by Rebecca King
“Is it Georgiana? Where is she? What’s happened?” he demanded as he stalked into the private room at the back of the tavern Ruth was waiting in.
At first, Ruth looked perplexed, but then thoughtful as she bobbed into a curtsey and took the seat Will waved her to.
“Georgiana is fine,” Ruth began hesitantly, a little surprised by the ferocity of his concern for her niece. She watched curiously as he immediately settled upon hearing her reassurance that Georgiana was fine but continued to glare at her as though he didn’t quite believe she was telling the truth. It still didn’t dissuade her from what she was there to do. In fact, after what she had just witnessed she was rather intrigued to know see how he would react.
Will sat down opposite her and pierced her with a probing stare. “You don’t sound too sure.”
Ruth quickly explained what the farmer had witnessed and the dire implications for all if he was seen near the house again. While she felt guilty at embellishing the severity of the situation, she didn’t have any qualms about what she was doing. On this occasion it was necessary to stir the pot, as it were, if only to see how placidly Will took her instruction to stay away from the young woman she began to suspect he was in love with.
Unsurprisingly, she saw the protest in his eyes before he even uttered a word.
“I have to say that I was surprised when I found her in her cups,” Will admitted, his tone warning her that he wasn’t at all pleased that she had been in such an inebriated state in the first place.
“I am not all that comfortable with the fact that you were in the house with her unchaperoned,” Ruth replied flatly. “Polite conversation on the street in broad daylight is fair enough. There are plenty of people around to make sure that nothing untoward happens. However, to go to her home and stay there for several hours throughout the night puts her reputation at risk.” She lowered her voice to a low whisper just in case any of the maids were listening, but her tone lost none of its anger.
“I apologise for my indiscretion,” Will replied bluntly. “I make no apology for calling at the house. I have to confess that her recent behaviour has caused me concern. I have never known such change in her as I have seen here. It is alarming.” He then set about describing her recent forays into adventure, which didn’t seem to have any effect on the woman seated opposite him at all.
“Are you not concerned?” He made his displeasure known by scowling deeply at the woman.
Like Georgiana, Ruth took this as a challenge and squared her shoulders at the same time that she lifted one querulous brow and pierced him with a supercilious glare not all that dissimilar to something his own mother would use.
“I fully endorse Georgiana being herself. While I agree with you that her conduct is unbecoming of someone of her social status she was at home where she was safe and away from prying eyes.” She looked him square in the eye. “After all, I am sure you will agree that there are certain things that happen behind closed doors that should stay private.”
Will suspected then that Georgiana had told her aunt what had happened between them last night.
“I wholeheartedly concur,” Will agreed.
Relieved that her message had been received and understood, Ruth turned her attention to the next problem. “I don’t doubt that you are here with honourable intentions, sir, but maybe it would be more honourable if you were to respect Georgiana’s wishes.”
“We have settled all of that,” Will informed her. “However, I am due to be married soon and I should like her at the wedding.”
“Has Georgiana said that she doesn’t want to attend the wedding?” Ruth asked.
She had. He nodded.
Ruth shook her head. “I should ask you to consider this. Her situation with her parents became dire enough for her to make the drastic move of travelling all this way alone. I am sure even you can understand her reluctance to go back. With that in mind, you need to accept that your wedding will have one less guest.” She stood up and looked down at him. “I am sure your bride will understand.”
It was clear now that Will was going to get no support from Ruth at all. Reluctantly he had to accept the woman’s determination to protect her niece. In a way, he applauded her for it because it was evident that Georgiana did have appropriate care. Whatever was happening with the list, Ruth did have her niece’s best interests at heart and would make sure that Georgiana’s reputation was not ruined by whatever she experienced while here.
Unfortunately, that still didn’t help him find the strength to walk way.
