Three Times The Rake (The Northumberland Nine Series Book 3)

by Dayna Quince

  “What’s this?” her father barked, startling her. Her heart leapt to her throat. “Get your hands off my daughter!”

  Georgie panicked but then saw her father not even looking her way but at Anne standing in Roderick’s arms.

  “Father, stop,” Anne commanded.

  “What has been going on here?” Father asked.

  “Anne and I will be getting married,” Roderick said. “You need not force Bernie to marry that spineless pup.”

  Her father puffed his chest out. “My Anne, marry the likes of you? She can barely stand the sight of you.”

  “That’s not true anymore, Papa,” Anne said. “I love him.”

  Georgie covered her gasp. Roderick and Anne? Since when? What had she missed? Roderick held Anne as together they defended their relationship to her father. Stunned, Georgie could only watch, her eyes misting. Their love was so blatant it made her heart ache. What did that feel like, to mean that much to someone? If anyone of her sisters deserved it, it was Anne. She’d raised all of them, acting as a second mother. Georgie swallowed down her emotions as her father continued to rant. She would not let him take away from Anne’s happiness. She would not let anyone force her sisters to do anything they didn’t want.

  He blustered, his jowls shaking. “Such insolence!” He turned away, and Georgie blocked his path.

  “Go home, Father,” Georgie ordered. “We’ll find Bernie, but she isn’t going to marry anyone she doesn’t wish to.”

  He wagged his finger at her. “When I tell your mother of this, she will be quite distraught, and I’ll find Bernadette myself!” He marched away. Georgie turned to Anne, uncertain of what to say.

  Roderick cleared his throat and addressed everyone. “Well, now you know. Anne and I are engaged. Now may we please continue to breakfast? I’m starving.”

  The gentlemen shrugged and dispersed, but Georgie could feel Gavin’s stare. She couldn’t meet his gaze now. Last night he had proposed to her, thinking she was ruined by yesterday’s events and he’d been wrong. They hadn’t been caught after all. Their secret affair was still unknown, and he wouldn’t have to marry her out of duty.

  But that didn’t ease the stab of pain in her chest. Nothing felt right or good. She’d been changed by him, her world permanently altered, and there was no going back to the girl she was before. How stupid she’d been, to think she could keep her heart from getting involved. And though she wasn’t the one caught, her sisters still faced a scandal and Bernie was missing. She had to put her broken heart aside and focus on her sisters now.

  She took a deep breath and approached Anne’s chair. “Sister meeting, your room, as soon as you’re finished,” Georgie said.

  “What?” Anne asked in confusion.

  “You’ve quite a bit of explaining to do,” Georgie said. As did she. But she couldn’t fathom where to begin.

  “You sound like me, Georgie,” Anne quipped.

  “What of Bernie?” Jeanie asked, coming to Georgie’s side.

  “I’m sure she’s fine, wherever she is, as long as she isn’t with Father or Lord Kirkland,” Anne replied.

  Georgie nodded. She left the breakfast parlor, her appetite gone.

  All eight women squeezed on to Anne’s bed and the sisters talked at once, arguing over each other, speculating about Bernie and Anne. Georgie covered her ears and looked to Anne for help.

  Anne held up her hand and gradually, the others took notice and quieted. But instead of leading as she usually did, Anne turned to Georgie.

  “You asked for this meeting. What is it you want to discuss?”

  Georgie chewed her lip. Should she confess her own secret or was there no point? She’d had some time to think and if Roderick married Anne, they were safe from destitution if their father died, but there was still the present scandal to be dealt with. “Where is Bernie?”

  Anne shrugged. “I don’t know, but Violet says she is fine and safe. It is Bernie, after all, we needn’t worry overmuch. I have a feeling she is with Chester or somehow under his protection.”

  “Do you think they ran off to marry?” Josie asked.

  “I don’t know what to think and frankly, I’m too tired to think this morning,” Anne replied. “All I do know is that yesterday something occurred between Bernie and a guest of Lady Kirkland’s.”

