Love in the Moonlight: A Regency Romance All Hallows' Eve Collection: 7 Delightful Regency Romance All Hallows' Eve Stories (Regency Collections Book 6)

by Arietta Richmond

  “You will never make them happy, can’t you see that?” Georgina said, trying to press her point. “And, if you had purchased the dress, which Nan specifically made for you, you could have stayed here and celebrated with us!”

  “Clementine always makes London sound so wonderful, Georgina – and you did, too. I want to see it. I want to know what it’s like, to see the ton in all its finery.”

  “They may be rich and beautiful on the outside, Anna, but that says nothing about what they are like on the inside. I’m sure that there are plenty of people in London with good hearts and souls, but there aren’t that many of them in Society.”

  “I know you don’t like them, Georgina. But they did invite me, and nobody else ever has – and Crispin…” Anna tailed off.

  Georgina noticed that her face had taken on a wistful look.

  Georgina snorted in an unladylike fashion.

  “Just because Crispin Crawford is a handsome man does not mean that he is a good man. You deserve much better than the likes of him. You are beautiful and sweet and wonderful. And we care about you. They don’t.”

  Anna shook her head.

  “You don’t know that.”

  “They do not want to truly be your friend, Anna. They are using you.”

  “For what? Heaven knows, I don’t have a fortune to bring, or any influence. I have absolutely nothing to offer them.”

  Georgina cried out in frustration.

  “Oh, Anna! I don’t know, but can you truly not see how awful those girls really are!”

  “Georgina, I love you, I do,” Anna said. “But, can we please just stop this bickering and sniping about the Crawfords. Just because I wish to spend time with them, does not mean I care for you any less. I simply want to go to London, to be flattered and courted. I fear that if I spend one more Season without so much as a single gentleman expressing his interest in me that I shall remain forever a spinster. You would not wish such a fate on me, surely?”

  “You should never fear that,” an amused and affectionate sounding voice said from behind them. Georgina turned to see her brother, Augustine. She had never been happier to see him, she hated fighting with Anna and he would act as a suitable foil.

  He was tall and slender, with sandy blond hair that reached his shoulders, tied back with a black velvet bow. His green eyes were alight with amusement.

  “Lady Anna, you are perfect and any man would be blessed to be permitted to court you.”

  Anna blushed furiously.

  “Gus, that is terribly sweet of you to say,” she said, ducking her head in a way that was utterly becoming. Georgina looked between them both, and realized that, for once, her brother was not teasing, he was deathly serious. How had she not noticed that her brother was besotted with Anna? She could think of no more perfect a match.

  Gus simply shrugged.

  “I speak the truth, and only the truth.”

  However, Georgina could sense that Gus’s flattery was making Anna uncomfortable, so she was quick to find a reason to send him on his way.

  “Have you found the book that Mama wanted?” she asked him. He shook his head.

  “No, the bookseller on Crompton Street can’t get it until next week, so I thought I would try that chap on Brampton Road. He is a little more expensive, but I do not want to upset Mama.”

  “Then we will not keep you,” Georgina said, shooing him away.

  Gus bounded off, turning and waving at them before he turned the corner. Georgina chuckled.

  “You do realize that Gus has feelings for you, don’t you?” she asked Anna.

  Anna didn’t respond.

  “Anna, did you hear what I said?”

  Anna pulled in a deep breath.

  “Yes, of course, I heard you, Georgie. I think that you are mistaken, however. Gus is like a brother, he treats me the same way he treats you.”

  Georgina shook her head, and smiled to herself.

  “Maybe you are right,” she said, her mind whirring with the possibilities that this new insight offered up, “Let us just enjoy the rest of the day and not think about such things.”

  The two friends walked arm-in-arm towards the park, both deep in thought. Georgina, try as she might, simply could not understand why Anna suddenly had such a desire to spend time in London Society. She hoped that her friend had not been harbouring fantasies about that unbridled cad, Crispin Crawford. The man was renowned for breaking hearts wherever he went.

