“My mother will attest that you sent it to her, and that she procured one of my personal letters to show to you, Ursula. There is more, too,” Graham added, stepping further into the room. Georgie slunk back, eyes darting here and there like a cornered animal. “You enlisted the help of Sir Roderick Black.”
At the mention of that vile man’s name, Ursula flinched as though she had been burned. Her eyes widened, and she swallowed reflexively.
“What?” she stammered. “I don’t understand.”
“The man admitted it himself,” Graham snarled, pointing a finger at Georgie. “You arranged for him to meet Ursula in the gardens that night, because you meant for her to be ruined.”
Ursula sat down heavily. Her legs had turned to jelly, and she felt sick. Tearing her eyes from the ground, she found her cousin staring at her, face livid.
“I was at my wit’s end,” Georgie whispered.
Ursula tasted bile. “It’s true, then.”
Georgie groaned aloud, backing away. “I am tired, heartily tired of being in your shadow, Ursula! I am tired of hearing how pretty you are, how graceful, how intelligent and charming, howdelightful. I am tired of being compared to you. And now, on your very first Season, you are dubbed the Diamond and wed a viscount! How is that fair?”
Ursula rose to her feet, her strength surging back. “Youarrangedfor me to be… to be assaulted? What would have happened if Graham had not intervened?”
Georgie turned away, her throat working. “I only wanted to be rid of you, Ursula. I wanted to be seen for myself, not for my pretty, rich, titled cousin. Who would ever pick a plainmissover alady? Who would pick me over you?”
“I would!” Ursula cried. “I did! You were like a sister to me, Georgie. I defended you to Charlotte so many times, I… oh, mercy. How could I have been such a fool?”
“It isn’t my fault!” Georgie insisted, face reddening. “I have to wed, and with you gone…”
“Get out,” Ursula whispered. When Georgie didn’t immediately move, she shouted louder. “Getout!”
Georgie turned on her heel and ran out of the room, the door slamming behind her. A moment later, a bewildered Ruthie appeared in the doorway. Her eyes widened to see Graham there, but she concentrated on Ursula.
“Your ladyship? What is it?”
Ursula sank down onto the chair again, burying her face in her hands. “Pack my things, Ruthie. We leave within the hour.”
“W-Where will we go, your ladyship?”
Ursula breathed in. “That remains to be seen.”
Ruthie opened her mouth, as if she wanted to argue, then sensibly closed it again, scurrying away.
For a moment, there was silence. Then Graham crossed the room, dropping into a crouch in front of her.
“I am sorry to have revealed all this,” he murmured. “I… I felt that you had to be informed.”
“I assure you, you have done me a great service in telling me allthis. Charlottehas long disliked Georgie. She was constantly telling me that she was jealous of me, but I could never see it. Perhaps I should have listened to my friend.” Sniffing, Ursulawiped a stray tear from the corner of her eye. “I am sorry that you have become tangled up in all of this. You deserve better, Graham. You should be with the woman you truly love.”
“And what woman is that?”
She glanced at him full in the eyes, trying to read his expression.
“I believe her name is Jane Whitmore.”
He reached out, gently taking her hand.
“I did once love Jane Whitmore, to be sure,” he stated quietly. “We were a social mismatch, but I cared little for that. And nor, I believed, did she. I’m sure she was at least a little fond of me, but I know now that she did not love me. My mother offered her money to break off our relationship and leave London. She and her father requested a higher sum, which my mother duly paid, and they kept up their end of the bargain.”
“She is back in London now,” Ursula whispered. “She wrote to you.”
“Believe me, Ursula, I never saw that letter. If I had, I would have written back to her and told her not to write or simply ignored it. I hold no resentment towards Jane, but my love for her melted away when I realised it was not requited. Love is a trickything;do you not agree? Perhaps I never loved her at all. I love you, Ursula.”
Ursula bit her lip, holding his gaze. “You truly mean it?”
