Last Chance for the Charming Ladies: A Clean & Sweet Regency Historical Romance Collection

by Fanny Finch

  “But I can assure you, Miss Reginald, that we without think of it a great deal. We must think of it. For you are always finding little ways to put us back into our places.

  “How am I to think? Once I was rejected because of my lack of money and title. Now I have one, but not the other. And it is the latter that is infinitely more important to you all.

  “How many nobles have been destitute and living off of charity only to be treated better by the rest of society than people with wealth and respectability, simply because one is called baron and the other is not?

  “You cannot blame me for feeling some sort of hesitance and for assuming that the status quo would be maintained by your brother. I did know him once and he was a good man and an honorable one.

  “But he was not the duke then. Having a title and responsibilities changes people. I have seen it time and again in the navy. A man is one way but once you give him a command he is a completely different person.

  “I was not as respectful of our differences as I should have been, once. I was foolish in thinking that love would simply conquer all. I am wiser now. I understand the power of family and society.

  “And I will not allow my heart to become wounded once more. I will not be foolish and step too quickly and without looking into a pit.”

  “You make it sound as though I am willfully leading you to your doom,” Georgiana replied. “Is the idea of entering into a courtship or even a friendship with me again so very abhorrent to you? I had not known that such bitterness lurked in your heart.”

  “You call it bitterness if you like. I call it common sense.”

  “Well, I too possess some common sense,” Georgiana replied. “And it is telling me now what a fool I was for waiting for you, whether I did it consciously or not.

  “I felt for you all of this time. Clearly, I was a silly girl who had read far too many love poems. Lord Byron would be proud of me, I can presume, but I am not proud of myself.

  “You must forgive me for troubling you in such a manner, Captain Trentworth. You will have to accept my excuse that it was merely the nostalgia for my youth that led me to behave in such a bold manner.

  “I hope that you will not judge me too harshly for speaking to you as I did during our dance. You must dismiss all of it. It was clearly folly.”

  Captain Trentworth looked, again, as though someone had come out of nowhere and struck him across the face. He looked as though he had no idea what to say in the slightest.

  Well, good. At least she had that victory to warm her when she was feeling cold and alone and helpless tonight.

  “If you will excuse me,” she said, curtsying. “I must take my leave.”

  He didn’t even try to stop her. She didn’t quite think that he would. A part of her hoped, just a little, that he would do so. That he would tell her to stay and apologize for the things that he had said.

  But there was no apology. No word to halt her. Not even a look.

  Georgiana made her way quickly through the ballroom, circling around the other side so that as the dance ended, she was on the side of the men.

  Miss Everett and Mr. Norwich finished their dance. Apparently she must have prevailed upon him to ask her.

  Georgiana did not want to encourage Mr. Tomlinson in his flirtations. Not yet, anyway. Not tonight. Not while her heart was breaking to pieces inside of her that very moment.

  Tomorrow, yes. Tomorrow she would be strong. Tomorrow she would do what she must.

  Tonight she just had to get home and cry.

  “Mr. Norwich,” she said, feeling breathless. “I apologize greatly for how I am about to prevail upon you. But I cannot ask the three ladies that I am with to retire while they are still enjoying themselves. Their escort is the same as mine.

  “Therefore I must beg you, please, if my escort will allow it—Mrs. Weston—would you please escort me home? I cannot stay a moment longer, I am not at all well.”

  Mr. Norwich looked at her with grave concern, his gaze wandering over her face as if looking for signs of a fever. “Of course, Miss Reginald. You need only ask. I will find Mrs. Weston and ask if such a thing is permissible.”

  “Thank you, sir.” She curtsied. “It means more than I can possibly say.”

  Mr. Norwich went off to find Mrs. Weston.

  Georgiana went to find Julia.

  She found her, thankfully, alone. Julia was refilling her wine cup. She looked up when she heard Georgiana approach, a smile on her face. It widened momentarily upon seeing that it was Georgiana, then fell completely as she saw her friend’s expression.

  “Why, my dear girl, whatever is the matter?”

  Georgiana did her best to get her breathing under control. Around her closest and dearest friend, her composure threatened to crack completely and shatter. She must not allow it.

  “I’m afraid that I am retiring for the evening,” she said. “I am not at all well. Mr. Norwich has agreed to escort me home. That way you, Miss Perry, and Miss Everett might continue to dance as you please.

  “He is asking your mother right now if he might have permission to take me. I am certain that she will grant it. You will find me asleep when you return and I hope that you will keep me that way. Do not ask me why I am ill. I cannot speak of it.”

  Julia stared at her. “Georgiana. I have never seen you in such distress, not since… well, not since you had to reject the captain.”