  They had barely walked through the first of the formal gardens when Anna grabbed Georgina’s arm, painfully. Georgina whipped her head around to look at her friend, her eyes narrowing. Anna was peering intently across the neatly manicured hedges, to the fountain at the very center of the garden. Georgina followed her gaze.

  Crispin Crawford and his older brother, Duncan, were talking animatedly and walking straight towards them.

  Georgina couldn’t deny that both men were incredibly handsome, their dark hair and piercing blue eyes were remarked upon by everyone. They cut a fine figure in their exquisitely tailored clothes, too. But, she simply couldn’t, and wouldn’t, allow herself to be taken in by appearances.

  She let out a frustrated breath and rolled her eyes.

  “Oh no, Anna, I can’t take any more of the Crawfords today.”

  “I must go and say hello. It would be impolite not to do so,” Anna said, already moving towards the two young men, a bright smile upon her face.

  “Anna, I don’t want to go over there. I don’t want to talk to them. Anna!” Georgina cried, hurrying after her friend, one hand clutching at her skirts, the other keeping a firm grip of her parasol. “Anna, wait!”

  She instantly regretted calling out, as both the Crawford men looked up.

  “Good day to you, Lady Anna,” Crispin said. “You are looking lovely today.”

  Anna blushed.

  “Thank you, Mr Crawford, and of course, Mr Crawford” she nodded to Crispin, then to Duncan. “It is good to see you, both.”

  Crispin and Duncan bowed slightly at the waist to them both.

  “Miss Georgina.” Crispin said, then turned his attention back to Anna, flashing a charming smile that was so insincere that Georgina was stunned that Anna could not see it. “Are you enjoying the sunshine today?”

  “When the sun is out, I always enjoy it,” Anna gushed.

  Georgina was surprised to see Anna fawning so obviously over anyone, but the fact that it was Crispin Crawford who was getting all the attention made her blood boil.

  The men laughed.

  “Would you care to join us for a walk?” Crispin said.

  “Crispin, we have business to attend to,” Duncan reminded his brother. “You can’t just take time off whenever it pleases you.”

  It was well known around the town that Duncan Crawford had accepted the burden of his family’s many businesses when his father had been forced to take a step back, following a period of ill health. The Crawfords were wealthy merchants and owned a number of factories in the North of England, and so he was not often in Bristol.

  Georgina had not thought much about him since he had left, and so she was surprised to realise just how much of an impact he still had on her. She wondered if she would ever find a man as good looking, as funny, and as wealthy so that she might banish his memory once and for all.

  Crispin, however, was known for his profligate ways, living the high life off the money his father and brother had worked so hard to earn. An out and out rake, by all accounts, who preyed upon the innocent, gambled to excess, and was often to be found the worse for drink. The truth was, he was not fit to shine his own brother’s shoes. That Anna was showing him such deference, made Georgina want to shake her friend until she saw sense.

  Crispin cut his brother off, raising one hand and shaking his head.

  “Surely we can spare half an hour to walk with these lovely ladies? Or you might stay here, or deal with the matter yourself, if you wish. I am sure that you don’t really need my presence
at all,” he said snidely. “You’ve never wanted it before, so no real need for me to stick around now.” It was hard not to pick up on the rivalry and bad blood between the two brothers, and for a moment, nobody spoke.

  Crispin held out his elbow to Anna.

  “Shall we, Lady Anna?”

  Georgina frowned as Anna tucked her arm through his, and looked up at him, her eyes full of admiration and pleasure that he had shown her such attention. He turned and smirked at his brother, and then at Georgina.

  “Anna? You will just abandon me here?” Georgina asked, amazed that her sweet, kind, gentle friend would do something so rude as to leave her here alone.

  “It would be better if you and Mr Crawford would just join us,” Anna said, her eyes pleading with Georgina.

  “Yes, you can act as our chaperones,” Crispin drawled. Anna’s cheeks flushed as red as a beet, but she giggled happily. Georgina sighed, but knew that she could not leave her friend - heaven only knew what manner of mischief Crispin Crawford might be able to talk her into, given she seemed to have lost control of all her senses.