  “We know about that,” Nicolette interjected, sharing a glance with her twin, Odette. They tucked a raven curl behind an ear in perfect unison, something they’d always done when nervous. Georgie found their strange synchronized movements amusing.

  Odette cleared her throat. “We were in the maze and Bernie was separated from us. We could hear her but we couldn’t find her. Then we could hear a gentleman speaking with her and she called out to us. We tried to find our way back to her as swiftly as possible, but Lady Kirkland arrived before us and Bernie had hit the man. I can only assume he tried to take a liberty. Lady Kirkland would not hear Bernie’s side and took her to Lord Kirkland’s study. She refused to let us stay with her. So we went in search of Violet to get help.”

  “And I was in the house when Roderick left the study with Bernie and Chester to return to the castle,” Anne added. “Lady Kirkland said some unkind things. And now we are here. Father wants Bernie to marry this lad at Lord Kirkland’s insistence.”

  “I do care for you. It is why I insist we marry.”

  Georgie glanced away. There was that word again. Insist. She understood exactly why Bernie was hiding. But…at least Gavin cared for her. She believed that, at least. But he wouldn’t understand how terrible it felt to be a woman at the mercy of someone’s insistence. She grew angry all over again.

  “This is ridiculous,” Georgie fumed. “He attacked her or she wouldn’t have struck him. She can’t marry a man like that!”

  Anne nodded. “We will do everything to protect her. I know Chester and Violet will too.”

  “What about you?” Jeanie asked from the foot of the bed.

  Anne frowned. “I will protect her too.”

  “No.” Jeanie hugged the bedpost. “What of you and Roderick. I’m still trying to believe my own eyes. He embraced you in front of everyone, and you declared you loved him.”

  Anne blushed. “I do.”

  “Since when?” Georgie asked. “For years you’ve despised him. What changed?”

  Anne chewed her lip. “I don’t know what to say other than…we both changed.”

  Georgie stilled. They both changed? What did that mean? She withdrew into her thoughts as her sisters peppered Anne with questions. Georgie climbed off the bed and stared out at the view of grassy hills beyond Anne’s window. Could a person hate someone and then grow to love them? Georgie supposed it was possible. People did grand things in the name of love. Her thoughts moved to Gavin. He’d proposed but not out of love. Georgie didn’t understand why that hurt almost as much as thinking he’d had an understanding with Lady Henrietta.

  She took a deep breath, her emotions from last night rising like a tide and washing over her. She’d fallen for him. She loved him and he didn’t love her or…or he’d want her no matter what had happened. He wouldn’t propose out of duty, he’d propose because of love and he’d change for her. He’d put his business second and promise her happiness, not suffering.

  But he hadn’t done nor said any of that.

  She pressed her head to the cool glass.

  “Georgie?”

  She jerked up, turning to face her sisters.

  Anne strode forward and took her hand. “The best news of all is, we are safe. Roderick will protect all of you. Even if father dies, we will still have a home and we will all be together. We’re going to be family now. Selbourne Castle will be like another home.”

  Georgie swallowed. She’d prayed for this exact outcome—well, not exactly. She’d wished one of her sisters would marry a wealthy man, allowing Georgie to remain unwed and free to be herself. Her wish had come true and yet… All she wanted to do was cry. Or throw something. Either
would nice.

  But she bit her cheek and nodded, forcing a small smile. “Good. You saved us, Anne.”

  Anne squeezed her hand. “Now as far as Bernie’s situation, let’s just try to act normal and go about the usual plans for the party.”

  Her sisters agreed, but Georgie didn’t know how she was supposed to act normal after last night. Her heart was in pieces, and she didn’t know how to put herself back together. She tried to imagine her heart as a wounded bird. What did it need? What could she do to make it better?

  The first step with any injured creature was comfort and warmth to reassure them they were safe. She schooled her features into something most of her sisters would not question and excused herself to go to her room. Jeanie followed her, but at her door, Georgie put her foot down.

