afford me a little room to breathe in the ballroom.”
“I won’t leave until I’m satisfied that you’ll not run wild as soon as my back is turned,” Foxton said.
“Given that you’ll never be satisfied by anything I do or say, brother, I’m afraid you must remain here for the rest of the evening rather than fritter away my dowry at the card table,” she retorted. “What a disappointment that must be foryou. I know you hate balls. And company. And dancing. In fact, is there anything youdon’thate, brother?”
Foxton’s face darkened. “Why, you—”
“Lady Portia, how remiss of me,” Mimi said. “I quite forgot to tell your brother that I’d offered to chaperone you tonight. I trust that meets with your satisfaction, sir.”
Foxton glanced at his sister and raised his eyebrows. At that moment, Mimi winked at Lady Portia, and Alexander suppressed a laugh.
“There, brother!” Lady Portia said. “You have leave to waste your fortune at the card tables, while I relish my freedom—if only for a little while.”
“Don’t worry, little cat,” Foxton said, a sneer in his voice. “Walton refuses to permit an exchange of vowels in his home. My potential loss is therefore confined to the coins in my pocket.”
“Whereas I’ve nothing to lose,” Lady Portia said.
“Except your reputation,” Foxton replied.
“Your Grace, are you impugning your sister’s morality, or my integrity as chaperone?” Mimi said, her voice carrying the sternness of a matriarch.
“Lord save me from the female sex!” Foxton huffed. “Come along, Sawbridge. I daresay you have coins to wager. I’m anxious to discover if I’ll have more success at the card table than I do keeping that hellion in check.”
Alexander withdrew his arm from Mimi’s, and she frowned.
“You’re going with him?” she asked.
Foxton barked with laughter. “Ha! Grasping already, my dear? Take care, Sawbridge, if this merry little widow has set her cap at you. But I’ll warn you, madam—nobody is better at the game than Sawbridge here. You have no hope of victory. Nothing is more off-putting for man than a grasping, desperate—”
“That’s enough, Foxton,” Alexander growled, taking Mimi’s hand. “Lady Rex is an independent woman who knows her own mind.”
“Ye gods, man,” Foxton said. “Has she turned you into a milksop?”
“Certainly not,” Mimi said. “I’m the last person who’d want anyone to forgo pleasure on my account.” She glanced at Foxton, a cold smile on her lips, and Alexander caught a flicker of disdain in her eyes. “I understand how men of your rank detest the very notion of being considerate—let alone obligated—toward others. Please, enjoy the rest of your evening and permit Lady Portia and I to enjoy ours.”
Alexander’s heart swelled with pride at her quiet dignity. To think—a doxy, putting two dukes in their place!
But no ordinary doxy was she.
Lady Walton’s question slipped into his mind.
Do you know anything of her family?
Perhaps that was why she refused to tell him her real name, for fear he’d recognize it. Was she a lord’s daughter, perhaps, who was ruined and suffered the consequences? Was that why she’d risen to Lady Portia’s defense—to protect a wayward young woman as she was not protected herself?
“I fear I’ve been bested,” Foxton said.
“Oh no, Your Grace,” Mimi replied. “A man such as yourself would never permit himself to be bested—at least not knowingly.”
Foxton rolled his eyes. “Come with me, Sawbridge,” he said. “Save me from the tongues of harridans.”
Alexander’s blood warmed at the prospect of the pleasures to be had from the tongue of the particular harridan in front of him. But the urge to remain with her warred with the need to join the men in the gaming room. Tonight was his chance to reingratiate himself with his former friends and secure sponsorship for his reapplication to White’s.
