Albert snapped his head around, pushing from the chair, and hurried to her, gripping her elbow to escort her from the room.
“Georgianna, is all well? You’ve gone pale. When did you come in? I did not hear Maria’s announcement.”
“I…that man…”
He gave her a sharp glance. “Do you know who he is, Georgie?”
“I…” She pressed a hand over her frantically beating heart. “Is he the gentleman everyone is speaking about? The one who was found and is said to have lost his memory?”
Albert heaved a sigh of frustration and raked fingers through his sandy-colored hair. “Those meddlesome busybodies. I told Maria to tell no one of this!”
Georgianna winced sympathetically. “I am afraid this news is on everyone’s tongues. Is it…is it he who is without memory?”
“Yes,” Albert said gruffly. “He was found ashore only in evening clothes and no shoes! Yet the man had bank notes amounting to sixty pounds in his pocket. I cannot tell if he stole it or if they belonged to him. His mode of dressing suggests a man of some consequences, surely.”
Georgianna could only stare at her cousin, her mind whirling. “May I…may I see him?”
He looked surprised at the request, and then his gaze narrowed thoughtfully. He lifted his chin in permission, and she moved forward slowly, thinking perhaps she had made a mistake.
It cannot be Lord Stannis.
She paused in the doorway, a hitch in her heart on seeing him again.It is definitely he.
“Albert, is this gentleman not at all familiar to you?”
Her cousin gave a start of surprise. “I have never seen him before, nor has Maria.”
Georgianna wondered at the rumor that the earl had once visited Crandell and seduced the squire’s daughter. A few voices came from behind, and she glanced over her shoulder to see the town’s two most notorious gossipers and busybodies shuffling down the hallway. Albert looked as if he wanted to growl but checked himself for propriety’s sake and that Mrs. Goodley was his wife’s grandaunt. Georgianna was about to turn around and ask for a private audience with Albert when a sound whipped her attention to the earl.
He was out of the bed, standing with his fists curled to his side, a harsh frown splitting his brow. “You!”
She gasped, stiffening.Good heavens!
Albert rushed forward, casting a worried look from his patient to her. “Is something amiss, sir?”
“Iknowher,” he growled, taking a step forward only to sway, flashing a hand up to grip his head. “I know her.”
Georgianna’s heart pounded a fierce beat, and she pressed a hand over her chest.
“Upon my word, never say the elder Miss Heyford knows this gentleman,” Mrs. Portman gasped, far too dramatically, that glitter in her eyes suggesting she was already envisioning how she would repeat the tale to all those who would listen. Of course she would be celebrated as the first person to provide some insight into this famous situation.
“I suspected you knew him,” Albert said tightly. “Please inform us of who he is.”
She shook her head. “I do not know him as you suggest, Albert. This man is—”
“I’ve had you in my bed,” the earl said, his gaze pinning her with an almost feral intensity.
Oh God, this is a disaster.
Chapter Five
The ladies behind Georgianna gasped, then silence fell. Those damning words reverberated in her head.I’ve had you in my bed. She lost the feeling in her legs and sat down heavily on the small chair by the window.
“What?” Albert roared, a ruddy flush entering his cheeks.
“No,” Georgianna said, blushing. “I have—”
“I am certain of it,” the earl said, his gaze raking over her. “The image of you just seared through my mind… I can still taste your mouth on mine, hear your moans, and feel your body pressed—”
