by Laura Martin
Allowing his eyes to rove around the room, he found it hard not to linger on Georgina. Only a few hours earlier she had been naked in his arms, willing to give him every piece of herself. Now he couldn’t stop himself remembering how she looked when he kissed her in a particular way, how she moaned when he touched her.
‘You’re a fool, Samuel Robertson,’ a low voice said next to his ear.
‘Aren’t we all fools?’
‘None as much as you,’ Crawford said. ‘If I had a woman like Lady Georgina willing to give everything up for me, I would whisk her away before she could change her mind.’
‘She’s not...’
Crawford raised an eyebrow to silence his friend.
‘If I’m not very much mistaken, she’s given you the most valuable thing she possesses,’ Crawford said quietly. ‘Of course she’d be willing to give you anything else.’
Deep down Sam knew it was true. He only had to ask, only had to offer.
‘It wouldn’t be fair. She would have to give up everything.’
Crawford shrugged. ‘True. But I suppose only she can decide whether it would be worth it.’
Sam turned back to the rest of the room, catching Georgina staring at him before she blushed slightly and turned away.
‘She could marry a duke.’
‘But does she want to?’ Crawford asked.
He knew the answer to that one; Georgina most definitely did not want to marry the Duke, or anyone else her mother had carefully selected to be at this house party as a potential suitor.
‘The real question you have to ask yourself, is why haven’t you asked her?’
Sam spun around, but already his friend had moved on, crossing over to the ornate sideboard, and pouring himself another cup of tea.
He hadn’t asked her because...well, because if he asked her to give up her family, her friends, her whole life, then he would have to give up his plans for revenge on the Earl.
Sam would do almost anything for Lady Georgina, but he didn’t think he could do that. For so long it had been his main motivation, his whole reason for returning to England—he couldn’t just give up on it now he was so close, could he?
‘She’d never forgive me,’ Sam murmured to himself, trying to reason that even if he did give up on the idea of revenge one day Georgina would find out the truth about why he had sought her out in the first place and that would ruin their relationship.
No, it was best to leave things as they were, to have this interlude as a time of happy memories but nothing more. It was best for Georgina and best for him.
‘That’s agreed, then. We’ll remain inside and anyone who wants to can join in the games,’ Lady Westchester was saying. ‘Our first game will involve hiding and searching. Georgina will be given five minutes to hide somewhere in one of the downstairs rooms. We then all split up and attempt to find her. Once you’ve found her, instead of announcing her whereabouts, you hide with her. This continues until everyone has found the hiding place.’
A group of ten remained, six ladies and four gentlemen, the rest filtering away to amuse themselves in some other way. Sam almost slipped away, too, but a pleading look from Georgina made him stay.
Mr White agreed to record the five minutes, lifting a gold pocketwatch from his jacket for the job. With a slightly beleaguered smile Georgina swept through the door, closing it behind her, and the only sound was her receding footfalls.
‘Five minutes,’ Mr White declared when the time was up. Everyone trickled out of the room, turning in different directions. At first Sam moved slowly, not overly thrilled to be spending his afternoon playing games such as this, but suddenly he realised if he found Georgina first they would be alone together in a confined space. With a very good reason to be there.
Trying to think like Georgina, he checked room after room, pausing in the library. Miss Lovett had just left this room, but after being sat next to her on more than one occasion for dinner he didn’t rate her powers of observation. Quietly he entered the room, closing the door softly behind him. Before he took any more steps he took a few moments to listen and fancied he could hear the faint sound of someone breathing in the room somewhere. With a grin he moved forward, casually kneeling on a comfortable sofa and peering over the back. Georgina stifled a giggle as she looked up from her crouched position.
Sam took her extended hand, but was taken by surprise when she tugged hard and he toppled over the back of the sofa, landing almost entirely on top of her.
‘Lady Georgina, I must ask you to behave with the appropriate amount of decorum...’ he said, trying to resist the urge to slip a hand under her dress.
‘Always, Mr Robertson,’ she whispered.
He gave her a long, hard stare and she had to clap a hand over her mouth to stop herself from giggling.
‘We might have a minute to ourselves or an hour,’ he said, placing a hand on her cheek. It was almost the only bare skin he could find. To combat the cold weather Georgina was wearing a high-necked dress with sleeves down to her wrists. It was made of the most beautiful dark blue silk and no doubt had cost a small fortune, but all Sam could think about was ripping it off her.
‘What do you propose we do with that time?’ Georgina asked.
‘I can think of one or two worthwhile pursuits.’
Taking care not to crinkle her dress or muss her hair, he kissed her, stiffening as the door to the library opened again. They inched apart as the footfalls moved closer and by the time Mr White’s face appeared over the back of the sofa they were a decorous foot apart.
‘Jolly good,’ Mr White exclaimed, moving around the back of the sofa and inserting himself on the other side of Georgina. She shuffled a little closer to Sam on the pretence of making room, but he felt a little thrill as her hand slipped in to his. ‘What fun this is,’ Mr White commented and Georgina turned towards their new companion, bestowing one of her dazzling smiles on the richest of her suitors.
