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Henry had a feeling she never would have asked him that, if not for the laudanum. But given what she had just revealed, he owed her a little truth as well: “There are a great many things I regret, my lady, but no. Never that.”
“I’m glad,” she said. “I had wondered…” But before she could finish the thought, she drifted off to sleep.
***
The first thing Georgiana noticed when she awoke was that the steamer was no longer being tossed about like a thimble in a tub. The storm must have passed, thank God. The second thing she noticed was that she was no longer stretched out on the floor. Then she remembered being helped into bed byCaptain Harris.
She sat up with a start and found the man himself asleep at her feet with his back up against the cabin’s wall and his hands folded across his chest. She had never slept beside a man before, as her husband had always retreated to his own bedroom after their infrequent marital relations. Georgiana wasn’t sure how the captain managed to sleep sitting up, but he must have gotten used to sleeping in all sorts of awkward places over the years. His face was softer in repose, and he looked younger, like he had when they first met. But she found that she preferred him as he was now, with lines around his eyes and mouth, and a sterner set to his features. There was an edge that hadn’t been there before, when he had been on his best behavior. But now that artifice was gone entirely. He was not trying to charm her at all anymore. And she quite enjoyed it.
His shirt was unbuttoned at the throat, and Georgiana couldn’t tear her gaze away from the triangle of exposed skin covered in a light dusting of golden brown hair. She also couldn’t stop imagining what the rest of his chest looked like.
Sylvia had mentioned that Rafe had several tattoos from his years in the navy. Did Captain Harris as well?
While she was thinking about what lay beneath the captain’s shirt, his eyes slanted open before widening in alarm.
“I fell asleep,” he blurted out unnecessarily.
“Not a problem,” Georgiana chirped, though it was mostdefinitelya problem. Morning light streamed through the cabin’s porthole. He needed to leave before anyone saw him.
Georgiana stood up too quickly, and black spots danced before her eyes. A warm, firm hand wrapped around her arm to help balance her.
“Careful, my lady,” he said in a gravelly voice. “You had laudanum last night.”
Georgiana tried not to tremble too obviously at his touch. “Right.” She remembered now, along with his gentle touch. Her breath quickened at the hazy memory of his fingers brushing against her nape and temples. Of his care. “I rarely take it, but I was quite desperate.”
He pulled his hand away and nodded, then glanced toward the porthole. “I should go.” He straightened his jacket and retrieved his cane.
“Thank you for your help last night. I hope I wasn’t too much trouble for you.”
She also hoped she hadn’t been sick in front of him.
The corner of his mouth lifted. “No, you were just enough. I’ll see you at the port.”
Then he turned and left the room. Georgiana slowly sat back down on the bed as his words sank in.
Just enough trouble.
Georgiana may have weathered the storm, but there was a far greater one awaiting her. She needed to get through this trip without losing her head to Captain Harris once again. And at the moment he was making it very difficult.
***
The next day Henry stared out the window of the carriage at the foothills of the French Alps stretching toward the heavens. He had traveled quite extensively during his naval career, but never to the Riviera.
He cut a glance toward Lady Arlington. Her complexion looked much improved. One would never know she had spent the evening of their cross-channel journey on the floor. They hadn’t spoken beyond basic pleasantries since he slunk out of her cabin in the early morning light yesterday. Not that he had a clue what to say to her.Please let me nurse you againseemed a touch forward. And besides, Henry was here to work. He needed to remember that. Yet all he could think of was her soft sighs as she drifted off to sleep in the steamer’s cabin, along with the words that had haunted him ever since:
I won’t be marrying again.
He still wasn’t sure if she had spoken the truth or if her mind was jumbled from the laudanum. Not that it mattered anyway. She was not for him.
“Here we are,” the viscountess said as they turned up the drive to the hotel, but her cheerful tone couldn’t hide the strained note in her voice. She must be exhausted. Lord knew he hadn’t slept well aside for those few short hours in her cabin. It had been damned foolish of him, nodding off like that, but he had been worried about her. Henry didn’t think of himself as the nurturing sort, but somehow this woman softened his edges in a way he hadn’t ever experienced.
Thiswoman.
They had passed by many impressive buildings, including the Prince’s Palace, but the Hotel Luna still managed to be exceptional. Tucked away on a cliff above Monte Carlo, the brilliant white exterior sparkled in the sunlight, with rows of huge crystalline windows and an expansive upper terrace that looked out onto the sea, while the stairs leading up to the grand entrance were made of matching white marble. It reminded him of the palaces of the Roman emperors he had read about as a boy.
“Goodness,” he burst out, then immediately regretted it as Lady Arlington flashed him a small smile. Lord knew all the stately residences she had visited over the years. She would think him a rube.
Youarea rube.