  “I need to be alone. I’m fine.”

  Jeanie folded her arms. “I can see you are hurting.”

  “I know you can. You’re almost like my twin with only eleven months between us, but right now I want to lie down and pretend I’m at home in our bed. Too much is happening and I need a moment to breathe.”

  Jeanie nodded. “Very well. I’ll check on you later.”

  Georgie entered her room and closed the door, leaning back against it with her eyes closed. She stood there, immobilized by the turbulence inside her, her senses heightened and alerted to the man in her room who caused this havoc inside her, whether he’d intended to or not.

  Chapter 20

  Gavin remained still, not wanting to startle her. Her breathing had quickened, but she still had her eyes closed. She pressed a finger to her lips and met his gaze.

  Be quiet.

  He nodded.

  She pushed away from the door and strode toward him, her arms folded, her stare ablaze with anger and accusation.

  “Is this a trap?” she whispered.

  “A trap?” he whispered back.

  “I refused you last night and now you’re in my room. Do you intend to trap me into marriage? Because it is even less necessary than it was last night.”

  “I only wanted to speak with you, and I didn’t know when I’d have the chance. You were all in one place so I slipped in here.”

  “Jeanie almost followed me in. What would you have done then?”

  “Explained my reasons to her.”

  Her lips trembled. “Are you going to propose again?”

  His heart pounded. He wanted to, but he still couldn’t find the right words that would convince her or himself that he wouldn’t be making a terrible mistake. But he was closer; he could feel it coming, full understanding, an epiphany, right on the horizon of his mind like a coming dawn.

  “Do you want me to?”

  Her eyes glowed with fierce emotion, and he wanted to take her in his arms but not yet.

  “Don’t you see? We’ve been saved. Roderick and Anne will marry and I won’t ever have to. Just like I’d hoped.”

  “You don’t appear happy.”

  She winced. “I am, but I’m also tired and worried about Bernie.”

  Gavin nodded. “I understand.” He didn’t expect her to have changed her mind, not after today’s events, but he had hoped a little. Seeing Roderick confess his love for Anne there in front of her father, in front of everyone had shocked him. He’d changed since the last party, his demeanor and character altered. Had his drinking affected him that much? Or was it Anne who had changed him? And when? After this morning, Gavin had done even more thinking. About love, about himself, and about his mother and father.

  “Do you?”

  “Your love for your sisters has always been clear to me.” He swallowed. “I envy you. I’ve always wished for siblings.”

  She considered him. “I have a few to spare. I recommend Willa. She never causes any trouble.”

  His mouth itched to smile, but with so much tension between them, he didn’t.

  “I’m sorry for whatever pain I have caused you, Georgie,” he began.

  She turned away. “It’s nothing. This is what affairs are, aren’t they?”

  No. Nothing about what he felt for her was typical of his affairs. And there it was, exactly as he imagined, the sun breaching the darkness and lighting the sky with hope and the promise of so much more.

  He loved her and he did not want to let go of her.

  “This isn’t an affair,” he said.

  “Then what is it?”

  He took a deep breath, his chest hurting with the force of his emotions. “A beginning.”

  She stopped, standing before her hearth, her shoulders tense.

  If he told her how he felt she wouldn’t believe him, not yet. It was too soon. This wasn’t what either of them had set out to do. Something miraculous had happened along the way, but though she was hurting now, thinking what they had was over, he couldn’t be sure she returned his love. That was the only way to convince her that their marriage could be good, better than good. Somehow, he’d make it work for her. He’d move mountains if he had to, cut his hours, hire more managers to make it work, for her.

  Anything for her. This is what Luckfeld had been saying all along. The bloody man had seen it coming a long way off.

  Gavin was a blind fool.

  He swallowed, emotion choking his throat. He closed the distance between them, touching her shoulders, giving her a chance to move away.