As he listened to the whispered conversation between Georgina and Mr White he felt Georgina’s backside wriggle backwards almost imperceptibly. Her skirts had billowed and pooled around her and Sam felt his fingers inching towards the hem of the material. He had to suppress a grin as she stiffened when his fingers brushed against her leg, but to Georgina’s credit she did not otherwise react. Slowly he traced a pattern on the silky skin of her calves, moving higher inch by inch as she tried to continue her conversation with the man in front of her. Only when the door to the library opened again and Miss Halsham let out a squeal of delight at finding their hiding place did Georgina get a chance to turn to him and flash him a look filled with desire and reprimand all at the same time.
The game was over quickly then, with the remaining participants all finding the hiding spot in the library within the next few minutes as the spot behind the sofa became cramped. As the last person, a baron by the name of Lord Foxton, discovered the rest of the participants everyone edged out from around the sofa. Only Georgina lingered for a moment, long enough for Sam to lean in and whisper in her ear.
‘Run away with me,’ he said. ‘I mean it, run away with me.’ At first he thought it was an impulsive suggestion, shocking himself with the request as much as Georgina, but then as he considered it more he realised the last couple of days had been leading up to this moment.
Sam felt himself reeling as he suddenly realised he really did mean it. He wanted her to run away with him and he was willing to do anything to make it happen. For eighteen years he’d planned his revenge on the Earl and now even that seemed insignificant compared to the chance of having Georgina by his side for the rest of his life.
For a second she studied his face, but before she could answer Miss Yaxley pulled on Georgina’s arm and the connection between them was lost.
‘Who found you first, Georgie?’ Caroline asked.
‘I think it was Mr Robertson,’ Geor
gina said quietly, turning to him for confirmation.
‘It was.’
‘Then you must hide first this time.’
‘I shall time your five minutes,’ Mr White said.
Sam almost declined, almost made some excuse to retire to his room and think about the ridiculous suggestion he’d just made to Georgina. He knew there was hardly any possibility of her saying yes, but he’d asked all the same.
‘Hurry, Mr Robertson,’ Georgina said, her eyes filled with something Sam could not quite interpret. ‘We shall be along to find you in five minutes.’
The small possibility that Georgina would find him first was enough for Sam to incline his head in agreement and saunter out the door. He knew exactly where he was going to hide and it wouldn’t need five minutes.
Crossing the grand hallway, he moved quickly to the morning room and the wide double doors that led out to an ornate glasshouse. In here Lord Westchester tasked his gardener with growing some more exotic plants that would not normally thrive in English temperatures.
The cold hit him as soon as he entered and closed the door quietly behind him. There was no sun today to beam through the glass panels and warm the room and as such it was only a few degrees warmer than it was outside. Nevertheless he moved forward, determined to find a hidden spot to wait in and hope it was Georgina who found him first.
He’d only taken three steps when he realised he was not alone in the glasshouse. From somewhere towards the end of the freezing room came faint noises, the sound of someone breathing and, as Sam listened, a soft moan.
From the months he’d spent on the convict ship he was familiar with the sound of a couple illicitly copulating and instantly he stiffened, not wanting to embarrass anyone unnecessarily. He was almost back out the door before he paused. The unmistakable voice of Lord Westchester, the man who liked to portray himself as a moral and upstanding man, cut through the air.
‘Yes, like that,’ the Earl commanded.
Sam turned around. He doubted Lady Westchester was the one receiving Lord Westchester’s attentions. A countess was unlikely to allow herself to be cornered in the glasshouse, although it was possible, of course. You never knew what really went on behind a closed bedroom door.
No, it was much more likely Lord Westchester was doing exactly what he preached against in his political campaigning and engaging in extra-marital relations.
Moving closer, Sam peered through the thick foliage, seeing first Lord Westchester’s pale backside, with his breeches around his ankles. Not wanting to focus on this unpleasant sight for too long, Sam shifted to get a better view of the woman underneath him. She was laid back on a workbench of convenient height, her dark skirts hitched up around her waist. Catching a glimpse of her face, Sam recognised one of the maids. She was young, certainly no more than nineteen or twenty, slender, but with a plain, unremarkable face.
He’d seen enough. Enough of the copulating couple and enough to know he’d been right all along. Lord Westchester did still cavort with the maids as he had all those years ago when Sam had been a boy. The man who touted himself as a moral leader was taking advantage of his own maids. Politically it would not go down well; it would ruin his upcoming campaign and probably put an end to his political aspirations.
Sam had to think quickly. His original plan had been to encourage some of the maids Lord Westchester had taken advantage of over the years to speak out and he’d got as far as procuring a list of the maids who’d left or been dismissed from the household over the last five year, but now he wondered if it would be more effective if the Earl was caught in the act. Preferably by somebody with the propensity to gossip.
Stepping away so he was hidden among the leaves, he waited. If he was lucky all he would have to do was let the game run its course.
