Page 17 of Miss Wylde and the Wynd

“I am certain that you will have better luck tomorrow.”

Just knowing that there was nothing she could do for now prompted Georgie’s body to relax as exhaustion came over her. It had been a trying three weeks from the moment she left Italy, hid on a ship, and then arrived here only to encounter Damian Wynd, and she still hadn’t found her sister.

Lady Wyndham linked her arm with Georgia’s. “Now, come along and we will get you settled into a chamber.”

“That is not necessary.” This was an earl’s home. She did not belong here.

“Nonsense. Livia tells me that you hid behind marble on the ship all the way from Carrera. Is that true?”

“Yes.”

“You must be exhausted and likely want a bath. I certainly would.”

“A bath would be wonderful.” And she would also love to wash her hair. She had been limited in how often she risked washing, and had rarely gone above with a spare bucket, usually in the middle of the night, to retrieve water and bring it back down. But nothing was a good substitute for a real bath.

“Then that is what you shall have. I will instruct the housekeeper to have the tub delivered to your chamber right away and filled with water.”

“I have already prevailed too much.”

“I insist!” Lady Wyndham said as she escorted Georgie into a yellow-and-mauve chamber with a large bed in the center of the room and a stone fireplace on the opposite wall, a fire already built and burning.

“You get settled and the bath will be along shortly. Dinner will be in a few hours.”

She had hoped that it would be sooner, but Georgie had gone much longer without sustenance and she could wait.

“I will also ask that tea and biscuits be delivered since it is likely you have not eaten since earlier today.”

The last time she had food was right before they docked. That had been hours ago.

Georgie glanced around. “Do you always keep a room at the ready for guests?” She understood an extra bedchamber in the home of an earl, but a fire had already been built.

“I assumed that Damian would bring you back, and your sister, if she was found, and that you would need a place to stay until you could book passage home,” she answered.

She had presumed a lot.

“It is better and safer here than it would be at an inn and you have already endured enough because of a Trade Wynd sailor.”

“None of that is your fault.”

“My husband and Damian carry the weight of responsibility regardless, even though you and I know that they cannot control every man they employ, especially when they are far away.”

“Thank you for your kindness,” Georgie finally said because she did appreciate having a safe place, without having to spend any of her precious funds.

Georgie wandered to the window after Lady Wyndham left her alone and looked out into the dark night. “Oh, Grace, where are you?”

Chapter Six

“She is a danger to herself,” Damian complained to Sterling as he poured a glass of wine. “What kind of woman sneaks onto a ship and hides in the cargo area and remains there for three weeks? Does she even realize how lucky she is. Sometimes it has taken two months to cross the same distance, depending on time of year and weather.”

“A woman worried about her sister,” Sterling stated the obvious.

“Woman!” Damian snorted. “More girl, and likely just out of the schoolroom.” He shook his head and took a drink. “Nearly a child with those freckles and braids. A girl who had no business leaving her home on such an adventure.”

“How old do you think she is?” Sterling asked.

“She can be no older than nine-and-ten, but that is assuming she is the older of the sisters, but likely younger.”

He stopped when Sterling laughed.