  “Then I am certain that you can guess the reason for my distress now and you need not ask any more about it.”

  “You—but you said—”

  “It was the other way around this time. It seems that our differences are, to him, impossible to reconcile. Now if you will excuse me. I find myself quite at odds with the atmosphere of this room.”

  Mr. Norwich walked up to them at that moment, in a fortuitous coincidence. “Mrs. Weston has graciously given her permission for me to escort you home in my carriage. Miss Weston, good evening.”

  “Good evening.” Julia curtsied. “Please do take care of her. She is my dearest friend in the world.”

  “I can promise you that I shall.”

  Georgiana wondered if Captain Trentworth could see that she was being escorted from the ballroom. Surely he could be under no illusions as to how much he had upset her. Surely there was no doubt in his mind as to how distressed she was.

  She wondered if he would think anything of her being escorted by Mr. Norwich. Then she reminded herself that she did not care anymore.

  Well, that was a lie. She did care. But she shouldn’t care. Captain Trentworth had made it clear how much he truly disdained her family lineage. To think such things of her brother, and to judge Edward, without even getting to meet him even once!

  He had not seen Edward in years! Yes, that might mean that Edward had changed. But that did not mean that he got to judge the man before even seeing him in person once again.

  If anything, surely realizing that Edward could have changed meant that Captain Trentworth had no right to judge him and should meet him as soon as possible to understand Edward’s character anew.

  Mr. Norwich silently passed Georgiana his handkerchief again as they exited the ballroom. “You might as well keep it, Miss Reginald,” he said, with a trace of humor. “You are getting more use out of it than I am.”

  “This has been a night of despair and elation and back to despair again,” Georgiana admitted. “I thank you for being so selfless and kind in all of this mess.”

  “I think that you have gone after what you wanted and failed and are now seeking to avoid making a scene. Such dignity and courage ought to be supported, in my opinion.”

  They went down the steps and Mr. Norwich ordered his carriage to be summoned. Most people were still at the ball. It was the height of things. Only a couple of hours had passed since it had begun. This meant it did not take long for the carriage to be fetched and brought over.

  Mr. Norwich helped her in, climbing in after. Georgiana dabbed at her eyes with the h
andkerchief. Oh, her father was turning over in his grave. She was starting to cry, and in front of a relative stranger. A stranger who was also a man.

  All of her decorum had flown completely out the window. She could not even recall the last time that she had cried like this. Or cried at all. Father’s funeral, she thought. That had been the last time.

  “I take it that things did not go as you had hoped?” Mr. Norwich asked gently.

  Georgiana shook her head. “Not at all how I had hoped. But perhaps how I ought to have expected them to go. I fear that I was too optimistic about my chances.”

  Mr. Norwich sat there gravely for a moment, then said, “Is the gentleman to whom we have been referring Captain Trentworth?”

  Georgiana nearly groaned in despair. “Am I so very obvious?” If Mr. Norwich had observed it then perhaps others had as well. She could be a laughingstock tomorrow.

  “It is only that after our conversation, you danced with him, and then after Mr. Tomlinson took his turn you went up to the captain again. I only noticed because I was keeping an eye on you. I thought that you might need someone to come in and provide assistance. And so it was, but I’m afraid I was engaged in dancing at the time.”

  “I feel awful for poor Miss Everett. First I interrupt her conversation with Captain Trentworth, and then the whole time you are dancing with her you were keeping an eye on me.”

  “Do not worry about Miss Everett,” Mr. Norwich replied kindly. “She is young with plenty of men that she can enchant. I’m sure that she will forget about it all in a half an hour’s time.”

  Georgiana nodded. That was true enough, she supposed. “I hope that you will not be harsh with him. I know that he is a guest at your house while he is in Bath. Do not trouble yourself over it.”

  “It is not my matter to trouble myself over,” Mr. Norwich replied. “Unless he has impugned your honor in which case I would happily take him to task on it.”

  “He has angered me,” Georgiana admitted. “And I think that he has thought of my family in an unfair manner. Judged us too harshly. But my honor is intact. He would never cross that line. He is a good man at heart. Just, I fear, an angry one.”

  “Men often fall into that trap,” Mr. Norwich acknowledged. “He must be struggling to adjust to civilian life again. And he seems like the sort that would hold a grudge.

  “Rest assured, I will not say anything to him one way or another about the subject. Unless, of course, he asks for my opinion. In that case I will not be able to stay silent. I think it is important that one is honest when one is asked to be.”

  “I could not prevail upon you to lie, nor would I ask you to. It is unfair to ask someone else to compromise their integrity to preserve my dignity. I fear that I do not have any dignity left, in any case.”