  “Well, what do you know about that?” Duncan said, looking at Georgina, offering her his arm in a mockery of Crispin’s gesture.

  “Your brother is very rude, Mr Crawford,” Georgina said, clasping her hands tightly in front of her. Duncan grinned, and held up both hands.

  “I am not my brother’s keeper. I certainly hope that I will not be judged by his behaviour,” he said. “You are looking well, Georgie,” he added softly.

  She had never noticed before, but when he smiled, Duncan’s eyes seemed to soften and darken to an almost violet shade. Handsome and sweet, she had considered his suit most carefully when he'd asked if he might call on her some years previously. But, she had conceded that she would not ever be able to stand his sisters, or his feckless brother – even though just being near him still made her feel giddy and unsure of herself.

  “Thank you,” she said, feeling a little flustered at his being so close to her. “It’s certainly true that money does not buy manners,” Georgina added, forcing herself to stand up straight, hoping that it might make her feel more confident that she could resist Duncan’s wit and charm. “When one thinks that your brother had the same nannies, the same tutors, attended the same universities, and so forth that you have – and yet he is simply intolerable, and you,” she lifted one side of her lips in a wry smile, “are not.”

  “I’m pleased to hear I have not been labelled as intolerable by the lovely Miss Georgina Smithwood. It warms my heart.” Duncan said, giving her a most inappropriate wink.

  Georgina couldn’t help but notice the way that the skin around his eyes crinkled as he smiled, and the gentle dimpling of his cheeks. It was rather sweet.

  “I didn’t intend to compliment you,” Georgina said baldly, trying to disguise the simple truth - that Duncan Crawford made her heart flutter and her knees go weak. She could not possibly ever let him know that he still held her heart; she could not bear for him to reject her, as she had rejected him all those years ago.

  Georgina decided that there was only one course of action open to her. She would simply be aloof and cold.

  She looked at Duncan, trying to appear as haughty and uncaring as she could.

  “It simply amazes me that you are the same stock as the rest of your family.”

  He smiled ruefully.

  “At times, I think the very same thing. Your words do not fall on deaf ears.”

  He looked so genuinely puzzled, and Georgina wished that she could simply kiss away his doubts. She found herself wavering, wanting to speak with him as they once had, as friends, as potentially more than just friends.

  “Perhaps you were found drifting in a basket on a river and brought into the family?” she teased him, almost instantly regretting the flirtatious tone her voice had taken on without her intending it.

  “Whilst the reference to Moses is quite flattering, I believe I would not look so very much like my father if that had been the case,” Duncan said, his eyes sparkling with merriment. “I beg of you not to judge me by the distasteful actions and words of my family. I am too old to change my character, and, to tell the truth, I rather like who I am,” Duncan confided.

  “Do not change yourself, Duncan,” Georgina said softly. “You are a gentleman in a family of, well, to tell the truth, I cannot say the words – it would be too impolite. Suffice it to say, you shine much brighter than they do.”

  Duncan’s blue eyes narrowed.

  “I take it that you have had recent dealings with my sisters?” he asked.

  His face showed genuine concern, and his voice was as deep and rich as caramel. Georgina felt as though she might melt, and longed for his embrace to hold her upright amongst all the chaos.

  She nodded, unable to speak, for fear of telling him more than he needed to know, of letting him back into her life.

  Duncan rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest.

  “I thought as much when I saw the look on your face as you entered the gardens. I believe I heard some reference to you having had enough of the Crawfords for one day?”

  “I believe I did say exactly that,” Georgina admitted, and she was wishing that she had kept her distance even more, as she stood helpless before Duncan, knowing that he was the reason she had never accepted any of her other suitors. Not one of them could ever match up to him, and she did not want them to.