For a moment he hesitated. Something didn’t feel quite right. An image of Georgina’s face flashed into his mind, the look of hurt and mistrust when she found out he’d been working on his plan for revenge this whole time. It would ruin her. There was no doubt she would refuse to come away with him when she found out the truth, but then her father’s public disgrace might mean other marriage proposals dried up as well.
Stepping back, he shook his head in confusion. For so long this had been all he’d wanted: the chance to confront the Earl and hurt him a fraction of the amount the old man had hurt him. It had been the whole reason for coming to England, the whole reason for gaining entry into society and weaving his way into Georgina’s life. Now he had the chance to fulfil his aim and here he was hesitating.
He didn’t want to hurt Georgina, he’d never wanted to hurt her, but he had fooled himself that he would be able to find a way to damage her father without impacting her.
Thinking back to the moment the request for her to run away with him had slipped from his lips, he closed his eyes and breathed deeply. Probably she would refuse. It would be the sensible thing to do, but if there was even the slightest chance she agreed, he didn’t want to jeopardise that.
He needed time, time to decide exactly what to do, and he needed to talk to Georgina.
The door opened and the sound was enough to make the Earl pause. The heavy footsteps as someone came deeper into the glasshouse soon galvanised both the older man and the young maid into action. Sam watched as the Earl quickly pulled up his trousers before roughly hauling the maid from the workbench. Behind him he saw a lady’s shoes come into view and heard an excited giggle. If he wasn’t mistaken it was Miss Lovett, the airheaded young thing with a pretty face but a poor dowry. Sam needed to distract her attention and allow the Earl and his maid to escape through the door into the garden.
He shifted, drawing Miss Lovett’s attention towards him and away from the end of the glasshouse. The Earl spun and through the foliage his eyes met Sam’s. With a look of a cornered animal he shot Sam a warning glance, before ushering the maid forward.
Ensuring he rustled the leaves of the tree he was standing next to a little more, he saw Miss Lovett turn towards him and he summoned a smile as she hurried over. From somewhere behind him he heard the door into the garden closing quietly.
‘Am I the first to find you?’ she asked.
‘Yes,’ he said, unable to concentrate enough to initiate any further conversation. He’d just missed the opportunity to expose the Earl as a hypocrite and perhaps ruin the reputation he was relying on to further his political aims.
‘How exciting. So do we just hide here until someone else finds us?’
‘I believe so,’ he ground out.
‘Hasn’t it been a fun weekend?’ Miss Lovett twittered.
‘I believe the idea is to stay as quiet as possible so it takes longer for everyone to find us,’ Sam said, trying to keep the exasperation from his voice and failing completely.
‘Oh, of course.’ She fell silent and a few seconds later the door to the glasshouse opened again.
‘Lady Georgina,’ Sam greeted her almost guiltily. She looked disappointedly at Miss Lovett, but summoned a sunny smile after a couple of seconds.
He searched her face, trying to find some clue as to whether she was even considering running away with him. The chance of her agreeing was miniscule, but he knew he would have regretted it for ever had he not asked. She looked serene, too serene to be thinking about leaving all her friends and family behind. Probably she had already worked out how to break it to him gently, how to tell him she’d enjoyed their time together, but she would not jeopardise her whole future for him. For a moment Sam thought about withdrawing the offer, about protecting his own heart, but he managed to stop himself. He knew that was just a reaction to the thought she might refuse, his way of protecting himself from the emotional pain a refusal would cause, after all these years with barriers around his heart. If there was any chance at all of Georgina accepting, he couldn’t jeopardise that.
‘I’m sorry,’ he murmured before he
could stop himself. Both women gave him a puzzled look, but were prevented from asking any questions when the door to the glasshouse opened again and someone else stepped inside. He shouldn’t have asked her, it was selfish, but he hadn’t been able to help himself.
Georgina shifted, moving slightly closer to Sam and slipping her hand into his.
‘Meet me before dinner,’ she whispered into his ear.
Sam nodded, unable to refuse. There was just a glimmer of hope and he clung on to it firmly. Now all he had to do was decide what to do about the Earl.
Chapter Twenty-One
Nervously Georgina ran her fingers over the selection of dresses in her wardrobe. They were all expensive, made with the finest materials, some with hand-embroidered detail, some with beautiful French lace or panels of velvet.
All of them had been bought with her father’s money, of course, all of them designed to display her in the best light to attract the most desirable husband. And here she was wondering which to choose to take with her when she ran away with an entirely unsuitable man. Likely they would have to travel light so the choice was important. Of course they hadn’t made definite plans yet, but Georgina wanted to be prepared. If they were going to do this it would have to be soon, probably within the next couple of days.
A giggle that sounded just a touch hysterical burst from her lips. She was really going to do this. All her life she’d been a good girl, she’d attended her lessons, never put a foot wrong in society and dutifully obeyed her parents. Now she was planning on running away with a man who had spent much of his life working as a convict labourer in Australia. Not that she thought him a criminal—Georgina had believed him from the very start when he’d confided that he had been convicted for a crime he had not committed. Sam was a good man, that she was sure of, and it softened the fact that she was about to betray her parents and leave them behind.
‘You’re going to run away with him,’ Caroline hissed as she burst into Georgina’s room.