  Mr. Norwich appeared troubled at that. “Miss Reginald, I think that you are too harsh on yourself. I have seen many women behave with ten times the lack of decorum that you did. And we all, despite our best efforts, have our moments of extreme emotion.”

  Georgiana twisted the handkerchief in her hands, staring down at the fine white linen. All she could hope for was that this night would be quickly put behind her.

  “I know that it probably seems awful right now,” Mr. Norwich added, his voice soft. “I have experienced many such nights. Perhaps not of this exact nature, no. But we all have our moments where we are in the pits of despair.

  “A good night’s rest and a satisfactory breakfast usually help me to see things better. I might suggest a walk in the morning. The fresh air and sunshine will do you a world of good.

  “Nothing is so bad as we first think it is. I do not think that all is lost.”

  “With this gentleman, it is,” Georgiana replied.

  Mr. Norwich looked contemplative. After a moment of silence, he said, “I suppose it might be. But you have at least one gentleman who is willing and able to step up in his stead. Mr. Tomlinson danced with you twice tonight.”

  “That he did.”

  Mr. Norwich glanced at her. “Are you not fond of him?”

  “I have only known him for two evenings.”

  “That is fair. But it proves that you still have a chance to make a happy marriage of things with someone other than the captain.”

  “I appreciate your optimism, Mr. Norwich. No doubt in the morning I shall think of things that way as well. But right now I must… I must let this storm inside of me pass.”

  “I understand that. You are a woman of good sense.”

  “How so?” Georgiana felt like the opposite of sensible.

  “You understand the importance of letting our emotions pass through us,” Mr. Norwich replied. “Bottling them up will not help. Indeed I have found that it only makes things worse.”

  “I am glad to hear that you think so.”

  The carriage rolled to a stop in front of the Weston residence. Mr. Norwich helped her down and walked her to the door. “I hope that tomorrow things look less bleak for you, Miss Reginald.”

  “I hope so as well. Thank you, sir, again. Your kindness will not be forgotten.”

  Mr. Norwich bowed to her, she curtsied in return, and then he departed.

  Georgiana let herself into the house.

  After reassuring the servants that she only needed her bed turned down for the evening and perhaps a cup of tea, Georgiana went up to her room. She got into her nightclothes and got assistance with her hair.

  Tea was kindly brought, and she forced herself to drink it. The taste was sour in her mouth and it was hard to swallow but she knew that she would feel better once she had something to settle her stomach.

  After she made herself finish the tea, she crawled into bed.

  She was tempted to write to Maria, honestly. She wanted to ask her if she had thought of things the way that Captain Trentworth did. Had Maria felt as though she would never belong because she didn’t have a title?

  Georgiana didn’t think that Maria had felt that way. But then, she hadn’t thought that Captain Trentworth had thought that way either.

  She hugged her pillow tightly and let herself cry. She had thought that it was bad enough before when she had to reject him. Now she knew that this was worse.

  At least then, she had known that he had wanted her. That he would have married her in a heartbeat if she—or rather her father—had allowed it.

  But now she was giving him her whole heart and he did not want it. He was thinking up excuses as to why it could not happen. He was telling her that she was no longer worth the risk to him.

  And from the man who had once told her to risk it all and marry him despite her father’s wishes!

  It struck her as a great hypocrisy.

  Not that she would tell him that. She had already strayed far enough over the border of propriety. She must not go any further.

  And besides, what good would chastising him further do? Would it help her cause? Would it change his mind? Would it really bring her any peace?

  No, she did not think that it would accomplish any of those things. And so what would be the point?

  Instead she simply cried until she fell asleep from it.

  Chapter 15

  Robert could not fail to notice Miss Reginald leaving almost as soon as their conversation had ended.

  Not, he corrected himself, their conversation. Their argument, rather.

  He had been blunt with her. And she, to his surprise, had been blunt in return.

  He wanted to shake her and ask her how dare she think that she could ask him to risk so much? After he had already risked it all for her once and been struck down?

  Surely it was fair of him to expect a bit more reassurance this time around? Surely he had a right to be angry with the way the class system had denied him, and most likely would deny him again, the woman that he loved?

  He had a right to be angry. And for her to be just as angry back at him! Where was that fighting spirit all those years ago with her father? Where had it been then?
r />   He was aware that he was stewing but he did not know how to stop himself.

  He could barely remember the rest of the night. The first moment his mind became clear again was when he and Mr. Norwich departed for home.

  Robert had noticed that Miss Reginald had gone home with Mr. Norwich rather than with Mr. Tomlinson. He felt an odd sort of vindication at that. Even after they had parted ways in anger, she still did not give Mr. Tomlinson any indication that he was the favored one.

  “Did Miss Reginald get home safely?” Robert asked as they got into the carriage.