And Georgiana’s mind was most definitely made up in regard to ascertaining where Annabel could have disappeared to.The how and why, or, if she were actually dead, then where her body might be buried.
On the first day, she did this by occupying the chair opposite Julian’s in his study and set about reading every single report in the file of the searches he had kept from the day of Annabel’s disappearance.
Oftentimes, Georgiana would write something in the margin to be looked at again at a later date.After reading the papers in the file, she had requested that several of the sources of those reports be brought to Moreland Park so that the two of them could talk to them face-to-face.
On the second and third days, as Georgiana had said she would, she spoke to every one of the servants, grooms, and gardeners employed in the house and out of it.She also questioned Robert Eames, Julian’s estate manager and Meggie’s father.
For the duration of the first day, Julian sat in the chair opposite her, supposedly dealing with his correspondence and estate business.But more often than not, he found himself just staring in admiration at the woman he desired—was falling in love with?—as she meticulously studied those reports and each servant with that same determined scrutiny.
She did so whilst wearing clothing much as she had worn that first morning: a blouse, usually white or cream, buttoned up to her throat, a waistcoat, and a tweed skirt.
Clothes which Julian was sure were meant to give Georgiana the appearance of professionalism, but which, as the skirt cinched in at the waist and also allowed him to see the sway of her hips when she walked, Julian instead found deeply arousing.
She also smelled delicious, of rose petals and lavender, a combination which both aroused and calmed.
A contradiction of scents that, much like the lady herself, was unpredictable.
Georgiana insisted he needed to hear the conversations that took place between her and everyone who worked for him.She did so on the basis that he would be able to point out any obvious discrepancies in those statements.
Julian had grudgingly agreed but insisted he would stand silently by the window that looked out into the side garden, while Georgiana took her place in the high-backed chair behind his desk to conduct those interviews.
But before doing that, she had asked him if any of the staff had left his employ since those accusations of his having killed his wife had begun to circulate.He had assured her that none had.An answer which obviously pleased Georgiana.
“If they thought you guilty of murder, they would not still be working here,” she explained.
Julian had not considered that possibility until now.It gave him a warm glow in his chest to know that the people he trusted in his everyday life believed in his innocence.
Interestingly, the comment made most often by the household staff was a variation ofI had no personal conversation or dealings with the duchess.
The disinterest in their expressions when they made that statement revealed that they had not found this lack of connection to be a hardship.
It turned out Julian’s butler, Dalton, was the exception to that lack of verbal interaction with the duchess.But even as Dalton informed them of such, it was also with that now-familiar expression of dismissal.
Georgiana’s questions allowed them to learn that Annabel had not spoken to any of the servants directly but had always issued her orders through the butler, even to the housekeeper, who had sounded very offended by this unusual practice.
Georgiana had suggested to Dalton that perhaps the new duchess had behaved that way because she felt overwhelmed by her new lofty position in life, only for the butler to dismiss this with a scathing snort.He then revealed that Annabel had instructed him that she did not wish for him, or any of the other servants, to speak to her unless absolutely necessary.That if they were doing their job properly, there would be no reason for her to even see, let alone speak to them.
Julian was ashamed to admit he had been completely unaware of his wife’s dreadful behavior or the resentment it had caused the servants to feel toward her.And he should have known.It was not enough of an excuse to claim that at the time, he had been doing his best to deal with the fractured state of his marriage and trying to think of a way in which it might be salvaged.Because of that, he hadn’t realized how Annabel’s cold and standoffish behavior had resulted in her being universally disliked by all who were employed here.
Robert Eames went one step further, as, after an apologetic glance in Julian’s direction, he had admitted that the only time Annabel had spoken to him was to instruct him to “keep your dull-witted daughter away from the beach when I am walking there” after claiming she had met Meggie collecting shells there that very day.
The curl of Robert’s top lip when he had repeated this to them told Julian exactly what Robert’s opinion had been of Annabel.
Julian was mortified to learn of Annabel’s cruel words toward the lovely Meggie, and he apologized profusely to the other man before Robert left to go back to his cottage, where Meggie and her mother were waiting for him.
Georgiana was visibly shocked to learn of this slight toward the young lady she had already befriended and enjoyed spending time with.“Your wife was a very unpleasant individual,” she stated with indignation on Meggie’s behalf as soon as the two of them were alone in the study.
“Yes, she was,” Julian agreed.“It’s no excuse, but I honestly had no idea of Annabel’s rudeness and cruelty to the people who live and work here.”
Georgiana’s expression softened slightly.“I believe that might have been because the staff will have seen your unhappiness and not wished to add to it by revealing how disagreeable the duchess truly was.”
Julian dropped onto the chaise in front of the window.“It seems I was even more of a fool than I had previously realized.”
“I assure you this is not meant in a derogatory way… But I have found that most men invariably are.”Georgiana grimaced.“They do so by allowing themselves to be mesmerized by a woman’s looks and failing absolutely to see the true nature beneath,” she explained dismissively at his startled expression.“Especially if that woman does not wish for her machinations to be seen,” she added softly.
He scowled.“I still feel like the biggest fool.”
“Then you must put that feeling aside,” Georgiana instructed briskly.“There is nothing to be done about it now, and we still have far too much to do for you to wallow in self-pity.”