  Chapter Three

  A number of days had passed in solitude, rain pouring down the windows of Havering House, dark clouds crowding the skies. Anna had drifted in and out of daydreams, and had replayed the argument she’d had with Georgina, over and over again. She wished that she could confide in her friend just how terrible things were, how hard it was with Papa always out, drinking, and gambling away money that they did not have. But, she could not confide in anyone.

  Mama would have been mortified to know that their troubles had been told to anyone. She could never admit how grateful she was that Honora had given her the perfect reason not to purchase that lovely gown. She was so touched at how hard her friend had fought for her, but she couldn’t bear that she had in essence, if not in deed, she had been forced to lie to Georgina.

  The rain finally stopped on Thursday and, in the early evening sunlight, Anna hurried across the fields to the Smithwood’s grand manor house, hoping that her invitation to supper had not been rescinded because of her fight with Georgina. Mr Graham, their butler, let her in and she hurried straight upstairs to Georgina’s chambers. Georgina was sitting at her dressing table. Georgina’s maid, Mary, was pinning up her dark curls.

  “Come in, take a seat, we shall only be a moment,” Georgina said, her face lighting up at the sight of Anna.

  Anna sat on Georgina’s bed, one hand wrapped around the canopy pole.

  “I am sorry for how I behaved the other day,” she said quietly.

  “I am, too,” Georgina admitted. “Though, I will continue to warn you over Crispin Crawford until my dying breath.”

  They both giggled, though Anna had to force herself to do so. Mary affixed the last braid and left them alone to talk. Anna smiled at the girl as she hurried off.

  “How can you pass judgment on me, when it was clear as day that you harbour feelings for Duncan Crawford?” Anna asked Georgina, who was patting her hair, turning her face from side to side so that she might admire the intricate design which Mary had created.

  Georgina looked at Anna through the mirror. Georgina smiled a little and turned sideways in her chair, resting her arms on the back.

  “Oh, Anna, I do not mean to pass judgment on you, but surely you have heard the rumours? Crispin is not a man to be trusted with a young woman’s virtue. I am worried about you. I do not ever wish to see you hurt.”

  She paused. Anna wished she could tell Georgina that, of course, she knew all of that, but she had to keep her secrets – for now. She could not possibly tell anyone the truth.

  When
she did not say anything, Georgina huffed almost inaudibly.

  “And yes, I did have a nice walk with Duncan,” she said. “But his charm and handsome face take nothing away from his horrible family - and I do not desire to be connected with the Crawfords in any way.”

  Anna couldn’t help but notice that her friend’s tone of voice had changed. She sounded as though she was trying to convince herself, rather than Anna. Anna stood up and moved towards her friend, laying a hand gently on Georgina’s shoulder.

  “I cannot believe that you could put aside your feelings for such a reason,” she said. “You have always liked him.” Georgina made as if she would protest.

  “No, don’t try to deny it,” Anna said before she could utter a word. “You need not live with his family, after all, he is barely seen in the county. You could marry a man who clearly cares for you deeply, has a good position in Society and has wealth aplenty. Many women are not so lucky. Yet, you would risk it for your stubborn dislike of his sisters?”

  “It is not stubbornness,” Georgina countered. Anna wanted to laugh at the petulant set of her features, but knew that Georgina would not take it well. “To be sure, I agree that Duncan would make a wonderful husband and father, but for all you say I’m simply not willing to risk being made miserable by his family.”

  Anna shook her head.

  “I don’t understand you sometimes, my dear. You would make a wonderful couple, and a happy one, too. You would be marrying for all the right reasons – not just to salvage family pride or restore a fortune.”

  She stopped, knowing that she had revealed too much. Georgina recoiled, shaking her head.

  “Oh no, no! I don’t care for him, not that deeply. We are friends it is true, but it is not enough to think that we might have a love match.”

  Anna breathed a sigh of relief, Georgina seemed not to have noticed her accidental slip, she was too wrapped up in her own confusion.

  “You may try and convince yourself of that, but I know you too well, Georgina,” Anna said affectionately. “You care for him, and are just trying to talk yourself out of it because of his family. Well, for what it is worth, I think you are a fool.”