“Beg to differ,” Percy replied indignantly. “He told you. He did not tell me.”
“Well, youknowJames is my uncle. He’s not going to—Oh, devil it, never mind.” And then his scowl came back to Georgina. More and more, he was reminding her of James ten years younger, which was probably about how old Derek was. “I suppose I should apologize, Aunt…George, ain’t it?”
“Georgie,” she corrected, unable to fathom why he appeared so annoyed with her now, but his next words brought a little understanding.
“Can’t say as I’m thrilled just now to welcome you to the family.”
She blinked. “You’re not?”
“No, I’m not, not when I’d much prefer we weren’t related.” And then he said to Jeremy, “Bloody, hell, wheredomy uncles find ’em?”
“Well, my father found this one in a tavern.” Jeremy was frowning at her now, too, but she quickly realized his anger was merely on his father’s behalf. “So I suppose it’s not so strange, after all, seeing her down here.”
“For God’s sake, it’s not what it looks like, Jeremy,” she protested with a bit of her own annoyance surfacing. “Your father was being totally unreasonable in not allowing me to see my brothers.”
“So you set out to find them for yourself?”
“Well…yes.”
“Do you even know where to look for them?”
“Well…no.”
To that he gave a disgusted snort. “Then I think we’d better take you home, don’t you?”
She sighed. “I suppose, but Iwason my way home, you know. I meant to hire that hack—”
“Which would’ve left you walking, since that’s Derek’s carriage, and his driver would’ve just ignored you…unless of course you’d have given him your name, which you likely wouldn’t’ve thought to do. Hell’s bells, you’re bloody lucky we found you…George.”
Like father like son, she thought, gritting her teeth, and realizing, at that point, that there wouldn’t be much hope now of getting back into the townhouse without James finding out about her little adventure, unless…
“I don’t suppose you could refrain from mentioning this to your father?”
“No,” he said simply.
Her teeth were really gnashing now. “You’re a rotten stepson, Jeremy Malory.”
And that amused the young scamp enough to bring back his laughter.
Chapter Forty-five
By the time Derek’s carriage stopped in front of the townhouse on Piccadilly, Georgina wasn’t just annoyed anymore with her escort, she was quite angry. Jeremy’s humor had gotten thoroughly on her nerves, and his dire predictions of what she could expect from an enraged husband didn’t help. Derek was still chagrined that he’d tried to seduce his own aunt, albeit unknowingly, and so his continued scowls weren’t helping, either. And Percy, that half-wit, was simply too much to put up with atanytime.
But she wasn’t kidding herself. She knew very well that her anger now was more defensive than anything else, because despite the fact that James’s stubbornness had driven her to that impulsive trip to the river, she knew she shouldn’t have gone, and he really did have every right to be furious with her. And James angry, really angry, was nothing pleasant to deal with. Hadn’t he nearly killed Warren with his bare hands? But to hear Jeremy tell it, that was nothing compared to whatshecould expect. It was understandable then that she might be feeling a good deal of trepidation, and understandable that she might hide it under her own anger.
At any rate, she fully intended to march into that house and keep right on going, right up to her room. Her rotten stepson could tattle on her to his heart’s content, but she was going to be behind a barricaded door before her husband exploded with his reaction.
So she thought, but Jeremy had other ideas, and letting him lift her down from the carriage was her mistake. When she tried to brush past him to enter the house first, he caught her hand and wouldn’t let go. And she might be older than he was, but there was no doubt that he was bigger, and stronger, and determined to lay herandher misdeeds right before James so she’d get her just desserts.
But they weren’t in the house yet, though the doorwasalready being opened by the ever-efficient Dobson. “Let go of me, Jeremy, before I clobber you,” she whispered furiously at him while giving the butler a smile.
“Now is that any way for a mother to talk to her—”
“You wretched boy, you’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”
That question only got her a grin and a tug which brought her into the hall. It was empty, of course, except for Dobson, so there was still a chance. The stairs were right there. But Jeremy didn’t waste a blasted second before calling for his father, quite cheerfully at the top of his lungs. And so Georgina didn’t waste another second before she kicked him. Unfortunately, that only made him yell louder, not let her go, and, much worse, the parlor door was thrown open while she was in the process of kicking him again.
It was really too much, after a day fraught with so many disturbing emotions. James just had to be there, didn’t he? He couldn’t have discovered her missing and gone off to search for her, could he? No, he had to be there, right there, watching her trying to abuse his son. And were those brows of his drawing together in suspicion, as if he knew exactly why? And even with his father’s presence, had Jeremy released her yet? No, he had not!
