Jason straightened, his jaw tight. “I am entirely serious,” he said evenly, his jaw still ticking.
Georgiana’s mother let out a scandalized laugh. “Well, you’re mad,” she sniffed, already flouncing toward the door. “Completely mad. I’ll be in the coach while you men work out the details. Come along, Georgiana.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” Georgiana bit out.
Jason’s lips twitched faintly. “Georgiana stays with me,” he commanded.
Henry, who had been glaring at Jason from his awkward seat near the door, finally spoke up. “I should call you out for ruining my sister,” he growled.
Jason’s head snapped toward him. “I did not ruin her,” he said sharply. “I’m attempting to do the opposite, actually.”
“Henry, you dimwit,” Lord Chadwick said, rolling his eyes, “Pembroke’s about to save her reputation and give us twenty-five thousand pounds to boot. A fortune! You shouldn’t be calling him out. You should be shaking his hand.”
Henry looked thoroughly confused by this information. He never had been the sharpest foil in the rack. His mouth opened, closed, then opened again before he simply stood and hobbled out after his mother, muttering under his breath.
Jason exhaled slowly, then turned back to Lord Chadwick. “One more condition,” he said, his voice calm but firm.
The older man’s brow rose.
“I need a few minutes alone with Georgiana before we discuss any contract. I will not proceed without her full agreement.”
Lord Chadwick barked a dry laugh. “We don’t need her agreement,” he scoffed.
Jason’s eyes hardened. “You do if you want my money,” he said flatly.
That shut him up.
After a moment, Lord Chadwick sniffed and adjusted his waistcoat. “Very well. I’ll wait for you downstairs in your study.”
When the door closed behind him, the room fell quiet except for the faint rattle of the window where Georgiana still perched.
Jason dragged a hand through his hair and turned toward her slowly.
She didn’t look at him. Her eyes were fixed on the street below, her fingers clutching the sill, her shoulders rigid.
She was obviously scared.
And furious.
And he couldn’t blame her.
He took a careful step closer. “Georgiana,” he said softly.
She didn’t move.
Another step. “I know you want to bolt,” he said, gentler this time. “I know you’re angry with me. And you have every right to be. Of course. But please…come back inside. Sit down. Hear me out.”
Her fingers tightened on the sill.
“I will not insist on anything,” he continued. “You have all the choice here. You can say no. I’ll take you to the coaching station myself if that’s what you want. I promise you, I can get you there undetected, your family be damned.”
That got her attention. She glanced back at him, startled.
“I promise,” he said again, hand on his heart.
Her lips pressed into a thin line, but after a moment, she swung her leg back over the sill and allowed him to help her to the floor.
She stalked to the chair she’d abandoned earlier and sat with her arms crossed, still glaring at him.