“Well, I doubt we will have cause to meet again, so please accept my felicitations for your forthcoming nuptials. I am sure Georgiana won’t mind my speaking on her behalf by saying she wishes you well also.” Ruth gathered her shawl and prepared to leave.
“Are you ordering me out of the village?” Will demanded.
“If you care about Georgiana, and wish to stay on good terms with her, you should return home and focus on your bride-to-be,” she replied.
“I have been a fool,” he murmured. His own foolish agreement to marry Penelope hovered in the back of his mind. “I have to correct it.”
Ruth almost groaned.
One step forward, three steps back, she sighed as she studied him.
Will truly was the most handsome man she had seen in a long time. If she was one and twenty she would be apt to lose her heart to him as well. She understood Georgiana’s adoration. It was a shame he didn’t see what a rare and precious jewel he had right under his nose in Georgiana. Maybe he deserved to lose her if he was too blind to see who she truly was.
“You have been blind, my boy,” Ruth said quietly. “Georgiana is a fine young woman. While I don’t agree with someone like her being confined in a small, out of the way village like this, I am sure that the men in the region aren’t blind. Someone will notice her at some point and will rush her up the aisle. Then she will be off your hands once and for all, and out of her parents’ way for good. That cannot be a bad thing, can it? I mean, I am sure you are tired of chasing after her,” she mused thoughtfully.
Will suspected that he would follow Georgiana wherever she went whether she was married or not but that sounded strange even to him. He shied away from the thought of her being married to anybody. She was Georgiana-his Georgiana. He stopped and thought about that, a little stunned at just how right it was to think such a thing.
Ruth waited for the penny to drop and him to realise how much he cared for her niece. Her impatience grew when he merely stared blankly at the table-top.
Men can be so dense sometimes. She thought waspishly, and fought the urge to smack him upside the head and shout it at him. Instead, she contented herself with a negative shake of her head as she stalked to the door.
“I cannot leave until I have some reassurance that she isn’t going to put herself in any danger,” Will told her.
Ruth sighed. “Have you never been skinny dipping?”
“Well, yes, when I was a child, but not as a grown up,” Will blustered.
“Why not? Is it too cold for you?” Ruth challenged.
“It is just not really appropriate, is it? I mean, it is a childish thing to do,” Will replied.
“Yes, but you did it as a child. You weren’t a young girl who was prohibited from doing anything so scandalous, were you? I mean, climbing a tree is something most people expect boys to do, but if a girl tries it she is scolded, reprimanded, and hauled off to live in her bed chamber for a day or two. You go skinny dipping as a young man and you are just enjoying life. A young woman does it and she is being scandalous. Maybe Georgiana is just testing her wings a little now that she is free of the burden of other people’s expectations.”
“I am not burdening her with my expectations.” Will’s concern grew. Was that how she saw him?
“Aren’t you? Then why are you here?”
“I am just worried about her.”
“Well don’t be. Georgiana has me now. If I am not concerned about he
r, you should not worry either. Georgiana is probably in better care here because I understand her frustrations.” She didn’t add that she too had once fallen in love with someone who didn’t want her and appreciated more than most the anxieties her niece faced. “I recommend you consider your fiance’s feelings more than Georgiana’s. After all, she is not likely to appreciate you chasing half way across the country after a woman who is as young and beautiful as Georgina, is she?”
“You are,” he whispered, amazed at the audacity of the woman. “You are ordering me out of the village.”
“You need to decide where your priorities lie and understand that Georgiana’s now lie here. With that in mind, please don’t do anything so foolish again as to call at the house at inappropriate times, or be seen in a private place with her. She is young. She is beautiful. She is unmarried. You are still a man who is engaged. It is not right in anybody’s book. You can leave this village. She will stay. It isn’t fair for you to ruin her reputation before you go.” She yanked open the door but stirred the pot one last time. “If you care about her, even a little, then you need to let–her–go.”
“No,” Will snapped.
“You chose Penelope Smedgrove,” Ruth retorted. She made it clear with her disparaging tone exactly what she thought about that idea.
