Page 23 of Miss Wylde and the Wynd

He waited at the threshold then allowed her to pass, offering direction to the dining room, though it was easy to find. When she entered, a footman waited to pull out a chair, which she took and found herself seated next to Damian and across from Lady Wyndham.

After wine was poured, soup was placed before them, and she nearly moaned as veal, cream, almond, and eggs mingled and tantalized her tongue. While she tried not to eat too quickly, ladylike decorum disappeared over her desire to fill her belly.

“Georgie plans on walking to London,” Damian announced.

“Walk!” Lady Wyndham exclaimed.

“That could take you days,” Wyndham added.

“There is little choice, Lord Wyndham, for I can think of no other way to travel.” If it were possible, she would run the distance since Grace was nearly a week ahead of her and the longer it took to reach her, the further away she would get from Georgie.

“A mail coach,” Wyndham suggested to which Georgie frowned.

“A mail coach?”

“Yes. They travel from town to town, are quick, and often take on passengers for a nominal fee. Do you not have the same in Italy?”

“I have never heard of passengers being delivered along with the mail.” And it would be so much better than walking, and more efficient. “Where would I find a mail coach?”

“They usually stop at coaching inns,” Wyndham answered. “There are two that I know of in Southampton.”

This was even better. The walk into town would not be so long. She would visit the coaching inns to inquire after a mail coach to London. “How long does it take a mail coach to travel from Southampton to London?”

He frowned for a moment. “No more than twelve hours, I suppose.”

That was much shorter than she feared, and riding was far more comfortable than walking such a distance.

“Thank you. Might I have directions to these coaching inns? I would like to go there following dinner so that I can book passage as soon as possible.”

“You cannot travel on a mail coach!” Damian argued. “It is not safe.”

“If it were so dangerous, Lord Wyndham would not have made the suggestion,” she returned. “Besides, nobody will know that I am a woman.”

The empty soup bowl was removed and then replaced with a plate of roasted chicken, potatoes, warm bread, and asparagus. Her mouth watered for the second time since she sat at the table.

“Anyone sitting next to you or across from you, if you are lucky enough not to be stuck on the top of the coach, will know that you are a woman,” Damian insisted.

Georgie narrowed her eyes, stubbornness rising within. “I disagree.”

“He is correct, Georgie,” Lady Wyndham offered. “Your disguise will not fool the most discerning of individuals, which you will likely encounter on a mail coach, especially when they are sitting so close and have nothing else to occupy them other than studying their fellow passengers.”

“Which is the reason Damian will accompany you,” Wyndham declared before he took another bite of chicken.

She glanced over at Damian to note his blue eyes widen, auburn hair falling across his forehead and looking at his older brother as if he had lost his mind.

“That is not necessary,” she insisted.

Georgie refused to allow him to accompany her.

She’d had enough of him today, and for a good long while, with his chasing her down, endless questions, then trying to make her stay put. He hadn’t even asked her where she intended to spend the night but decided the matter for her when he brought her to Wyndview Hall.

He was controlling and Damian Wynd was the last person she wanted as a companion.

Chapter Eight

“I agree that Georgie should not travel on her own, but I cannot be away from Trade Wynd.” Sterling had lost his mind for even suggesting that he accompany Georgie anywhere.

Further, it would require that he be gone from Trade Wynd for at least three days and while he had been absent for longer lengths of time, it had always been planned in advance and Damian had prepared Trade Wynd for his absence. He simply could not disappear without warning.