Keaton felt sure that her voice must be attracting eyes and ears. He smiled and took a step before realizing that she was not following. She was silent, and it took effort for him to focus on the sound of her breathing, the scent of the soap she wore, and the lavender trace from her clothes. In that brief moment, he was lost and felt a flash of fear. It was like being stranded in utter darkness with no clue as to up or down, left or right.
Then she was in all of his senses again. Her hand took his.
“I would want to kill him,” Keaton admitted, “but Amelia is not my cousin. Or my sister. And I can remain detached and think objectively. One of us must.”
“Quite,” she said distractedly, “we are halfway down this dashed Elm Walk. The end is this way. How long do you think we should stay before it would be acceptable for us to slip away?”
“If you take a fainting fit due to the sun, then almost immediately,”
“Very well. Then I will go to Silverton and stay there until Tom Higgins returns, and I can find out where they have put Amelia. It becomes clear now that the villains have put her somewhere so that she will not run away from the prospect of marrying that reprehensible human being,” Georgia said, hotly.
“You cannot simply camp out at Silverton waiting for this man. You are a Duchess.”
“Lord Emsworth does not seem to think so.”
“My staff do. I had an argument with my butler over their acceptance of your orders.”
Georgia was quiet for a moment, and Keaton realized it was the first time he had mentioned her taking the trap to Silverton.
“I understand why you did it now,” he breathed.
“Doyou?”
“Of course. I did not at the time.”
“Why did youthinkI had taken the trap?” she asked, quietly.
Keaton was silent for a long moment. “I will not say. Suffice to say, I am not sure I will think about it any longer.”
Another silence. “I will not stand by and let poor Amelia be shackled to that man. If it creates scandal for us but frees her from him, then I will consider it a job well done.”
Keaton heard the sound of the third glass of champagne being emptied, and then Georgia swayed against him briefly.
“Oh dear. I think that fainting fit might not need to be faked. I fear I have fallen victim to the French trick on the English you mentioned earlier...”
He heard a chink of glasses.
“Here,” she mumbled with the smallest of hiccups, “so that your wife does not appear to be drinking alone.”
Keaton felt another glass put into his hand, felt it clink against Georgia’s.
CHAPTER 18
“Icannot return to that gloomy house just yet!” Georgia cried.
Rain had split the sky and driven Lady Gertrude’s garden party hunting for shelter. Georgia had guided Keaton to their carriage, and both had gotten drenched in the process.
“I feel like I am breathing water,” Keaton said, hurling back his head and tossing back long, water-dark locks.
A spray of water lashed at Georgia, who squealed and giggled. Keaton laughed. Georgia had not stopped at three or even four. Keaton had lost count of how many glasses had followed. He sat back in the carriage as it began to splash its way through the streets south of the Thames. He smiled, hearing Georgia’s laughter.
She received disturbing news, but the drink has taken her mind off it. I will help her. God help me, but I will put asidethis damnable paranoid suspicion, and I will do the honorable thing. I will shake the truth out of Silverton if I need to!
“Then we will go and promenade in Hyde Park,” Keaton announced, the idea coming to him fully formed and perfect. He thumped the roof and gave his orders, hearing them echoed by the driver.
“Yes, I would dearly love to promenade in Hyde Park. My Aunt and Uncle would never countenance it lest I take attention away from Amelia.”
“I do not blame them,” he said.