“That’s what this is all about, isn’t it?” Will demanded. “Georgiana is here because I am marrying Penelope Smedgrove.”
The thoughts that slammed through him were so wildly fantastical that he instinctively dismissed them as impossible. But then the memory of her loving display of affection last night slammed into him, and he began to wonder.
“Does she-?” he asked only to find the doorway empty.
Slowly making his way back up to his room, he dropped the heavy iron key on the bed and took a seat at the small table nestled beside the window. The more he contemplated his future in Cranbury, possibly with Penelope Smedgrove as his wife, the more he discontent he became. Marriage to her just seemed like an extra burden he wasn’t prepared to carry. Downstairs, when he had first considered that Georgiana’s behaviour had changed because of his impending nuptials, he had been inwardly thrilled that she cared so deeply about him to be that upset. However, that wild rush of heady jubilation had been swiftly dampened by the realisation that he might already be engaged.
“Am I engaged given that I didn’t ask the chit to marry me?” he sighed.
He began to wonder just how far his mother had gotten involved in his supposed engagement. Without speaking to her, he had no idea if he was free and able to offer for Georgiana instead.
Determined to get the answers he needed–and quickly, before he left the village–Will dispatched several letters to people whose opinion no longer mattered. Once completed, he sat back to try to find a way to discover if Georgiana truly loved him.
It didn’t take him long to realise that whether she love him or not was irrelevant now. Georgiana was his, she just didn’t know it yet. If he was going to marry anybody, it had to be the delightfully wilful yet irritatingly stubborn young woman who lived down the street.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Georgiana tried to find a more comfortable position on the hard church pew, but to no avail. Bored, she studied the rest of the congregation, trying to persuade herself that she wasn’t looking for Will, but she was. When she found him, her heart leapt with joyous relief that he was there. He looked wonderful if a little stern. Suddenly, as though sensing her watching him, Will’s eyes met hers. Her stomach flipped nervously. Her cheeks began to heat as a wealth of understanding and shared memories flew between them. She waited for him to do something, smile at her maybe, or nod politely, but he merely turned away instead.
Hurt, Georgiana lowered her unseeing gaze to the hymn book in her lap. It was several minutes before she became aware that she was being watched again. When she glanced up her gaze flew to Will, but he was still studying something on the floor beneath his feet. Curious, her gaze scanned the surrounding congregation. It was then that she saw Simeon Findley-Wreake. She nodded politely to him. In contrast to Will’s cold disinterest, Simeon offered her a warm, friendly smile of commiseration. Georgiana’s own smile widened.
In that moment, the Vicar began the service. As the service progressed, Georgiana sensed she was being watched again, and looked at Simeon once more. She barely managed to stifle her gasp when Simeon winked at her and flashed a wide grin, and elicited a flirtatious smile in return. Unfortunately, his antics drew the attention of a rather patriarchal matron seated three seats behind him who gave her a stern glare in rebuke. Will also began to glower at her, clearly displeased with her happiness. With a defiant toss of her head she turned her attention back to the Vicar.
The longer Will sat in the church watching Georgiana flirt with the young man a few rows before him the brighter his fury burned. He had seen enough. Ruth was right. Someone in the village would eventually realise Georgiana was beautiful, funny, courageous, and clever, and marry her. While he lived and breathed, it wouldn’t be the oaf three rows away. He was far too smooth and had ‘womanising rake’ positively stamped all over him. Even from a distance, it was obvious that this eligible bachelor was no match for Georgiana. She deserved somebody better.
Like you, a dark voice taunted.
He tried to ignore it but the fact was there. He began to suspect that in his eyes nobody would be good enough for Georgiana except for himself. The surge of jealousy that was eating at him right now was becoming rather commonplace, and urged him to do something about it, whatever trouble it caused at home.
