I hadn’t truly noticed Georgiana at all.
“And yet, here we are,” she said. “Friends. You’d do well to remember that sometimes what you see at a glance is not always the full picture. For better or worse.”
By that logic, I could certainly allow a measure of understanding for an awkward first introduction, but what about the fundamentals? Did those change based upon one’s mood?
“I am ill-advised to think Lady Diana’s temperament might change how she feels about keeping a pet indoors, for which she is not at all keen, and yet I am.”
A little crease formed between Georgiana’s brows. The same she’d procured when I’d told her about my engagement with Miss Newbury, and when her wine had missed its intended target.
I was beginning to feel rather fond of that crease.
It stayed as she said, “Perhaps she was frightfully nervous. Perhaps she’d not slept well, or hadn’t eaten, or had just argued with her mother.”
Maggie nodded thoughtfully. “Maybe her cat had just clawed her favorite chair.”
Georgiana laughed. “Precisely!” Her eyes widened at me. “We must know for certain. Which is why you’ll call upon her tomorrow. And we’ll discuss Hyde Park soon.”
I leaned my head back, for no matter what I said, with these two women one thing had become apparent: No matter which choice I made, I was wrong. And for once, I did not feel like having the final say.
They chattered on and left me to my thoughts, which were as scattered as the crowd we’d left at the Waymonts’. No matter what Maggie or Georgiana said, I could not deny my disappointment with Lady Diana, though I could not quite place why I did not feel excited. The dukedom needed someone like her—strong, opinionated, intelligent, and a sure leader. But the woman could have been more amiable! She could have at leasttriedto tell me what I wanted to hear. Instead, I’d felt irritated, and not in the way Georgiana made me feel. Georgiana irked me, but to humor. She bothered me, but predictably so. In a way that was less frustrating, more I wanted to irk her right back.
I was surprised when the carriage came to a stop a few doors down from her brother’s apartment. So was she.
Her apartment door was wide open. A carriage was parked directly in front of it, being loaded with trunks by lantern light. It looked as though ... she was leaving.
I stepped down, turning to help her, but she brushed past me.
“What is the meaning of this?” she asked. Her eyes were round, lips parted. “Sir, these are my trunks. Where is my brother?”
Where is my ring?These people could not leave withoutfirst giving me my ring! “I will find him,” I said, stepping forward. I was not even halfway to the door when Mr. Wood exited the apartment.
The man was in a bad way. Hair a mess, eyes bloodshot even under the lantern light. The top few buttons of his waistcoat were undone. He had not struck me as anything but proper, but perhaps, as Miss Wood had lectured, first impressions were not always as they seemed.
“Mr. Wood,” I called.
“Georgiana!” He seemed to either not have heard me or was blatantly disregarding me. “I’m so sorry. Amelia is unwell, and we must leave at once.”
“Peter,” she whispered, her voice a mixture of surprise and evident confusion, as she grasped his arms. “What has happened?”
“She fell.” He looked near to crying, and I wanted to look away—I should—but I had to know. “I received a letter a few hours ago. She fell hard on the stairs.”
Georgiana gasped. “And the baby?”
He swallowed hard. “Dr. Bennett said the baby is well, but how can we be sure? What if he’s wrong, Georgiana?”
“Oh, Peter,” Georgiana breathed, leaning in to her brother.
“We must go to her. I am so sorry, but I have to see her. I have to ensure she’s resting, and then dismiss whoever let her walk the stairs alone.”
Georgiana nodded, stepping back. “But I—” She looked over at me, and I felt oddly out of place. Oddly unsure of what to do or say, and I wasneverunsure.
We had plans. She had my ring. And though I could notfully understand the desperation Mr. Wood must be feeling, I envied him for it all the same. To be tied to and loyal to one person above all. I could not blame the man for rushing home.
I only wished I had put such a circumstance in the contract.
“Is everything well?” Maggie asked from the carriage. She stepped down alone. “Tell me you are not actually leaving so soon.”
Georgiana hung her head and frowned. “My sister-in-law has had an accident. And my brother is— It seems we must return home and ensure her well-being.”
