“Do you intend to abandon them because you have had your fill of children?”
“Of course not. Those little ones need me far more than my own siblings ever have.”
Oddly enough, that was what brought her grandmama upright, her expression fearsome. “Do noteverthink such a thing again. Personally, I worry about how they will get on once you’re married.”
Georgie couldn’t help a grin. “I don’t suppose you’d like to move in.”
That earned her a huff of disdain and a return to the flowers. “Not likely. I have earned my peace.”
If peace included a prodigious correspondence and frequent forays into society with the purpose of stirring the pot. But Georgie admitted that overall, her grandmama had fashioned an exquisite retreat for herself out of a rather plain Queen Anne house near Richmond. The dowager often said that after the strain of keeping up with Clevedon Castle for forty years, she was quite delighted with only eight bedrooms, a full stable, and a garden that challenged Kew. And her bees. It did not do to neglect the bees. Whom Georgie still had to tell.
“Mama and Papa are interviewing for another tutor for the boys.”
There was another impatient huff above the lilacs. “Your father should never be involved. For a man in politics, he is woeful at reading people.”
“Which is why Mama is involved. And me.” Georgie rubbed at her temple, which had begun to ache. “Can the little girls not be enough for now?”
“Only you can know that, child. But I wouldn’t expect a man to be very patient with your restrictions.”
“But why?! Why cannot I have something of my own? We women have nothing! Not our money, not our belongings. Even our bodies end up in service to the children we bear. Not to mention our home, which is not our own. We are only allowed to live in it until our son finds another woman to take charge. We are mere visitors in our own lives!”
At that, her grandmama not only straightened, she came over and sat next to Georgie. Cradling the clippers in one hand, she took Georgie’s hand in the other, and Georgie saw how wrinkled and sinewy her grandmother’s hand had grown, the joints knobby and angular. Worn, like the graying of her once blonde hair.
“How did he react when you made such a bold statement?”
Georgie sighed. “He was actually quite nice about it. I don’t know if thatlargessewill last. But I at least have a bit of a window. He is taking a trip right after the marriage.”
Grandmama nodded. “Might be best. With only one household to manage you might just find the time for that direction you claim to want. Do you know what you think you want, or is it just a supposition?”
“I might have some ideas.”
“Do they have to do with that visit you make every Friday?”
This time Georgie shared a conspiratorial smile. “Oh, I think it might.”
Her grandmama patted her hand. “Just remember. The decision is yours on how you go forward. If you respect this man and think you could love him, then fight for your place next to him. Begin as you mean to go on.”
Georgie sighed. “That sentiment terrifies me even more than it reassures me.”
“Well, here is another. There are ways to prevent becomingenceinte.”
Georgie stared at her exceptionally proper grandmama, who was suddenly grinning back at her.
“That is what he said,” Georgie retorted. “Truly? You know them?”
“Child,” the old woman said with a squeeze of the hand, “We women have been taking care of each other for a long time now. It is simply your turn.”
“Can you guarantee it?”
Her grandmama sighed. “No. But it certainly lessens the chance. We’ll retire to the stillroom when we finish here.”
Georgie blinked, feeling a bit stupid. “Er, you don’t still need...”
Her grandmama had a way with a raised eyebrow herself. “Be sensible, child. I am not the only woman in my house, though, am I?” She shrugged. “Or my village, come to think of it. My still room is for everyone, as you know. That doesn’t mean merely poultices and cough remedies.”
Georgie shook her head. “I never guessed.”
“I told you. We women must take care of each other.” She spent a moment considering the old clippers in her hand before turning back to Georgie. Georgie was surprised to see color on her normally pale white cheeks. “Something else, which I suspect your young man knows quite well already. Something I suspect your mother will not think to share with you. You can share love in many ways that don’t risk conception. Quite lovely ways, in fact. When you trust him, ask.”
