“Come along, Miss Georgie.” Smith stepped back. “I’ve just finished running the bed warmer between the sheets and it’s time for you to go to sleep.”
Georgie glanced at the clock as she covered her mouth and yawned, again. It was not even eleven o’clock. “It’s been a long day.”
“And tomorrow won’t be any better.” Her maid started putting away hairpins, ribbons, and the combs that had held her hair. “I understand there is to be a gypsy hunt, whatever that is, you will be attending.”
That almost woke her up. “A gypsy hunt? Why would we do that?”
“I’m sure I don’t know.” Smith plucked up Georgie’s gown from the back of a chair. “All I was told is to have you ready by ten so that you can make the drive over to Lady Turner’s house.”
But Georgie was supposed to ride with Turley in the morning. Had he even been informed about the entertainment? There was nothing she could do about it now, but when she saw Frits at breakfast, she’d ask him to send a note to Turley.
“In that event, I’d better go to sleep.” She climbed into bed and her maid drew the covers up over her. “Good night, Smith.”
“Good night, Miss Georgie.”
In her dreams, Turley held her close to him, and she snuggled into his warmth. She lifted her head and stared at his well-formed lips.
She woke to something landing on the bed, and loud purring. “Sebastian.” The ginger and cream cat nudged her hand to be stroked.
What would it be like to feel Turley’s lips on hers? Yet, as she tried to imagine the kiss, it occurred to her that he had only once attempted to kiss her. At least that’s what she thought he was doing. She turned onto her back. Not for the first time, she remembered that he had never been anything but perfectly polite. Yes, his touch burned through the layers of clothing to her skin, sending pleasurable shivers through her body, but other than that—and she truly hoped he did not know how he affected her—he’d done nothing to show her he wanted her. Was that because he did not love her? But surely passion was important in a marriage, even one without love.
Sebastian settled next to her, and she turned her pillow over and rolled onto her side. She would give Turley this week. If he had not managed to at least attempt—again?—to kiss her, she’d give him up as a forlorn hope. She had almost slipped into sleep when another thought occurred to her. Had Mary and Amanda already paired their guests for the gypsy hunt or would she be able to be with Turley? If Adeline were not already asleep, Georgie would be strongly tempted to go ask her friend. Instead, she rolled over again. Answers, one way or the other, would come in the morning. But why wait for someone else’s answer? If they arrived early, Adeline could ask either Mary or Amanda if Georgie could be paired with Turley. It would be seen as an attempt at matchmaking. With her mind now settled, she closed her eyes again. Tomorrow could prove to be interesting.
* * *
The next morning, she came upon Adeline in the corridor. “May I speak with you for a moment?”
Adeline’s stomach growled as she glanced longingly at the door to the breakfast room, but nodded. “Will this take much time?”
“It will not take long at all.” Georgie pulled her friend into a rarely used parlor and closed the door. “If this game is not actually hunting gypsies—in which case I hope you will join with me to stop it—and it has teams, will you ask either Mary or Amanda to put me on the same team as Turley?”
Adeline nodded again. “Of course.” Then she pinned Georgie with a look. “What is this about?”
There was no reason not to relate what she had been thinking. “You remember when Frits first kissed you?”
“Yes,” Adeline said slowly.
“And how after that you became much more interested in him?” Georgie wondered if she was going to have to walk her friend through everything she had considered.
“I take it Turley has not kissed you at all.”
She could not keep from sounding as disgusted as she felt. “He has not even acted like he wanted to. Well, only once, but I might be wrong about that.”
“Ergo, you wish to give him a chance,” Adeline concluded.
Georgie bit down on her lip. “I thought that if he did not kiss me, even when I gave him an opportunity, then I should forget about finding a way that he could fall in love with me.”
“If only we could ask Frits’s advice,” Adeline mused. “But I am afraid that would put him in a difficult situation and not only because of his duty to you. He and Turley have been the best of friends for most of their lives. He might feel as if he was somehow betraying Turley.”
Georgie had not even thought about asking Frits. He of all people would be able to tell her what to do. Still, her friend had a point. “I suppose you’re right.”
Adeline’s stomach growled again. “I am famished.”
“You will ask about—”
“Yes.” She opened the door. “But now I must eat.”
Chuckling to herself, Georgie followed her friend into the breakfast room. As she filled her plate, she thought about what Adeline had said about approaching Frits. It would be a last resort, but Georgie might just do it.
