As he watched, a man with dark, curly hair nearly identical to hers, bent to whisper something in her ear. Something that caused her brows to pucker.
Behind him, another voice sounded. Female, with an edge that said she was less than pleased. “Teddy, you’re not listening. I was just getting to the good part.”
A wave crested over him, slapping him full on the face and giving him a nose full of salty water. The vision vanished the same instant. Sputtering and coughing and cursing, he treaded water and tried desperately to grasp the threads of what had to be a memory. He, Georgina, another man—Georgina’s brother, Drake, no doubt, and a faceless woman. At a park?
The other woman. What was her name?
Catherine.
Following breakfast, Georginamoved into the bright receiving room to sit at her pretty painted writing desk where she’d found Teddy this morning, intending to work.
She stared at her open notebook, and found herself unable to focus, which was decidedly unlike her.
But then, Teddy’s presence in the household had quite upended her. And that had been before that amazing, dream-come-true kiss which still had her walking on air—and overstimulated in a way she could not decide if she found more delightful or frustrating.
A knock on the door jamb sounded. She glanced up to see Danvers entering the chamber.
She resisted the urge to grin. He wore his butler’s livery well, but still, something about the man did not call to mind a household servant. His burly build, stern features, and erect posture marked him as an ex-soldier on sight, she supposed—which was fine with her. Especially before Teddy’s arrival, Danvers’s presence made her feel quite safe in her seaside home, and she liked to think, by hiring him on and creating a place for him when, after he returned home from the battlefield there seemed to be none, she was showing her gratitude for his service to their country.
“Pardon the interruption, ma’am, but I thought you might wish these delivered. They arrived via the post this morning.”
He proffered what appeared to be two letters.
She thanked him, accepting the missives—one from Lady Amelia, the other from her mother—and thumbed off the first, when a thought struck.
“Mr. Danvers, a moment if you please?”
He paused at the door. “Yes,ma’am?”
She hadn’t thought this through. How to phrase her question without revealing her ever-so-slight distrust of Teddy. “My husband, Lord Arlington…”
Danvers arched a single, black brow.
“He…er…you brought him his special tea this morning, I believe he said?”
Danvers said nothing, just continued to wait, clearly expecting more.
She searched her mind. “I wondered if you had any questions about its preparation? It’s quite important that he receive a portion morning, midday, and night—to aid in his recovery, you see.”
A slight, inscrutable smile curved his broad mouth. “Ah. No, ma’am. No questions.”
“Excellent. I can trust you to see he receives it, on schedule, then?”
“Certainly, ma’am. Will there be anything else?”
With a grateful smile, she dismissed him.
Teddy had not lied, and from now on, she could count on Mr. Danvers to prepare the tea and deliver it in keeping with the prescribed schedule—which meant Georgina could cease badgering Teddy like a harpy, something neither of them enjoyed.
She turned her attention to the letters before her. A small amount of dread concerning what her mother might have written, in light of the way they had parted, inclined her to start with Lady Amelia’s correspondence.
My dear Georgina,
I hope this letter finds you well and that you are settling in nicely to your beautiful villa on the sea, despite the difficult decision you recently made, and your consequential move from your parents’ home for the foreseeable future. The ladies and I are all so proud of you as regards the unfortunate circumstance, the details of which I will not put in writing.
Amelia referred to her decision to grant no further funds to cover her father’s gaming debts which she’d shared with them. Of course she had. She shared most everything with them, with one major exception. She read on.
You may find it odd, receiving a letter so soon after our recent meeting during which you shared the details of your upcoming travels. I shall endeavor to explain, as, the ladies of our club have designated me to write to you on all of our behalves.
