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“Good day, my lady. You are looking refreshed.”
Georgiana let out a short laugh. Despite Reggie’s encouragement, she had been up half the night with the commodore’s warning echoing in her ears. “I doubt that, Mr. Khan, but thank you for saying so.”
Her secretary gave her a shy smile and cleared his throat. “The lawyers will be arriving shortly with the paperwork. I’ve had the conference room prepared.”
“Excellent. I will be down in a moment.”
Just as Mr. Khan turned to leave, Georgiana called him back. She hesitated as she stared at his open, expectant expression, then took a breath and got on with it. “I’ve been having some second thoughts. About the expansion. That perhaps…perhaps now isn’t the right time.”
A distinct flicker of emotion passed over his face before he mastered it. “My lady,” he began, choosing his words carefully. “While I understand the last few weeks have been difficult, I admit this is distressing to hear.”
Georgiana swallowed hard and glanced down at the desk. “I know,” she said. “It is not what I wanted, but I’m not sure I have much of a choice.”
Mr. Khan was silent for a long moment. “If that is what you think is best,” he finally said, then closed the door softly behind him.
The disappointment in his words cut her more deeply than the commodore’s threats. She hated this. Hated how he must think that she was a flighty aristocrat, making promises she didn’t intend to keep. Georgiana balled her hand into a fist and pressed it against the wood of her desk. As frightened as she had been lately, it was still nothing compared to the horrors some of her workers had endured. Georgiana had started this expansion in the first place so that men like the commodore couldn’t hold so much power. She needed to find a way to see it through. It was too important to too many people. But she would have to warn Henry that he might be targeted next by whoever was trying to stop her.
And yet you won’t be honest with him aboutwhyhe would be targeted.
Her heart clenched painfully. She had been an utter coward on the steamer. Selfish for one last night with him when she should have told him the truth. Henry deserved that from her.
She let out a sigh and straightened. “All right, then. Time for the viscountess to get to work.”
Half an hour later, Georgiana strode into the conference room, and as the men in their dark suits and barely veiled expressions of distaste rose at her entrance, she knew she had made the right decision. She caught Mr. Khan’s eye and flashed him a smile.
“Good morning, gentlemen,” she said with a dramatic sweep of her skirts before lowering herself into her chair. “Shall we sign some paperwork?”
***
After the final paper was initialed and the last lawyer was tucked into his carriage, Georgiana collapsed into her chair. The feeling of triumph that had been powering her for hours began to fade. She was now officially the owner of another factory––but achieving this goal had done nothing for the ache in her chest.
“I don’t suppose I can tempt you to come to my house for dinner this evening? An impromptu celebration, perhaps?”
Georgiana glanced up to find Mr. Khan standing in front of her desk. Her mind had wandered. She wasn’t even sure for how long. “Can we another time? I’m still fatigued from traveling.”
“Of course, my lady.”
“Please give my best to Mrs. Khan.”
He gave a short bow and turned to leave before pausing in the doorway. “You’ve done a brave thing today,” he said to her over his shoulder. “Do something kind for yourself.”
Georgiana ducked her head. She didn’t feel particularly brave. “If you insist.”
Mr. Khan smiled. “I do. Good night.” He then shut the door softly behind him, leaving her alone once again. Georgiana stayed in her office for another hour, mindlessly shuffling papers, before she found the will to leave.
As she climbed into her waiting carriage, she glanced around the deserted street. Reggie had assured her that the man he hired to monitor her would be discreet, but she hadn’t seen him at all—not that she was complaining. That was what she had wanted from the beginning. To be left alone. Completely.
Back home she took Mr. Khan’s advice by having a bath drawn and a dinner tray brought to her room. But while she sat alone in her tub, her thoughts turned to Henry, for how could they not? Reggie’s words came to her once more:This time I hope it is truly whatyouwant.
Whatdidshe want? She had been so sure just one week ago. How much had changed since then. Howshehad changed.
Georgiana stayed in the tub until the water grew tepid, then retired to her bed. Barnaby immediately curled up beside her, and she stroked his fur while listening to his soft snores. Though the bath had relaxed her aching muscles, her thoughts would not cease. Eventually she fell into a fitful sleep, only to wake with the dawn as a single thought echoed in her mind:
Go to him.
Perhaps Henry would slam the door in her face once he learned what she had done all those years ago. Perhaps she would never see him again afterward. But for once Georgiana would say everything she wanted. Aloud. And especially to him.
As she had no need to play the part of the viscountess today, she let Bea sleep and dressed quickly in the near darkness in a simple day gown before fixing her hair in a Psyche knot. As Georgiana descended the front stairs, she briefly considered taking the carriage. The walk to Henry’s office from here would take some time, as she didn’t know where he lived, but it was lovely out, and she needed time to collect her thoughts.
