AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 19
Later on that night, Percy sat in his study, furious and heartbroken. He couldn’t accept the possibility that he might lose Lydia at all, let alone to a horrible man like Edmund Russell. But even more so, he couldn’t believe that he’d let his own insecurities get the better of him. It was because of them that he was about to lose the love of his life.
Why couldn’t you have just asked Mama to court her? You know that after some discussion, she would have accepted Lydia, and then you wouldn’t be in this situation at all! But instead, you had to shield your own feelings because you were afraid of getting hurt, just like you always are. You’re a coward, and if you lose Lydia to Edmund, you’ll spend the rest of your life regretting it.
Percy was about to collect his things and brood in his room for a while before trying to sleep when the door to the study creaked open.
“Percy?” Georgiana called, and when she saw him inside, she gave him a gentle smile. “Why’d you leave the party so early? Didn’t you want to follow me around and ruin all my chances at marriage?”
He chuckled despite his stormy mood. “I thought I’d done enough of that at the last few gatherings.”
Georgiana strode to the front of his desk and took a seat at the chair across from him. She was still dressed in her ball gown, which tonight was an emerald green with a black lace overlay. Percy had not seen a dress with a black overlay before, but Georgiana was a woman ahead of her time. He was very proud of her, despite her rebellious spirit.
“Tell me what’s wrong,” she ordered. “I won’t leave this room until you let me know what it is that’s bothering you.”
Percy sighed and sat down in his desk chair. “It is very foolish, and I am very embarrassed about it, so I don’t know if I feel like sharing it with you.”
Georgiana smirked. “All the more reason to share it with me, brother dear. I promise that I’ll be kinder than I usually am when it comes to these sorts of things, and I won’t tell a soul.”
Percy fidgeted in his seat, really not wanting to reveal the silly reason why he was upset to his little sister, but he knew he had little choice in the matter. Georgiana was going to ferret it out of him anyway, so it was probably smarter just to tell her.
“It’s Lydia,” he said quietly, playing with a button on his suit jacket. “I’ve gone and royally ruined everything with her. I hadn’t asked her parents to court her yet, and …”
“Youstilldidn’t ask to formally court her?!” Georgiana cried, incensed. “Did you at least inform Mama of your desire to be with her?”
Percy shook his head. “As I said, I was very foolish. Lydia and I have had so many wonderful moments alone, but I still couldn’t get out of my own head enough to realize that I had to make the next move if I wanted her to stay with me. And then ... she got fed up. She’s told me that she’s going to marry Edmund Russell and that she never wants to see me again because of my treatment of her.”
Georgiana stared at him, dumbfounded. “Percy, I was going to go easy on you because I thought that you deserved some sympathy ... but it appears you don’t. You’re an idiot. Don’t you realize that Lydia is the best thing that will ever happen to you? I’ve spent hardly any time with her, but I already feel closer to her than most of my close friends, and so I’m not going to let you mess things up with her anymore. I am going to help you to win her back.”
Percy rolled his eyes. “You have better things to do than that, Georgiana. Don’t waste your time helping a sad old man go after a woman who he ruined everything with. You’re far too busy making time in your schedule for Arthur to court you, aren’t you?”
Georgiana laughed out loud and idly played with a strand of her scarlet hair that had come down from her hairstyle. “Arthur? No, no, I was only trying to play him to get revenge for what he did to Poppy Carthew.”
“What?” Percy asked, stunned. “I thought that you had fallen under his spell, just like every other girl?”
Georgiana shook her head. “Absolutely not. It was the other way around; I was trying to get Arthur to fall for me to humiliate him. I was done with hearing of him taking advantage of young women, and so I decided to have my own fun with him.”
Percy leaned forwards and put his hands on the desk. “Georgiana ... you’re brilliant.”
“Thank you, but I already knew that,” she said happily, grinning at him. “I finished with him weeks ago, though.”
However, as soon as those words were out of her mouth, Georgiana looked as though she had said something wrong. At the same time, Percy realized something. “Wait ... then if you weren’t spending time with Arthur the past few weeks at balls and dinners ... who were you with?”
Georgiana shifted in her seat, uncomfortably. “I was spending time with my friends. I saw different ones at each ball, so that’s why I …”
“No,” Percy interrupted her, “I remember you saying before a few of the balls that you were disappointed none of your friends would be there. And once when I returned from being with Lydia, you had gone off with someone. Who was it?”
Now, Georgiana looked even unhappier. “I do not have to share the intimate details of my life with you, brother.” Georgiana rose from her seat and started leaving the room. “I am allowed to see whomever I please, and …”
Percy ran to block her from leaving the room. “Georgiana, why are you running from this simple question? Is it someone worse than Arthur? That cannot be possible.”
Georgiana tried to get around her brother, but he kept stopping her. Finally, she exploded at him. “Percy!I do not owe you the knowledge of who I was seeing, and I demand that you let me leave this room this moment! You are not Mama, and so you cannot make me tell you who I was seeing.”
“Georgiana,” Percy said calmly, “I am only asking you to tell me because I care about you so deeply. I am not asking you to be your overbearing big brother. I just love you so much that if any man were ever to hurt you, I would never forgive myself.”
It seemed that Percy’s calm had overpowered Georgiana’s fury, and she finally released her anger. She stood stock still in front of her brother.
“It’s not that I didn’t want to tell you because I thought you were being overbearing,” she told him. “It’s because the knowledge would upset you, and I don’t believe our relationship would ever be the same again.”
