Georgie raised her head and looked out the window. “I doubt it. I suspect that a man who is that used to giving orders would not deal with a woman who is as well. Besides, all we know about him is what the dispatches tell us. He is exceptionally talented at disposing of Frenchmen. Not necessarily a talent conducive to marital harmony.”
“Unless you need some Frenchmen killed.”
“Rather doubtful. What if he is a tyrant, a sadist, a man with unnatural tastes? What if...”
Charlie grinned. “He doesn’tbathe!”
Georgie shuddered. She admitted it was her own personal quirk. She was known throughout thetonas being very particular about her dance partners. No one else coulddefinitively say why. It had nothing to do with station or elegance. In fact, two of her favorite partners were younger sons just out of university looking for polish.
In the end, thetonjust labeled her a bit snobbish. Daughter of a powerful earl and all. Only Charlie and Eddie knew the truth. Georgie literally gagged at the smell of an unwashed body. Especially if the person had been lazy enough to believe that a good dousing with cologne would conceal all ills. Georgie had actually kissed Beau Brummel’s hand once in gratitude for his bringing cleanliness into fashion.
Not the smell of hard work, she admitted. Prissy’s beau Timothy had carried the scent of the stables on him, and an honest hard day. He had also smelled of fresh air, gorse, and rain. The unwashed dandies in town smelled of slovenliness, selfishness, and sloth, even clad in the latest, most precisely tailored fashion, which should have shattered Weston’s heart.
And people wondered why she had turned down four offers since she’d come out at seventeen. It would have been more, but she had never let those gentlemen close enough to risk the question.
The real aversion also quite nicely covered her real reason for not marrying, which would have confused even those who loved her.
“I’ll try again tonight at the Wilkenson’s ball,” Charlie offered. “I imagine I could quiz a few of Gabe’s chums. Several are home on leave.”
Gabriel, Georgie’s cousin, and Charlie’s older brother. Captain Gabriel Stephen Aloysius Packham, of the Lifeguards.
“Although,” Charlie grinned, “I’m not sure they could be a reliable judge of whether Colonel Greyvillesmelled.Men are much less sensitive about that sort of thing.”
Georgie smiled right back. “Especially those used to living off the land and sleeping on the ground.”
“And consorting with sheep.”
“Charlie!”
Charlie opted for wide-eyed innocence. “Pushing them aside so they can sleep on the ground,” she clarified, her eyes sparkling just a little too much.
“Who smells now?” they heard from the doorway.
It was Eddie, munching on an apple as she entered. As opposed to her cousins, Eddie bore the classic pale English blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty, which was almost washed out by the boring pastels she insisted on wearing.
“No one smells,” Georgie answered, putting her maps and papers aside.
Charlie grinned. “Yet. What news, Edwina?”
Eddie scowled at Charlie’s address, even as she shoved her cousin to the side of the settee and plopped down next to her, her own cream muslin day dress complementing the scarlet cushions perfectly. “It is the concerted opinion that the tack to take with Priscilla’s father is to make him see that Prissy would pine for her family infar offWales, where the marquess will need to stay for quite a while to restore his property.”
“And we will do that how?”
“I don’t know yet. While I have been assured Mr. and Mrs. Mayhew would be very susceptible to the threat of their family being so catastrophically divided, the Mister doesn’t attend many social events. I’ll work with Prissy to see how to get his attention. Possibly mention that I haven’t seen my beloved sister forsolong because she’s in...sob...Wales.”
Both cousins nodded. It never occurred to them to worry about the fact that Eddie had no sister.
“Well,” Charlie said, tossing the magazine back onto the table. “Whatever we do, we should do it soon. Certainly before Prissy’s father inserts the notice.”
Georgie tucked her stack of papers into the bottom drawer of the desk. “I very much fear the notice has gone astray,” she said as she casually stood and straightened out her lemon morning dress.
Both cousins stopped in place. “You didn’t!” Charlie crowed. “Of course you did. How?”
“A certain reformed pickpocket who has been helping at the orphanage.”
Eddie shook her head. “You, Lady Georgiana, are devious.”
Georgie gave her cousins a dignified bow. “We needed time.”
