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Percy shook his head. “Whoever it is that you are seeing, we will work through it, I promise.”
Georgiana still didn’t look convinced, but finally, she sighed. “Fine. I have been seeing Lewis. It is Lewis who has been courting me, and Mama gave him permission. I was trying to find the right time to tell you …”
“Lewis?!” Percy roared. “My best friend requested permission to court you, and neither you, him, nor Mama told me? How could you?”
Georgiana looked like she was going to cry. “Percy, please, you don’t understand. We didn’t want to tell you because we were afraid you would react just like this! But Lewis loves me, and he’s the kindest man I’ve ever met. I hope that in time you come to understand our relationship and won’t feel as betrayed by our actions.”
Right on cue, the door to the study opened, and Lewis walked in. As soon as Percy saw him, he flew to him in a fury. “You’re courting my sister?”he screamed at him, grabbing his collar and shaking him.
“Percy!” Lewis cried, his eyes filled with fear. “You have to understand, my intentions with Georgiana have been nothing but honourable since the start. She is the most …”
“I don’t want to hear it!” Percy screamed in his face. “Not only were you courting Georgiana, but you did so without consulting or informing me. You have both betrayed me; the two people who I trusted the most in the world.”
“Percy, please,” Lewis begged him, grabbing his friend’s hands with his own to stop him shaking him. “I am in love with Georgiana, and the only reason why we didn’t tell you was that it wasn’t the right time. We wanted to be able to sit you down and explain everything to you …”
“And yet you asked my mother’s permission to court her before you did that?” Percy asked.
“Yes,” Lewis responded, “because I found myself falling so quickly for Georgiana that I did not want to make a social faux pas and not have your mother’s permission before we proceeded.”
“Percy, we did this because we thought that we were protecting you,” Georgiana explained. “You’ve been so protective of me since Papa died that I knew you would be upset. But we thought that if we approached you at the right time, then you might understand why we wanted to be together. We had hoped that you might even be happy to see the two people you loved most in the world falling in love.” Georgiana looked to Lewis with such adoration in her eyes that it made Percy want to be sick.
“Happy for you?” he asked, shocked. “Why would I be happy for you? The mere fact that you are together is a betrayal to me.”
“Why is it a betrayal?” Georgiana countered him. “Why are you not happy that I have found a good, honourable man who wants to be with me? You were always telling me to find myself a man who was worthy of me ... and I believe Lewis is that person.”
“Absolutely not,” Percy shut her down. “Lewis, you are never to step foot inside this house again, and if I ever see the two of you speaking, I shall make sure that you never live to see another day.”
“Percy,” Georgiana scolded him, “you are acting like a petulant child, and I forbid it. You have to understand that we made all of these decisions with your best interest in mind.”
“Wait,” Percy interrupted her, “if Lewis has been formally courting you, then that means that the rest of society is aware of your love as well, aren’t they?”
Lewis slowly nodded, and Percy’s world came crashing down around him. He had been so caught up with Lydia that he hadn’t even taken notice that everyone around him knew something that he didn’t. He was mortified. Not knowing what else to do, he released Lewis from his grip and stormed out of the room.
“Percy, wait!” he heard Georgiana and Lewis calling after him, but he did not turn around. In one evening, he had lost the woman he loved, his sister, and his best friend. He didn’t know if he was ever going to recover from this.
