by Rebecca King
She tipped her head back, studied the cotton-soft clouds high above her, and watched them glide past for several minutes. Eventually, her attention was drawn back down to the parchment in her hand.
The letter had only arrived this morning, but had immediately thrown the peace she had fought so hard to find over the last several weeks out of the window completely. She had shaken so much when she had broken the seal that it had taken an hour before she had been able to sit down and force herself to read its contents. Even then, Ruth had remained with her while she had read her father’s spidery scrawl.
While he didn’t condone the way she had left the house nearly three months ago now, he had to accept her decision to stay with her aunt, and of course would offer restitution to her aunt for the expense of having to accommodate her. He hoped that she would pay a visit, but would leave that to Georgiana to decide on. Until then he wished her the best and offered her his help should she need it.
The tone of the note could only be described as conciliatory. It had none of the sanctimonious scorn, or condemnation, she had expected. Nor did it have any mention of Cecily or Will in it, and for that she was eternally grateful. Not least because she was well aware that today was the day Will was marrying Penelope Smedgrove.
“Are you alright, Georgiana?” Ruth asked with a frown.
Georgiana looked at her sadly and nodded. There was nothing to say. Her aunt understood, and that was all that mattered right now. Words could not describe the tumultuous emotions that swirled through her, and it was a relief not to even have to try to think about the way she felt.
“Come on. Dinner is ready. Try to get something to eat. It will be alright, you will see,” Ruth said enthusiastically, but that enthusiasm dimmed when her eyes met Georgiana’s. There was a commiseration there that nearly brought Georgiana to tears. She had to look away, or she was going to cry.
“I have decided to buy Mrs Merriweather’s house,” she whispered.
Ruth looked at her and smiled. “She would have liked that,” she said softly.
Ruth had also had a recent loss. The demise of her good friend had rendered her grief-stricken as well and had sunk the house into one of tearful despair for the last several weeks.
“Her nephew will be glad it is going to someone who will appreciate it,” Ruth continued.
“I cannot stay with you forever,” Georgiana replied with a smile.
“You are more than welcome,” Ruth assured her. “So, are we going to call today the beginning of a new era?”
Georgiana considered that as she entered the kitchen and nodded.
“We should, both of us. Neither of us can carry on this way,” she replied. “We have both suffered a loss and need to catch our breaths and regroup.”
“Well, if you need my help in any way, just let me know,” Ruth offered.
Georgiana nodded her thanks and, together, the women set about preparing the luncheon.
“Hallo?”
They both watched Henry Parker poke his head around the door.
“Good morning, Henry,” Georgiana replied.
“Come on in, Henry.” Ruth beckoned into the kitchen. “Would you like to take luncheon with us?”
“No, thank you,” Henry waved. “No, I am just passing by on my way back from church and decided to drop in to make sure everything is alright with you both.”
He is wondering why we didn’t go to church today.
“We are alright,” Ruth replied hesitantly and watched Henry close the door carefully behind him.
There was something in the rigid set of his shoulders that warned both women he had news. They looked at each other warily and waited.
“Would you like tea?” Georgiana asked helpfully.
“No thank you. I just wanted you both to know that I overheard some news in church about Simeon Findley-Wreake.” He looked at Georgiana hesitantly, clearly undecided whether he should tell her or not.
“Go on,” Georgiana said bravely, her face betraying no sign of the dread that swept through her.
“He has been found hiding out at his uncle’s old hunting lodge in Normanton. He has been arrested for attempted murder and assault because he attacked the men who arrived to arrest him. The magistrate has sent men to speak with Will and, once furnished with statement, then sent a group out to find Findley-Wreake. His father’s lack of help in the matter has resulted in his arrest for attempting to thwart the judiciary.”
“Good Lord,” Georgiana murmured, slumping down into a chair at the table. Her legs were trembling so much that they wouldn’t hold her up for much longer. Fatefully, the memory of what had happened that awful evening resulted in her thoughts turning toward Will, and his departure later that same night. It had been the last time-
“He is behind bars?” Ruth asked.
Henry nodded. “I hear that the magistrate is getting statements off other guests in the hotel that evening who can attest to having witnessed Findley-Wreake with a weapon. Whatever they have learned, it is enough to ensure that Findley-Wreake is put behind bars for a very long time.”
“It won’t be just him, though, will it?” Ruth interrupted. “His father is going to face jail too.”
“It looks like it,” Henry said calmly. “I am afraid it is the talk of the village.”
“Is there any mention of Georgiana?”
Henry shook his head firmly. “No. So far, nobody knows she was there at the time.”
“It is inevitable that they will find out,” Georgiana whispered. “I still want to buy Mrs Merriweather’s cottage though.”
“Given that Simeon is going to be tried for attempted murder, people won’t bother whether you were there or not, Georgiana. It will be mentioned, but if anybody does we can assure them that you were in town to buy some new dresses and were followed by Simeon, who has been stalking you.”
“People would not question it,” Henry replied. “They are too shocked by the scandal Findley-Wreake has brought to the village. You will be seen as the victim, Georgiana. Don’t doubt that.”
