by Rose Pearson
“My lord!”
Turning away from the window where he had been musing, Gideon saw the butler hurrying towards him with a note in his hand.
“Thank you.” Taking it from him, he turned the letter over and saw that the seal was that of Viscount Armitage, Georgina’s father. Now the agitation of the butler became clear. Breaking open the seal, he read the lines swiftly, before smiling at the butler.
“Your master is quite all right,” he said, calmly. “He has been ill but has recovered. Apparently, he took ill on the journey home and has been resting at an inn somewhere. You need not fear any longer, my good man. Viscount Armitage is recovering, just as his daughter is.”
The butler clasped his hands, joy evident in his face. “Oh, thank you, my lord,” he breathed, as though Gideon himself had been the sole reason for Lord Armitage’s recovery. “I shall go and inform the rest of the staff at this very moment!”
Gideon chuckled. “Very well.” He waited until the butler had left the room before reading the note again, frowning just a little as he read about just how close the viscount had come to death. He would not allow Georgina to hear of that for fear that it would send her into a deep distress, although he ought to go and inform her at once that her father was both alive and well. It would come as a great relief to her, he was sure.
“Georgina?” he called, as he hurried up the staircase two at a time. “Georgina, I have some excellent news!”
Frowning, he realized that the bedchamber door was firmly shut, which was somewhat unusual. Pausing for a moment, he rapped quietly on the door, a little concerned that he might waken her from her slumber.
“Georgina?” he called, as quietly as he could. “I have some news of your father.”
There was a muffled noise from within, which brought Gideon even more concern. “Georgina?” he called again, rapping all the harder. “Are you quite all right?”
“Yes, yes.” The door opened to reveal none other than Doctor Thomas, who stepped aside to allow Gideon to enter. “I was just ensuring that Miss Wells was continuing with her improvements.”
Something like thunder rattled all through Gideon. He was just about to demand to know why the door was closed and what the doctor had been about by speaking to Georgina in such a private space, only to notice that Georgina’s maid was standing in the corner, quietly folding away a few blankets. His anger faded in a moment, feeling himself grow hot with the embarrassment over what he had been about to say.
“And are you improving still, Georgina?” he asked, walking quickly into the room and seeing Georgina sitting quietly in a chair by the fire, fully dressed and looking quite the thing.
“I am,” Georgina replied, looking up at him with the faintest hint of pink in her cheeks. “Doctor Thomas thinks I am doing very well.”
“I am glad to hear it,” Gideon murmured, taking in Georgina’s appearance and thinking to himself that yes, she did look a good deal better than before. Her eyes were sparkling, her color was good and, for the first time since she had returned to her townhouse, she appeared to be quite willing to speak to him.
“I have a note from your father, Georgina,” he continued, sitting down opposite her. “Should you like to hear the news?”
Georgina leaned forward, her smile fading at once. “Yes, indeed,” she said quickly, fear wrapping itself across her face. “Is it bad news? I have been so very worried.”
“No,” Gideon answered quickly, wanting to keep her fear at bay. “He is quite well.”
Doctor Thomas cleared his throat. “I had best excuse myself,” he muttered, quietly. “The Devil’s basement is to be cleaned top to bottom now that all the patients have left us and I should oversee that. Do excuse me.”
Georgina looked up at him, ignoring Gideon completely. “But you will return, will you not?”
Doctor Thomas inclined his head. “Tomorrow, of course. Good day, Miss Wells. Good day, Lord Dunstable.”
“Good day,” Gideon muttered, not quite sure what to make of this exchange. The fact that Georgina seemed so keen to have the doctor’s company still brought up a good many questions and, as he waited for the doctor to quit the room, Gideon determined that he would ask Georgina about it all.
“My father,” Georgina said, bringing him back to what they had been discussing. “How is he?”
Gideon gave her a small smile, trying to reassure her further. “He was ill but he has now recovered,” he said, gently. “You need not worry, my dear. He is at his estate now and is trying to regain his strength, much as you are.”