Georgiana heaved a sigh of relief when the service ended, and everyone was able to shuffle, duly chastised, out of the church.
“Good morning, ladies,” a deep baritone murmured smoothly from beside her as she followed Ruth down the path which ran through the churchyard. “Miss Bentley. Miss Bentley. I hope you are both well?”
“Oh, yes sir, most well thank you,” Ruth gushed in response. She was so effusive in her greeting that Georgiana stared at her in surprise. She had never seen her aunt so brash in her greeting before and looked at Simeon with renewed interest.
“I take it you are settling into the village well, Miss Georgiana?” Simeon said as he bowed over her hand, his gaze holding hers as he placed a lingering kiss on the back of it.
Rather than eliciting the shiver of pleasure she experienced whenever Will did the same, Simeon’s kiss had little or no effect whatsoever. In fact, it made her rather uncomfortable.
“Yes, thank you. It is wonderful here. I am quite enjoying myself.”
“I didn’t realise you two had already met,” Ruth said hesitantly as she looked from one to the other and back again.
“Mr Parker kindly introduced us just the other day,” Simeon said. “I must say that it was a delightful experience indeed.”
Georgiana shifted uncomfortably. While he conversed with Ruth, Simeon’s gaze remained locked on Georgiana, and was too probing for comfort. While his gaze was friendly, there were shadows lurking in the depths of his eyes that warned her he had hidden sides to his personality, and they were more calculating than friendly. As if realising Ruth was still there, Simeon suddenly gave a start and looked at her aunt.
“I should like to call upon you later, if I may? I need to discuss the arrangements for the forthcoming church fayre next month,” he declared blandly.
“Of course,” Ruth replied. “Although I understood the arrangements had already been settled with the church ladies.”
“Most of them have but I have a few things I should like to discuss with you personally,” he said mysteriously. “I am sure that Miss Georgiana won’t mind getting involved.”
Ruth nodded. “Of course, we will both be delighted to help in any way we can.”
“Good,” Simeon replied smoothly. “I look forward to hearing all about your skills,” he smiled at Georgiana and promptly took his leave of them with a bow.
Georgiana watched him stalk
out of the graveyard and disappear down the road without even bothering to acknowledge any of the other villagers. Once he was out of sight, she turned to study at her aunt.
“Don’t,” Ruth warned before she spoke. “He is a really influential man around these parts. I have no idea what he is up to, but he has something planned. It would be rude to tell him that he is not welcome to call upon us. That kind of snub would deeply offend him and create a lot of gossip.”
“Why are you so worried?” Georgiana asked as she followed her aunt out of the churchyard.
Ruth sighed. “Because our local gentry has a crush on you.”
“Me?” Georgiana cried in dismay.
“Well, he won’t be attracted to me,” Ruth snorted.
“What on earth gives you that idea?”
“Because, my dear, the arrangements for the fayre are always made by the ladies who volunteer for the church duties. It is a church fayre and not something he usually gets involved in. I suspect he is using it as an excuse to further his acquaintance with someone,” Ruth murmured, her smile somewhat sly.
“Oh dear,” Georgiana gulped.
“Please don’t get me wrong, Georgiana, I am not suggesting there is anything wrong with him. He comes from a fine, reputable family. In all the time I have been here I have never heard a bad word said about them. The family has their privacy, of course they do, but there are rumours.”
“What sort of rumours?” Georgiana interrupted with a frown.
Ruth sighed. “While the family have a good reputation, there is an uncle who is an entirely different matter. As far as I am aware, even he has never had any cross words with anyone in the village so it is safe to say that you are not likely to come to any harm if you wish to take tea with our Lord when he does call.”
“Do you think he will?” Georgiana asked. She wasn’t sure she wanted to see him again.
“It is inevitable I am afraid,” Ruth murmured and nodded toward Simeon now seated high atop a curricle. He nodded as he passed but rather than keep going, he turned the curricle around at the end of the road and made his way back to them.
