Page 63 of Watching the Earl

That was all? “Georgina.”

She stopped. “Yes?”

“Do you have any questions?”

She cocked her head. “I do. Did your father appear thinner when you saw him during Christmastide?”

Surprised by the topic she chose, he quickly searched his memory. “I suppose. Yes, I think that’s why he seemed older. There were more wrinkles. Why?”

“I guess you could say I’m curious.” And with that comment, she disappeared into his dressing room.

He stood frozen, not sure what to think. When the door between their dressing rooms closed, he finally moved. Not to go after her—that would be another example of his own selfishness. No, he was going back downstairs to have a whiskey and ponder why his gut felt as if he’d just lost his home all over again.

Chapter Seventeen

Discovering that she was now free to call upon her friends without her husband in tow, or anyone else for that matter, Georgina immediately called for the coach and was soon rolling through the streets to visit Rose.

She bounced her knee, too anxious to sit still. Her husband’s confession had her wishing to run in different directions, each one to make him feel better, but until she had her answers about his father’s malady, there was nothing she could say that he would listen to. The last thing she wished was for him to think of her as he did his mother. Not jumping up halfway through his story had been difficult because she knew what it felt like to recognize one’s own selfishness.

The coach slowed, so she looked out, but she was barely halfway there. The streets were busy. Walking would get her there faster, but it would not look good, even if she weren’t married. The conveyance moved forward at a snail’s pace, frustrating her to no end. Did they not know she was on an important errand? Her husband’s soul might well hang in the balance.

She grinned. Perhaps not. But she was anxious to relieve Philip’s torture. That he would move into his father’s rooms as some kind of self-flagellation had made her heart constrict with sorrow. How could she have not seen what terrible angst he was in over his father? She’d been watching him all along, but he hid it so well.

The coach rolled to a stop and she groaned. Peering out the window, she recognized the block. She wasn’t so far away, then. She absolutely couldn’t wait. She called out to the footman and quickly exited the coach. “You shall escort me to Lady Harewood’s townhouse on foot.”

“Yes, my lady.”

Pleased that no one tried to argue with her, she waited while the footman let the coachman know, then she started down the sidewalk, which was almost as busy as the street. She’d only gone a few yards when she saw the cause of the delay. A wagon had overturned and men were trying to right it to move it aside.

More confident that she’d made the right decision, she continued down the busy walkway, slower than she’d like. When a couple stopped to greet another, she started to walk around them and ran right into someone. Falling, she found her arm yanked to keep her standing. Seeing who’d saved her, she froze. “You.”

“Lady Georgina, what a pleasant surprise.”

She stared at Lord Ashfield as if he belonged in Bedlam. “Pleasant? Unhand me.” She pulled her arm from his grasp, her anger mingling with shame at seeing the man who’d promised her everything. He looked the same, but as she studied him, she found him wanting. His hair was too light, his eyes too dark, his sideburns too long. How could she have been so naïve?

“Yes, seeing a lovely lady such as yourself on the street is quite pleasant. Can I escort you somewhere?”

The look in his eye told her exactly where he wished to escort her to. “I have my footman with me, and as Lady Durham, I have no need of your services.”

His brows rose in surprise. “Lady Durham? You did well for yourself, then. If you ever tire of your husband, I’d be happy to bring happiness once more to your life.”

The arrogance of him had her fisting her hands. “Sir. The pleasure I find in my husband’s company is so much greater than what I found in yours that I can’t help but wonder at my naivete, or that of any other woman who has been in your company.”

Though she’d been careful in her words, she could see that he understood her exactly.

“In fact, after you, I was anxious to be a spinster, but my husband showed me how much happier married life could be. Good day, Lord Ashfield.”

She’d turned to continue to Lord and Lady Harewood’s house when the man growled low in his throat, and grabbed her arm.

“Simpering chit. You’ll rue the day you dared speak to me in such a manner, you trollop.”

Fear raced through her and she yanked her arm from his grasp. Quickly, she started forward without a backward glance, stepping around a curious couple, hoping her footman was with her. She’d barely taken three steps before she found Philip’s servant at her side. Relieved, she continued on as quickly as she could, hoping no one had heard her and that she would reach Rose before Lord Ashfield caught up to her for whatever it was he thought she deserved.

As she walked, her anger overcame her fear. To think he thought she deserved to be reprimanded when it was he who had acted so poorly… It was enough to make a person scream.

“Lady Durham. I believe you wished the house back there, did you not?”

She halted, so intent on her thoughts that she’d passed the house. “Thank you.” Turning about, she hurried back and almost ran up the steps. As soon as the butler showed her into the parlor and she saw Rose talking to Arabella, who sat in her wheeled chair, Georgina started to cry.