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“You don’t seem too happy about it,” Ruth murmured. Strangely, she didn’t appear pleased about it either.
“I have a problem,” Georgiana sighed as she stood beside her aunt. Together they watched the people hurrying past the house for several moments before Georgiana broke the silence. “I seem to have enraged the gossips in the village by going out with him today.”
Ruth nodded but didn’t speak at first. It was clear that she was choosing her words carefully.
“What is it?” Georgiana prompted.
“I have heard snippets of the rumours going around about you. While most people are discrete about it, some of my closest friends and confidants have told me what they have overheard.”
“And?”
“It appears that the village thinks Will is a scorned lover whose association with you has cast you into disgrace with your parents, hence you have come here to live with me.”
“Oh, how ridiculous,” Georgiana snapped dismissively, her voice full of the contempt. “Who on earth sets these rumours into motion?”
“It doesn’t matter who starts the rumours, Georgiana. The fact that they are being discussed is enough to sully your reputation. You didn’t help matters by going out with Simeon today. He is a highly eligible bachelor around these parts. Now that has raised eyebrows but it won’t cause a scandal because of his connections and eligible status. Still, you were seen with Will here the other night, and out with Simeon today. It won’t take much for a young woman to get a certain reputation.”
“I am sorry,” Georgiana whispered. “I don’t want to cause you any trouble.”
Ruth snorted. “It isn’t my reputation I am worried about. Those in the village who wish to cast aspersions on my character have to contend with the sterling reputation I have built up in the thirty or so years I have been here. Nearly everybody of my acquaintance would dismiss their attempt to slander me as ridiculous. It is you I am concerned about, Georgiana. Once people start to question your morals, it is extremely difficult to live and breathe around these parts without risking their gossip. They will turn seemingly innocent situations against you at a moment’s notice. Truth has nothing to do with it.”
Georgiana contemplated what to do for several moments. She was edging on total ruination and that would make her continued stay at her aunt’s house virtually impossible.
“I shall make sure it doesn’t happen again with either Simeon or Will. Unfortunately, Simeon has said that he intends to call upon me in the morning and left before I could refuse him.”
“You are angry,” Ruth commented when Georgiana flopped heavily into one of the chairs in the room.
“I am,” she admitted. “I am sick of having other people dictate my life; people like Cecily, Papa, Will, and then Mrs Atterton with her gossip mongering. Now Simeon is not giving me the change to decide what I want and just tells me what he is going to do. When I came here I had hoped that everything would settle down but no. Here I am being dictated to by the gossips and have to stop doing what I want to do in case I upset anybody. I am sick of it, Ruth. Absolutely fed up of it all. Is there no place I can go where I can simply be myself without someone passing judgement on me? I wouldn’t mind, but I haven’t done anything wrong.”
Her voice was far sharper than she intended but her frustration was a heavy burden she needed to off-load before she went mad from the stress of it all. The disgust at having come all of this way just to be faced with th
e same kind of situations was ridiculous.
“I will deal with Simeon,” Ruth sighed. “I own this house and if he calls by here, he will have to take tea with me. It is highly inappropriate of him to come here and take tea alone with you. Will has agreed to stay away, so he doesn’t cause a scandal. I can’t permit Simeon to do what Will has done and get away with it.”
“He has?” Georgiana’s voice was full of hurt at the thought that Will would willingly agree to avoid her.
Ruth nodded. “He plans to leave soon,” she added, and watched her niece’s reaction carefully.
Georgiana blanched, but nodded. It was unsurprising, really. He had to go back to Cranbury eventually. She had just anticipated that she would be glad to see him go. The reality was that she wasn’t. She dreaded the moment when she learned he had ridden out of her life for good. Tears gathered on her lashes but she rapidly blinked them away and stared absently into the fire.
“I can sit in my room for the next two weeks,” Georgiana offered sarcastically. “That should make everybody happy.”
Ruth shook her head sadly. Rather than admonish her, she leaned forward. “Do you still intend to try to dress as a man?” she asked thoughtfully.
Georgiana stared at her unsure if she had heard correctly. “Well, yes, I suppose so,” she stammered warily.
Ruth nodded. “Well, there is no time like the present is there? While you should not go about it around these parts, in a town like Marshampton, people won’t notice if you adopt your disguise well.”
“Pardon? Are you telling me to go and live in Marshampton for a while?” Georgiana stared at her aunt. “Alone?”
“Well, I can’t come with you,” Ruth said flatly. “I am not suggesting you live there. Of course I would never throw you out of here. You are welcome to stay for as long as you want to. I have said to you that I wish you would make the move permanent and I mean it. However, you need to get away from all of this, especially Will while he is here.”
Georgiana frowned. She had no idea what her aunt was up to but her suggestion went against everything she had just said. One minute she was warning her against ruining her reputation by encouraging the attentions of two eligible bachelors but in the next moment was suggesting Georgiana travel alone to a town to dress as a man.
“I don’t understand,” Georgiana murmured.
“You need to go to Marshampton. There is a very nice hotel there which is quite reputable. Mr Parker can take you in his carriage.”