“Oh.” Georgina put one hand to her mouth, her eyes blinking rapidly as tears pressed against them. She remained so for a moment or two, sitting back in her chair as if to keep Gideon from reaching out to comfort her. “Then I should return home, should I not?”
Gideon shook his head. “No, indeed. I will make sure to inform your father that we are to wed just as soon as you are better. He will travel to the Dunstable estate for the wedding, just as we had thought. We will need to give him a few weeks to recover, however.”
Georgina did not appear to be best pleased with this idea, for her brows furrowed and lines of anxiety and concern wrapped themselves across her forehead. She looked away from him towards the fire, her teeth tugging gently at her lip.
“Georgina?” Gideon asked quietly. “Is something the matter?”
She started as though she had not quite heard him, only to stammer something awkward and look away. Gideon pushed again, a little more firmly this time, determined to discover the source of her displeasure.
“Georgina,” he said, her eyes darting to his for only a moment. “There is something troubling you and I wish to know what it is. Speak to me, will you not?”
She shook her head, a mournful sigh leaving her lips.
“You do not wish to wed me, is that it?” Gideon asked, feeling himself stir a little with excitement. “Tell me the truth, Georgina. I will not be angry with you if you do so.”
Slowly, so slowly, she turned her head towards him and looked at him steadily. “You will think me terrible, Dunstable,” she said, hoarsely, her eyes filled with a sheen of sparkling tears. “A lady does not break off her engagement for a man as unsuitable as –”
Stopping dead, she slammed one hand over her mouth, her eyes wide and staring as she looked back at him as if expecting him to throw himself from the chair in anger.
Everything slowly began to make sense.
“Oh, Georgina,” he murmured, quietly. “You need not be fearful of breaking the engagement between us, not if you do not care for me in that way. Our marriage would not be one that would make either of us happy.”
She dropped her hand to her lap and stared at him almost stupefied.
“I know,” he continued, his lips curved in a small smile. “I have been thinking about our attachment for some time, my dear. I apologize that I have not said anything to you as yet but I could not bring myself to do so, not when you were so dreadfully ill and certainly not when you so evidently needed me.”
“I – I can hardly believe this,” Georgina breathed, her eyes no longer sparkling with tears but rather slowly filling with delight. “Are you stating, Dunstable, that you do not wish to marry me after all?”
Gideon smiled and leaned forward. “My dear Georgina, I would have married you without a moment of hesitation, given that it was my duty and that I had agreed to the marriage. However, I confess that I do not think that either of us would be particularly happy in such a marriage. Do you?”
“No,” she said honestly, flopping back in her chair in apparent relief. “Oh, Dunstable, I was quite content up until the moment I looked up and saw the look in Doctor Thomas’ eyes.”
One of Gideon’s eyebrows shot up. “Doctor Thomas?”
She blushed scarlet. “Do not tease me, Dunstable. Surely you must have surmised that it was not exactly my health that has kept him here so long these last few days.
Gideon drew in a long breath, sat
back in his chair and let out a long sigh. “I will admit to you, Georgina, I was not quite sure what to make of it all. I am glad, however, that you have been able to speak honestly to me about this matter.”
Georgina looked at him and, for the first time, Gideon felt as though she were being completely open and honest with him. There was a vulnerability in her gaze that brought a warmth to his heart, glad that she was finally able to speak to him with such honesty.
“Dunstable,” she said, softly. “Doctor Thomas wants to marry me.”
The smile faded from his face, not because he thought it a terrible notion but rather because he knew what such a marriage would mean.
“He is not a titled gentleman, Georgina,” he said, slowly. “He is a working man. He has a practice, patients, and all sorts of responsibilities. It would mean a very big change for someone such as you.”
Georgina nodded, her expression growing thoughtful. “And yet I find that I would not dislike such a change,” she said, slowly. “In fact, I feel as though the life I could have with Doctor Thomas would be worth all the difficulties in the world.”
