After they were seated, Lord Langley said, “I had almost resolved to send in a search party, did you and Lady Annabelle run into trouble?”
Georgiana was fairly surprised at the question, as it was not usual that a man would comment on a lady having been to a retiring room at all, much less how long they spent there. Feminine creatures were not to have any bodily functions, at least none that would be acknowledged.
But then, he’d seen her exit with Lady Annabelle, and he knew very well that he’d insulted her. This line of inquiry was a fishing expedition to discover what she knew about it.
“As you can imagine,” Georgiana said, “Lady Annabelle was quite distraught over…recent events.”
Lord Langley nodded and was silent for some time. To his credit, he did not pretend he did not understand her meaning. He said, “Whatever I said, it was well-earned.”
“I imagine so, but she is not what you think,” Georgiana said. “Or rather, her situation is not what you think.”
“Her situation?” Lord Langley asked, looking surprised.
“She is not in love with you,” Georgiana said. For some reason, she felt the need to somehow vindicate Lady Annabelle. It was the silliest thing in the world—the lady had gossiped about her all over Town. Still, she had not meant much by it, in the end.
“I…never said she was!” Lord Langley said. He said it rather vehemently and Georgiana could see perfectly well that he’d been under the impression that the lady had set her cap on him.
“She finds you far too serious, ill-humored, and you do not dote on her,” Georgiana said. “It will not do.”
“I am glad it will not do,” Lord Langley said. “Though ill-humored…” He looked into her eyes. “My interests lie in an entirely different direction.”
Georgiana turned away and stared at her plate, though there was nothing yet on it. Why was there nothing on it? If there were, she might use her fork to push things around.
What did he mean by his interests lay in another direction? Was there another lady who he’d been in love with all along? But then, why did he look at her so? Was he hinting that she…
He cleared his throat and said, “I must ask, though—”
Ask? What? What would he ask her?
“Why did you fail to mention that you’d seen the king on the road when you journeyed to London?”
Georgiana felt as if someone had thrown cold water on her to wake her. Why did he ask her that? That was not what she’d hoped, or feared, or imagined…
“I only wonder,” Lord Langley went on, “as it was so extraordinary an encounter and youwereasked about the journey.”
“I did not realize the news would travel further than those who were present,” Georgiana said. “I suppose Jenny?”
“The report of what occurred was in the newspapers,” Lord Langley said.
The newspapers? How could that be?
“No, that is impossible,” Georgiana said, her mind racing. “I do not believe anybody there would have…”
“But why did you not say anything about it?” Lord Langley said, his voice low and insistent.
“Because it was private!” Georgiana whispered. “We should not have seen it. It was very like we had crept up to a house and peeked through its windows to view an intimate moment.”
“And the public need not know of it,” Lord Langley said.
“Nobodyneed know of it,” Georgiana said. “Goodness, what would you have thought of me, had I regaled the dinner table with the tale on that first night? What would you have thought if I posed it as an amusing story? The man is suffering!”
“I would have thought you were very like Lady Annabelle,” Lord Langley admitted.
“Well I am not,” Georgiana said, “I do not have a Mr. Pottsgrove waiting at home who dotes on me.”
“Mr. who?” Lord Langley asked.
“Oh never mind, I should not have said.”
