A few minutes spent in Meggie’s company also revealed her as being much younger than her appearance, in both her manner and speech.
Georgiana hadn’t asked any of the servants about the young girl who also liked to walk on the beach and collect seashells, knowing that Meggie was trespassing on the private property of Moreland Park every time she came down to this particular beach.Georgiana did not wish to get her in trouble.
The two of them had met several times during Georgiana’s daily walks, and she had quickly come to appreciate the simplicity with which Meggie viewed life.Georgiana already had enough complications to deal with, living in the same house as a man who was so pointedly avoiding spending time with her.
Talking of which…
A movement up in the dunes caught Georgiana’s attention, and she raised her hand to shield her eyes against the bright sunshine as she turned fully to observe the man seated upon the stationary dark gray horse.
A man who, for several seconds, appeared to be looking back at her from beneath the brim of his top hat.
Then, with a tug on the reins, he wheeled the stallion about, bent low over the black mane, and urged the beast into a gallop.
Each step took the horse and rider farther away from where Georgiana stood on the sand.
A Georgiana whosepatiencehad finally come to an end.
CHAPTERSEVEN
Julian sat amongst the dunes a mile or so from the beach where he had seen Georgiana talking to young Meggie, the daughter of Robert Eames, Julian’s estate manager.
He had seen the two females talking together before today, and Eames had mentioned that his daughter talked of the kind and beautiful dark-haired lady she sometimes met on the beach.
Julian had no wish to argue regarding Meggie’s opinion of Georgiana, already knowing of her kindness and beauty.
He was also inwardly pleased by the friendship, knowing Meggie didn’t make friends easily.It came as no surprise that Georgiana had chosen to befriend the young girl rather than shun her because she wasdifferent.Annabel had not been so kind in her opinion of Meggie.
All the servants at Moreland Park seemed to like Georgiana.Julian had heard several of them comment that she was kind as well as beautiful, that she was always polite and smiling, and that she always showed an interest in them by asking about their health and families.
Georgiana was a true lady.Everything that Annabel should have been but had sadly never aspired to be once the two of them were married.
Julian already knew how lovely Georgiana was.He certainly didn’t need others to constantly remind him of how much more suited she would have been to being his duchess than Annabel had ever been.
Truth was, Julian ached to spend time with Georgiana himself.To bask in that same warmth and kindness.Instead, he completely avoided her by absenting himself from the house as much as possible.Oftentimes by escaping for these daily, sometimes twice-daily, gallops across the sand.Come rain or shine.
More often than not, Julian dismounted, as he had today, and then wandered amongst the dunes for an hour or so in an effort to spend even more time away from the house.
Shadow, living up to his name, roamed free a short distance away from where Julian now sat, completely unperturbed by Julian sitting or pacing on the beach for some time every day for the past week.
Julian was living in a hell of his own making.A hell that would surely stop the moment he sent Georgiana Stapleton back to London, where she belonged.
Except, so far, he hadn’t found the strength to bring himself to do that.
Instead, he lived for the occasional glimpses he caught of Georgiana as she went about fulfilling the list of daily tasks he left for her on the desk in his study each morning.Always long before she came downstairs for her breakfast.
Or as she strolled along the sand in the afternoons, the ever-present sea breeze buffeting her gown against her legs and generous curves.
By the third day, she had stopped wearing a bonnet on those forays after the wind constantly blew it from covering her dark curls, resulting in it only being held by the ribbon about the slenderness of her throat.
Those visions of her loveliness stayed with Julian long after he had retired to his bedchamber each evening.
That same image prevented him from sleeping.
Because, Julian could admit to himself, Georgiana’s beauty now haunted him day and night.
In his frustration, he had written a blistering letter to St.Albans telling him exactly what he thought of his friend for having put him in this untenable position.
It had only been a matter of days since Julian sent that letter, and as yet, he hadn’t received a reply.But he had the greatest suspicion that, upon receiving Julian’s missive, the other man would greatly enjoy rather than lament his predicament.