“I have always suspected that there was something unusual about him. I should have looked deeper at his manner before I ever allowed Georgiana to go anywhere near him,” Ruth murmured with a sigh.
“He fooled everybody my dear,” Henry soothed. “It wasn’t just you. We were all fooled.”
“Me too,” Georgiana sighed. “Although I did see slight flickers of darkness in his character while we were out driving. I just didn’t stop to consider them too much. I should have ended all connection with him there and then.”
“We are always wiser in hindsight,” Henry murmured.
“Are you sure you won’t stop for dinner?” Ruth asked.
“No thank you, my dear. I just wanted to pop in to assure you that Findley-Wreake is now behind bars so you can be at ease now that there is no further threat to you.” With that Henry pushed away from the table and made his way to the door.
Before he took his leave of them, a rapid series of knocks on the front door drew their attention.
“I will go,” Georgiana offered leaving Ruth to say goodbye to him.
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
“Hello, Georgiana.”
Georgiana stared in disbelief at the man on the doorstep. Stunned, she stepped back to allow him inside unaware of anything else that was going on around her. She didn’t even realise when her aunt and Henry had joined them in the hallway.
“Will?” Ruth gasped. “Is everything alright?”
Georgiana jerked out of her stupor and looked at her aunt. For a wild moment of hope there she had been thrilled at the prospect that he might have returned to speak with her. The prospect that he might be there because something awful had happened in Cranbury left her feeling foolish and gauche.
“Everything is fine,” Will assured her. “I would like to have a brief word with Georgiana, if I may?”
Georgiana desperately wanted to ask him if he was married but daren’t. She had no idea what she
would do if he said he was.
“How have you been?” he asked once they were in the study.
“Fine, thank you. Please take a seat.” She waved toward the chair on the opposite side of the fireplace and, aware that he wouldn’t sit until she did, perched on the edge of the brocade chair to wait. Her hands clasped tightly on her lap to try to hide the visible shaking, but there was nothing she could do about the nerves that fluttered in her stomach.
“I wasn’t expecting to see you again so soon,” she said politely.
Will studied her closely and experienced the warmest flood of emotion sweep through him. Everything suddenly became right in his world. The sun shone brighter; the birds sang louder; the world seemed a more enjoyable place. It confirmed that he had made the right decision to leave here several weeks ago–it had taught him a lot about himself and, more importantly, the way he felt about her.
“How have you been?” he asked huskily.
The longer she stayed quiet the more his concern grew. There were dark circles beneath her eyes he hadn’t seen there before. What worried him the most was the cold aloofness in her manner he had not expected to find. He wondered what he had to do to get the wayward, spirited woman Georgiana was to emerge.
“Fine, thank you.”
No, I haven’t been fine. I have missed you so much that I cannot bear it, she cried silently.
“I wanted to speak with you.”
Georgiana stared hard at him. Their eyes met, but she valiantly ignored the fluttering of awareness that rattled through her.
“Oh?” she asked politely.
Will nodded. “I have spoken with the magistrate regarding Findley-Wreake,” he began.
Inside, she deflated just a little. “Yes, I heard he has been arrested now and is behind bars. It is a relief, don’t you think?”
“It is the best place for him,” Will said without apology.
“How is your wound now? Has it healed?”
“It has,” Will assured her.
“Good.”
Silence fell between them. It was awful.
“Is that all you came here for?” Georgiana asked. “I had a letter from Papa only this morning. He could have told me and saved you the journey.”
“I wanted to see you, Georgiana.” Will’s voice was softly.
Georgiana looked steadily at him. “I warn you now that I am not going to return to Cranbury.”
Will shrugged.
It is the reason he has travelled all this way. He still expects you to change your mind. He has gone back to Cranbury for his wedding, and now that is over wants to try to persuade you to return to your parent’s house, she wailed silently.
Before he began to speak, she decided to make it quite clear he was wasting his time.
“My father has made it plain that he has no concerns about me remaining here for as long as I want to. In fact, he was quite amenable to the prospect,” she assured him.
In an attempt to thwart any further argument, Georgiana stood and straightened her skirts. In doing so she made it clear that their interview was at an end.
Will refused to be dismissed and although he stood, he didn’t move from his spot beside the fire. Instead, he moved closer to it and rested one booted foot on the fender as he propped one elbow casually on the mantle. It was a stance that made it clear he was going nowhere. Unless she was rudely going to abandon him she had to stay and listen to what he had to say.
“I have travelled a long way,” he began.
“I do know where Cranbury is,” she snapped impatiently but then sighed when she realised how rude she was being. “I am sorry,” she whispered. “Would you care for some tea?”
“No, thank you.” Will began. “I am not here to try to persuade you to live with Cecily again.”
“Oh?”
Will shook his head. “You were right to leave in the first place.”
Georgiana opened her mouth to argue but then realised what he had said.
“I was?” she asked weakly.
“It made a lot of people realise a lot of truths,” he said. “While at the time it didn’t sit too well with any of us, it has made many people reconsider the way they view life, and you.”
“How?”
