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“No.”
The word practically erupted from him, and her mouth clamped shut. If she were anyone else, he might have considered the offer. It was hardly salacious. But he simply could not spend the night here. Not with her so close. An image of her in a lacy nightgown spread out on a pristine white bed flashed in his mind.
Definitely not.
“That is, no thank you, my lady,” he amended in a far gentler tone.
“Of course,” she said with a tight smile, her serene mask firmly back in place. “I’ll ring for Mossdown to bring your coat.”
She set Barnaby down and glided over to the bell pull. Just as regret began to pump through his veins, Henry wrenched off the supply. It was imperative that he remain professional, and that required keeping a healthy distance between them at all times. It was safer for her this way.
And especially for him.
***
Georgiana sat up with a start. She glanced at the clock by her bedside and let out a gasp. She couldn’t remember the last time she had slept past seven. Now it was nearly ten. It had been well past midnight when Jack the coachman finally took Captain Harris home.
Georgiana then let out a groan as she recalled their awkward parting and fell against the pillows. Barnaby had been sleeping at her feet and immediately climbed over her for his morning petting. As Georgiana obliged him, she tried to reason with herself. The captain had to have known she was offering aspareroom, not her own. And yet he acted positively scandalized by the idea. It was mortifying.
After a few more moments spent indulging Barnaby, she threw back the covers, determined not to waste another minute thinking about Captain Harris, and rushed into the sitting room off her bedchamber. “Bea, why didn’t you wake me?”
Her maid set down her sewing basket and came to her feet. “Mr. Mossdown said no one was to disturb you after last night. He thought it was best that you rest.”
“In this household we do whatIthink is best,” she insisted, though the man had a point.
“Yes, my lady.”
Georgiana immediately regretted speaking so sharply. “I’m sorry. My quarrel is not with you, but with Mossdown.”
The girl nodded as she moved to prepare Georgiana’s bath.
Afterward, Georgiana dressed and ate a simple breakfast of tea and toast in her room before hurrying downstairs. Luckily she had already cleared her morning’s schedule ahead of the ball, but Mr. Khan would be worried if she didn’t show soon.
As she reached the landing, she spotted her footman. “Charles, will you fetch my hat and coat?”
The lad gave her an apologetic look. “My lady, your brother has just arrived with Captain Harris. They are in the study.”
Goodness, she would have to face him again already. Georgiana was not prepared.
“Very well,” she said, trying to ignore the butterflies storming around her stomach. “Tell Cook to send in some tea.”
She charged down the hall with Barnaby trotting behind her, hoping to release some of her nerves before she reached her study. Before he had practically fled her company, Captain Harris had been so open. How she had ached to respond in kind and tell him the truth about the viscount. Things she hadn’t even yet revealed to those closest to her. But everything between them still seemed as fragile as a spider’s web and as changeable as the weather.
Georgiana pushed open the door harder than she meant to and it banged against the wall.
Reggie and Captain Harris had been talking together before the fireplace and ceased their conversation at her noisy entrance.
“Georgie.” Her brother looked like he hadn’t slept a wink and immediately came over and grabbed her hands, while Barnaby made a beeline for the captain.
“I’m fine,” she said. “Please don’t worry.”
Captain Harris greeted Barnaby like an old friend, but after giving him a few pats, he rose and put his hands behind his back, looking at Georgiana with a carefully blank expression. It felt like he was punishing her for last night. For having seen him at his most vulnerable. And that was infuriating.
She stuck her hands on her hips. “What did you tell him?”
Confusion flashed across his face. “I told him what happened, my lady.”
“And now he’s worried sick.” She gestured to Reggie. “You should have waited for me.”