There was a moment of silence, a moment where Gideon himself reflected on what changes would come to his own life, now that he was free to ask Josephine to marry him. For her, in particular, it would mean a very different way of living and he would have to ensure that he cared nothing for what others would think of their difference in station. But for Georgina to consider marrying Doctor Thomas was another thing entirely. She would have no title, although Gideon was quite sure her father, Lord Armitage, would ensure that they had a respectable home with a good many servants if she were to marry someone as lowly as the doctor.
“Your father will not be pleased, Georgina,” he finished, trying to ensure that she had taken everything into account. “What will he say to the news of your intention to wed a doctor?”
Georgina smiled, her eyes bright. “He will not know until he can do nothing to change it,” she replied, her smile a little teasing. “Not unless you tell him, of course.”
“You intend to elope?” Gideon asked, flabbergasted. “Truly?”
“Truly,” Georgina replied, with a slight shrug of her shoulders. “Why ever not? That way, my father cannot object and drag me away somewhere until I supposedly come to my senses!”
Gideon had to admit that this was, perhaps, a welcome consideration. “He may cut you off.”
“Then I shall learn how to be a doctor’s wife and nothing more,” Georgina answered, with a good deal of firmness. “But I do not think it will come to that, do you? My father dotes on me, given that I am his only daughter, and whilst he may refuse to speak or see me for a time, I am quite sure that, come the end of it, he will be happy to see me eventually. You need not worry for me, Gideon. I will be quite all right.”
Gideon let out a long, slow breath, trying to make sense of all that had been said. “I am to leave you here in London, alone, without informing your father?”
A sudden giggle escaped from Georgina. “I am not as weak as I appear, Dunstable. I have been doing it a little too brown of late, simply to try and ascertain Doctor Thomas’ intentions before I made my decision. Once you are gone from London, I intend to leave with Doctor Thomas almost at once. He is not exactly poor, you know. He can hire a carriage and the like so that we can make our journey to Scotland almost at once. Then, we shall return here.”
Gideon’s eyebrows shot into his hair. “Here? Into your father’s townhouse?”
Georgina giggled again. “Indeed. Why would I not? It is much more suitable than the dingy little house Doctor Thomas has described. Besides, my father does not exactly use his house very often. Only once a year and only for a few weeks at that! No, I am quite sure that it will all work out splendidly, Dunstable.”
This pretty little speech sent Gideon into a myriad of confusing thoughts. Part of him wanted to stay and lecture Georgina that she ought to think a good deal more carefully about this before she went to marry Doctor Thomas, particularly as regarded her father, whereas the other part of him said that he simply should leave well alone. After all, he had done his duty for Georgina, had he not? He had cared for her, ensured that she was well taken care of and now that she was restored to full health, his responsibilities had come to an end, particularly if she did not wish for him to care for her any longer!
“Go.”
He looked up to see Georgina smiling at him. Her face was bright, her expression one of sheer delight and he found himself smiling back at her, thinking that he had never seen her so happy before. It was quite clear that Doctor Thomas was the one who had brought such a change about and, for that, he was rather thankful.
“Go!” Georgina said again, laughing. “Doctor Thomas is just outside, waiting to see what my decision has been and, should you still be here, then I cannot exactly try to elope now, can I?”
Shaking his head for a moment in an attempt to understand all that had just taken place, Gideon got to his feet and looked down at Georgina, feeling his heart slowly begin to quicken with a wonderful anticipation. He could go to Josephine now and profess his love for her without being held back by duty or expectation. Somehow, he had been given his freedom.
“You will write to your father?” he asked, seeing Georgina nod. “I would not like him to be waiting anxiously to hear you are safe. You know how he cares for you.”
“I do,” Georgina said, promising to do so. “And thank you, Dunstable, for all you have done. I am sorry things have not worked out as we had intended.”