“You have always been a part of my life, Georgiana. Although several years older than you, I have always been aware that you were there, hovering in the background somewhere. I never really stopped to consider your life, and what you sacrificed living with your parents. Your mother, if you don’t mind me talking quite frankly-,” he paused and waited for her nod, “-can be irritating, overbearing, and shrill.”
Georgiana’s lips twitched. “Annoying you mean,” she finished for him, willing to be frank with him in return.
Will smiled at her and heaved a mental sigh of relief that she was starting to soften toward him. It was a smile of shared understanding and longstanding friendship which immediately lessened the tension between them.
He coughed around a smile. “Well, let me just say that she is best to be taken in small doses.”
Georgiana remained silent because she had no argument with that sentiment.
“I can understand your need to get away and be yourself for a while.”
“This isn’t for a while, Will. I can’t go back there to live,” she replied quietly. “I just can’t, and it has nothing to do with you.”
“I understand.”
“Do you?” she pressed. “You seemed quite adamant that I should go back to it.”
“I have to be honest with you, at the time I thought your departure was nothing more than a dramatic tantrum,” he reasoned, carefully ignoring her indignant huff. “Firstly, I caught you skinny dipping. But, when I got here and found you in that tree, now that was a shock, I can tell you.”
“I didn’t know you were there when I was in the lake,” she replied quietly, painfully aware that her cheeks were now aflame.
“I must confess that I wasn’t as much of a gentleman that day as I should have been. I should have left as soon as I realised what you were doing. What I did instead was stay close-by and attempt to convince myself that it was nothing more than girlish waywardness. It wasn’t. It was considerably more than that, but thinking that at the time gave me an excuse to ignore the truth that lay before me. You were no longer a girl. Your delectable body showed me that you are now very much a stunning woman.”
Georgiana was stunned, mortified, horrified, and delightfully pleased all at the same time.
“I didn’t realise you saw me,” she whispered.
Will nodded slowly.
“But afterward, in my father’s study,” she whispered. “You were so cold and aloof. I realised that I could never discuss how I felt with you so I left.”
“In my defence, all I can say is that I shouldn’t have kissed you that day and it threw me. It was wrong of me, and just made me doubt everything I thought I knew. I intended to call by to speak with you in the morning, but when I arrived the entire house was in chaos,” Will sighed. “I decided to leave you for a while once Theresa told us where you were going. Your father wrote to Ruth to ask her to let him know when you arrived, but it was generally agreed you needed to take a holiday for a while.”
“I am surprised Cecily agreed to it,” Georgiana sighed, glad she wasn’t around to witness her mother’s dramatics on the morning of her departure.
“She didn’t, but she wasn’t given much choice in the matter. Your father put his foot down. In fact, he appears to be doing that a lot more of late. Cecily has no idea what has gone wrong, but she isn’t allowed to get away with half as much as she has in the past. Your departure seems to have prompted your father to make her practice her self-control.”
“The dramatics have stopped?” She asked in astonishment.
“Not quite,” Will replied cautiously, but didn’t expand because he wasn’t there to talk about Cecily. “Once you had left, I have to confess that I managed to remain at home for a couple of weeks befor
e I was driven to come and see you, just to make sure you were alright.”
“Cecily demanded it,” Georgiana replied with a nod.
“No. Your parents had words once you had gone, and Cecily was made to stop demanding anything of anyone. No, my need to see you was more personal than that. I just had to see you.” Will’s eyes met hers. “I have to confess that I needed time away to think about making changes in my life so decided to kill two birds with one stone as it were.”
Georgiana nodded. “Your wedding to Penelope.”
“Marriage changes everything in a man’s life. The weight of expectation changes from one of getting wed to producing an issue who will continue the family name, but the expectations are there nonetheless. Once the issue is born, a man’s responsibility changes to providing for the family until they are old enough to inherit the fortune. It is never ending, and can be a heavy burden if one is married to the wrong woman.”
“But your discontent is something you can resolve by ensuring you marry the right woman. You have that choice. If you are happy then it makes the burden you have to carry all that much lighter,” she said.
“I know,” Will whispered.
Georgiana’s stomach lurched with sickening dread, but she had to force the words out. She suspected that he was trying to tell her that he knew how she felt about him, but was married to Penelope because she was the right choice.
Hoping to forestall him, she braced herself. “I can understand you easing the burden of expectation set upon you by marrying Penelope Smedgrove.”
“I haven’t married her,” Will assured her gently but firmly.
Georgiana stared at him. “Have you not? B-but I thought the wedding was supposed to have taken place about-”
She gulped. Had she gotten the dates wrong?
“About now,” he finished for her with a nod. “Yes, it should have been–if it was ever set in the first place.”
She stared at him in confusion. “Pardon?”
“There was never a wedding,” Will re-iterated.
Stunned, Georgiana sucked in a breath but then began to cry.
Will moved to sit beside her and captured both of her hands in his. She had suddenly gone so very pale that he wondered if he should fetch her some brandy. He would have done, if he had the strength to be parted from her. Instead, he held her hands while he explained.