AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“And for good reason.” He forced the words past his lips. If his mother could hear him now, she would box his ears.
Miss Sparrow’s gaze turned deadly, and she stepped forward with impressive gravitas given her short stature. “I suppose you’re going to spout that drivel about women’s brains not being able to manage such complex thought. Meanwhile, you have to pay someone to knot your ownnecktiebecause you can’t be bothered to do it yourself.”
“No,” he said quickly. “I don’t believe that.” Even he had his limits. “But in these matters I…I only think most ladies are best served by guidance from their husbands. Or fathers. And other male relatives. Because they have more varied experience of the world.” There. It was the least insulting reasoning he could think of. But it did not have the intended effect.
Miss Sparrow seemed momentarily stunned by this admission, and her eyes hardened. “Then you have far more faith in the inherent goodness of men than I do.Sir.”
Rafe blinked and stepped aside to let her pass. The door shut soundly behind her, and the resulting silence was deafening. He stood in place for a few more minutes, waiting for the smell of lavender soap to fully fade as he turned the scene over in his mind.
Guilt swept through him, hot, harsh, and biting.
Someone had disappointed her once. Someone she trusted.
And now he had just done the same.
Chapter Five
Did you sleep poorly last night?”
Georgiana’s question roused Sylvia from her tangled thoughts. Their eyes met across the table, now scattered with the remnants of breakfast. After her encounter with Mr. Davies, she had spent hours tossing and turning. Leave it to Georgiana to notice.
“It’s nothing,” she demurred.
But the viscountess shook her head. “If it was nothing, you wouldn’t have those circles under your eyes.” Then she glanced around the breakfast room. Mrs. Crawford had gone off with a group of ladies, and they had so few moments alone together. “I know something is bothering you. Please tell me.”
Sylvia stared at her. They had shared everything once, when they were two lonely girls away at school. Sylvia had missed her mother, who had died too young, and Georgiana was learning how to live without her gaggle of younger siblings. That was years before Sylvia went off to university and Georgiana had celebrated her first Season. Before either of them had any secrets worth keeping. An uncomfortable encounter with a man she barely knew did not deserve to be ranked among them.
Sylvia released a breath. “Mr. Davies was in the library last night. He was the one who recommended the Inspector DuMonde mystery.”
Georgiana raised one of her bronze eyebrows. “Is that so?”
Sylvia frowned at her suggestive tone. “I left within five minutes.” Then she slumped a little in her chair. “He doesn’t think women should have the vote.” Disappointment laced through her every word. But of course he believed such things. Just because the man was a notorious rake didn’t make him a radical.
Georgiana looked amused. “An interesting topic of conversation to have on so short an acquaintance. I suppose you told him exactly how you felt?”
“Well, I couldn’t just let him stand there beingwrong.”
“No, certainly not.” Georgiana laughed. “And how did he take it?”
Sylvia shrugged and looked away, recalling the odd expression that had crossed his face. “He didn’t seem offended.” That was a reaction she was quite familiar with. “But almost…resigned.” She turned back to Georgiana, whose gaze was now thoughtful.
“Then perhaps you’ve given him something to think about. Gentlemen like him rarely move outside their own circles. You may be the first woman he’s ever encountered to voice such beliefs.”
“But the suffrage movement has been active for decades now.”
“Yes,” Georgiana said gently. “But I would imagine that reading about it occasionally in the paper or walking past women handing out pamphlets is an altogether different experience from engaging with an advocate. Especially one like you.”
Sylvia bristled. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Georgiana tilted her head and smiled. “Only that you can be a force of nature. When you allow yourself to be.”
Sylvia glanced down at her lap. They had been over this before. Georgiana thought Sylvia was too cautious, too pessimistic. But she simply didn’t understand. Sylvia had been fearless once, determined to change things for the better. No matter the cost. Sometimes it felt as if Sylvia had dreamed up that younger version of herself. Who she had once been was so far removed from the woman she now was—except she still bore the very real consequences of her actions.
“Yes, well. Look how that worked out,” she grumbled, twisting the napkin in her lap. Then alarm shot through her, and she looked up. “Oh God. What if he says something to Mrs. Crawford? What if he tells her I support the vote?”
“I’m sure he won’t.”
“But hecould.” Sylvia pressed a hand to her forehead. “I’ve been so careless.”