Gideon chuckled, taking Georgina’s hand and bowing over it. “You need not apologize, my dear,” he replied, with a smile. “In fact, it is I who ought to be thanking you. I shall go now and leave you with your husband to be. May I offer you my congratulations, my dear.”
She smiled at him. “Thank you, Dunstable.”
Hurrying towards the bedchamber door, he opened it to find Doctor Thomas looking at him in a somewhat guilty fashion.
“Doctor Thomas,” Gideon smiled, his expression bright. “Do come in. Let me shake your hand firmly and be the first to wish you happy.”
Doctor Thomas’ expression was first astonished, and then delighted. He strode across to Gideon and shook his hand firmly, his eyes a little wide as though he expected Gideon to plant him a facer without any provocation.
“All is well,” Gideon promised, quietly. “Treat her with all kindness, Doctor Thomas.”
“I will,” Doctor Thomas replied, fervently. “Thank you, Lord Dunstable. You do not know what this means to me.”
Gideon chuckled. “Nor do you know what it means to me, Doctor Thomas. If you will excuse me, I must go to the Devil’s basement. I have a young lady to find.”
He did not stop to tell the wide-eyed doctor that, yes, it was Josephine to whom he referred, for the urgency in his heart pushed him all the harder to leave the house at once. Neither did Gideon hear the squeal of delight from Georgina as Doctor Thomas hurried into the room to wrap her in his arms. All of his thoughts, all of his intent, was focused solely on reaching Josephine and confessing his love to her, in the hope she would agree to become his wife. He could think of no-one better.
All she had to do was say yes.
17
Josephine swept the floor for what felt like the hundredth time, her back and shoulders aching from the work she had done today. The basement was now cleared of patients and for that, she was more than glad. The fever seemed to have lifted from London town. Slowly, carefully, it had let go its grip of death on the London streets. The basement had been scrubbed, washed and scrubbed again, in an effort to remove the stench of disease and death that had lingered in it for so long.
“I’d best be going.”
She turned her head to see Sam standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking a good deal happier than she had ever seen him. His eyes were bright, his clothes as neat as they could be and the smile on his face lifted her heart all the more.
“Sam,” sh
e said, quietly. “Are you to go to the Dunstable estate?”
He nodded. “I got word that the first carriage is leaving this afternoon,” he said, quietly, although Josephine could sense the excitement within him. “I do not know if Miss Wells is to continue after, although I would expect so.”
Josephine nodded, turning her head so that Sam would not see the pain on her face. Every time she thought of Lord Dunstable, every time she thought of his marriage to Miss Wells, she felt the same stab of pain that almost left her breathless.
“I’ll miss speaking to you, Josephine,” Sam said, coming over to embrace her. “We’ve worked hard these last few weeks. We’ve taken on death together.”
“And sometimes, we triumphed,” Josephine replied, hugging him tightly. “But you’re to have a place of your own now, Sam. Lord Dunstable will take good care of you.”
He puffed out his chest as he stepped back, his limp barely noticeable. “I’m to work in the stables, with the horses.”
Josephine smiled, truly glad for her friend. “And do you like horses?”
He chuckled. “I’m going to have to! But all the same, Josephine, I’m thankful for what you did in getting me a place of my own.”
A sudden idea took a hold of Josephine and, asking Sam to wait for a moment, she rushed to where she kept her few belongings. Raking through them quickly, she found what she was looking for in a moment, clasping the bundle tightly in her hand as she hurried back to Sam.
“Here,” she said, handing the package to him. “You’re to take this. It’s just the beginning of your savings, for when it’s time to put your feet up and rest.”
He stared at her for a moment, before slowly unwrapping the cloth. Gasping in astonishment, his eyes widened as he stared at the coins, given to her so long ago by Lord Dunstable.
“Josephine, I can’t take these!” he exclaimed, trying to hand them back to her. “You’ll need them.”
