Perhaps that is why he was so keen to travel... He could not bear to associate with people like that. Didn't even want to share a country with them. Oh, Elias! Where are you?
“Do you really think I could?” Georgia murmured aloud, finally.
“I do, and what is more, youmust. There will never be another opportunity like this.”
Georgia glimpsed the crow-like figure of Mr. Sobel appear from the veranda, the Vexley's butler. He beckoned to Georgia.
“I think the Vexley's are ready,” Georgia sighed.
“Brave heart, Georgia. This will be the beginning of an adventure,” Hermione replied stoutly but with worry in her eyes.
Georgia took her friend’s arm and spun back to the manor.
Westvale Estate was a sprawling titan of orange and red brick with ancient castellations about its sharp rooftops. It seemed to sprout asymmetrically, as though added by successive generations with little thought of what came before or would come after. A dark line of hills rose behind it, topped with its own castellation of antique stone, thrusting up above the soil and giving a jagged aspect to the landscape.
Georgia rode in the carriage alone and was greeted at the door by Uncle Benjamin.
“Your aunt and cousin have gone to the chapel to take their places. I am to bring you,” he stated.
She narrowed her eyes. “I believe the expression is give me away.”
“Yes, well, that is quite accurate as it happens. I am giving you away for a song. Not exactly what I had planned, but...”
Abruptly, he harrumphed and tugged his whiskers.
“Really?” Georgia asked, raising a brow, “And what had you planned, pray tell?”
“Never you mind, young lady,” Uncle Benjamin said gruffly, “come along.”
He led her into the house. The hall beyond the oak front door was dark, panelled in shadowy wood and lined with frowning portraits of men who looked very like the Duke.
A servant met them midway, bowing before announcing, “His Grace regrets to inform you that he is running late and asks that Miss Roseton wait the auspicious moment in the library.”
Georgia could not help but smile. It was perfectly obvious that this was a snub to the Vexleys, reminding them of how powerless they were in this arrangement, how inconsequential.
“Pardon?” Uncle Benjamin blustered, “This is outrageous! How can the man be running late in his own house for his own wedding?”
“Lead the way, please. What is your name?” Georgia asked of the servant, a young man with neatly brushed, short brown hair and a round face.
“Harris, ma'am,” he answered politely.
“Lead the way then, Harris,” Georgia smiled.
She followed the servant, leaving her uncle behind. A moment later, he was hurrying to catch up.
“Your Aunt will not be happy at this,” her uncle groused when he puffed alongside.
Georgia said nothing. Her mind was full of her plan. When to best broach the subject? She could wait until after the ceremony, but would the Duke simply fob her off? Once they were married,someof her leverage would disappear.
It will have to be before, when I can still threaten not to go through with it. I must hope he is a man of his word.
The library she was led to was a cathedral of books. A high, vaulted ceiling bore skylights that cast broad shafts of sunlight across the stone floor. Bookcases lined the walls and stood about the room. Every shelf was full, and tables were scattered about, bearing more piles.
“Ostentatious to show off one's books,” Uncle Benjamin, whose library was a tenth as large, muttered.
“Simplymagical,” Georgia breathed, taking in the surroundings, breathing in the air musty with the smell of paper, wood, and nostalgic leather.
What a wonderful place! So much knowledge! So many stories! I wonder if he has it arranged by subject. I should love to see what he holds on travel and far-off lands, as Elias would speak of…