  “So we don’t have to marry. I was wrong. The threat of yesterday wasn’t about us. That leaves things open to…” He brushed the curls at her neck aside and pressed his lips to her nape.

  She shivered but she didn’t move away, and his hopes grew.

  “No,” she whispered.

  Gavin stepped back, the crushing blow of her rejection stunning him.

  She turned to face him, her eyes misty, licking her lips. “I can’t go back to that… Too much has changed between us.”

  He nodded stiffly. “I understand,” he said, even though he didn’t. Touching her, holding her, keeping her close were the only things that made sense to him. The emotions raw and possessive inside him, demanding they be together.

  He locked his jaw, running a hand through his hair. She stepped forward, placing her hands on his shoulders, and he was too weak to resist her nearness. His arms came around her.

  “If I could be like you and separate my feelings, I would.” Her fingers touched his jaw line and then his lips. Her body vibrated in his hold, so much tension in her frame.

  He kissed the tips of her fingers. “I don’t want you to be anyone but you, Georgie. You make me want to be a better man. I would do anything for you. I am not the same person that arrived here, and I only ask that I be allowed to show you that. This doesn’t have to end, and it doesn’t have to be a heartless affair any longer.”

  Her eyes widened. “What are you saying? Are you proposing again?”

  “No. You already refused me twice now. I’ll do whatever you want me to do. I’m yours to do with as you please.”

  Her face tilted up to his, and he brushed his lips across hers. “Please, Georgie.”

  Her lips pressed to his again but then she pushed away.

  “No. I need to think and I can’t do that with you so close. I need space, Gavin.”

  He wanted to argue, to press her harder with desire. He knew she could feel it and wanted it, but he wasn’t a man to use passion as manipulation. It physically hurt but he let go of her and stepped back.

  “I can wait,” he said. He took a long look at her, memorizing her face, her flushed cheeks and pillowy lips, before turning toward the door. Just in case this was the last time he was alone with her, he wanted to be prepared. He’d never pursued a woman like this, for love and marriage. All his experience concerned seduction, mutual desire, and mutual respect at the end. But he didn’t want this to end.

  What he feared most was that she did. That she would run from these turbulent emotions and choose to stay in her little corner of Northumberland instead of taking the risk, expanding her world with him.

&n
bsp; At the door, he checked the hall before stepping back. He paused just long enough in case she changed her mind, his heart thudding with every passing second, but she put her back to him. So he left, his hopes never more futile than they were now. His rational side told him to prepare for the worst as he did in business. Plan for all possible outcomes. But his heart refused to think for a moment that she wouldn’t come around. He knew she felt something. The only uncertainty was that he couldn’t be sure she loved him in return. He could taste her desire on her lips, feel her passion in the fervor of her touch, hear the soft grate of need in her voice. But none of those equaled love.

  How would he know if she loved him?

  Chapter 21

  Georgie didn’t cry after he’d gone. She’d lain on her bed and fallen asleep, having the oddest dream.

  She was in the stables, tending to Opal and Franklin, Kit digging in the scraps of hay at her feet. They all talked at once, not in little animal voices but in human words.

  “Where is Gavin?” Opal asked, her voice soft and feminine.

  “I don’t know,” Georgie said. “I suppose he went home, back to work at his manufactories.”

  “Quite the gentleman he was,” Franklin said in a serious, wise-old-man tone. “Good chap, that one. He had morals and values.”

  “I think you mean duty and honor,” Georgie replied bitterly.

  “And good eyes for spotting hawks,” Kit said in his small child’s voice.

  Georgie smiled. “Yes. A fine quality indeed.”

  “When will he return?” Opal asked.

  Georgie dropped a handful of lettuce in the corner of Opal’s cage and frowned. “Never.”

  Opal gasped. “Never? How sad! What will you do? Who will you kiss now?”

  “Opal!” Georgie scolded. “Don’t say such things. Kissing isn’t important. His business is important. It was the most important thing to him. That’s why he had to go.”