Page 43 of Miss Wylde and the Wynd

The first agonizing wait had been for the footman to return with passage on the mail coach. However, Georgie did not simply wait patiently. Instead, she asked Damian for a map of England and then took the schedule from him, opened the journal and listed possible mail coaches also leaving that night, or at worst, in the morning, and traveling in the correct direction, so that she could begin her journey even if it meant that she would have to change which mail coach she was riding in at different coaching inns along the way. She may be left to cool her heels for a bit, but it was better than sitting in a house in Mayfair waiting to travel while imagining that Grace had already boarded a ship bound for America.

As for Damian, he read newssheets. In the afternoon he requested tea while she wondered where the footman was because the coaching in was not so far away. Once the tea service had arrived, Damian settled back in a chair and watched as she mapped out a route, somewhat humored by her planning and offered no assistance whatsoever.

“You do not have to accompany me,” Georgie said when she had exhausted all possible options.

“I have traveled thus far; therefore, I will continue on to Liverpool.”

“What is it like?”

“Liverpool?” he countered.

“Yes. Is it as large as the Port of London?”

Damian shrugged. “I have no idea. I have never been there.”

“Never?” she asked.

“I am sorry to disappoint you, but I have never had a reason to travel to Liverpool.”

He ran Trade Wynd. They had ships and went to ports? How could he not know anything about Liverpool? “Then how can we find Grace?”

Damian blew out a sigh. “By the same means we have attempted to find her in Southampton and Port of London. By asking.”

His words did little to calm her anxiety. “Do you at least know who to ask?” What if Damian was going to be as much a stranger in Liverpool as she?

“I do have a few contacts who will be able to offer assistance.”

“Excuse me, Mr. Wynd,” the footman said after he stepped into the library. “Passage for you and Miss Georgie has been purchased on the mail coach to Liverpool leaving from The Swan with Two Necks this evening.”

“Thank you, Samuel,” Damian dismissed.

Georgie blew out a sigh and for the first time since the tea service had been delivered, reached forward for one of the sandwiches.

Damian arched an auburn brow.

“I was too worried to eat,” she said right before she took a bite, then folded the map and tucked the mail coach schedule within her journal.

The rest of the afternoon she spent rearranging her valise and satchel to determine which items she needed to keep close to her person and what could be stored where they could not be reached. She also counted her funds, which she hadn’t done since she left Italy and was relieved that none was missing, other than the small amount spent on the book.

She was also thankful that she had not yet needed to spend anymore of her precious funds because Damian had purchased passage and the food and drink while they traveled.

Yes, she was an irritant and he really did not want to be here, but despite everything, she was glad he accompanied her because it made the journey so much easier. Georgie likely wouldn’t have even arrived in London yet if she had been left on her own. Therefore, she would remain pleasant and appreciative even when he decided to be rude.

Oh, she did wish that he would settle on one mood. He’d been grumpy, resentful, short on patience, then pleasant, animated when talking about wine, and humored, then rude again. Frankly, it was difficult to keep up, especially when she did not know why his mood changed half of the time. It was also one of the reasons she went to the chamber she had been assigned to organize her belongings, just to have peace and be alone.

It was better that he was irritable, Georgie decided because when he was pleasant to be around, and when he smiled and his blue eyes warmed, well, so did she, from the inside out.

Goodness! He was a handsome man, and strong, and muscular, and he smelled good.

Damian Wynd was a wicked temptation that she could do without. However, if he decided that he wanted to seduce her, Georgie wasn’t so certain that she would have the strength to deny him.

Oh, goodness. This was not where her thoughts should travel and she must put all contemplations of seducing Damian or being seduced by him away and never think of them again.

Chapter Fifteen

As they prepared to leave the house, Cook provided a satchel filled with food and two bottles of wine to see them on the journey, much to Damian’s appreciation, then he and Georgie set out for The Swan with Two Necks, ready to board the mail coach an hour before it was set to leave. Georgie was the one who had insisted on an early arrival because she did not want to be stuck sitting between two strangers, nor did Damian.

And he was grateful she hadn’t forced him to leave any earlier. Still, he made a point to remain outside, away from any of the burning lamps, and kept his hat pulled low. He hated gossip—pure and simple—and hoped to keep it at bay.