Chapter 14
She should have felt wonderful. Well, she did; her body feeling weightless and…
she thought for a moment and wanted to smile.
Glowing. It glowed. Or it should have. She had spent the night exchanging pleasure with her new husband, safe from pregnancy, and now lay in his arms, her ear resting against his chest where she could hear his heart and smell the scent that was curiously his.
His skin was so warm, his body so solid, as if she could rely on its protection always. As if she could lean on him, when she hadn’t been able to lean on anyone in her entire life.
But she knew better. And that was why, when she should have been safely asleep and sated, she lay in his arms, dreading the day to come.
The week, the month. She should have been able to enjoy this interlude without qualm.
But the fact was she would lose it, lose the chance of it, for how long?
She would be weighed down with the responsibilities of his family, his estates, his title, while he gallivanted off to the Continent.
And heaven only knew what she would still have to settle in her own family.
“You’re thinking too hard,” she heard and felt the rumble of that delicious voice all through her.
“It is unavoidable,” she countered, not moving. “We have already overslept, and we have two girls to rescue from the madness of my house.”
“Two girls I suspect are having the time of their lives.”
She couldn’t help but smile. “Oh, I hope so. At least if they have imaginations to feed. They can choose from a pirate ship or a magic wood with fairy houses or a circus.”
That ended his relaxation. “A circus?!”
She smiled. “Several small dogs who love doing tricks and being dressed up in funny outfits. Oh, and an elephant.”
That froze him. “You’re joking.”
She chuckled. “Perhaps. The problem is that we must finally climb from this comfortable bed if you want to find out.”
He began playing with her hair. “I’d rather leave the world outside.”
She closed her eyes against the delicious chills he was setting off. Chills she knew perfectly well she shouldn’t become used to. “As would I. But someone in this room managed to schedule a boat trip two days after his wedding. And he hasn’t even introduced his new wife to his staff yet.”
“They saw you.”
“A completely different matter, and you know it. If I stand a chance with them, I must establish my presence before you go. Not to mention with your solicitor and estate agent.”
For a moment there was just silence, the distant ticking of a clock somewhere. Then Georgie realized she could hear furtive rustling in the next room, more of it farther away. She had just run out of time.
Before he could challenge her, she lifted her head, dropped a kiss on his chest and rolled out of bed.
“If I stay here any longer I will waste away from hunger,” she said.
“And my poor maid will die of mortification from waiting for me in your room. Make certain you have at least some semblances of clothing on before going through that door.”
She took a chance to look at him and almost faltered completely.
He was impressive enough dressed and groomed and upright.
It was nothing compared to him lounging in bed, his arm behind his head, his hair tousled and the sheet only covering his most pertinent equipment.
She fought an intense desire to jump back in with him.
Instead, she shook her head. “Lord, I am tired of always being the responsible one. Get dressed, your lordship. We have places to be, and the staff is waiting to see us on our way.”
“You’re sure about that.”
She scowled and tied the dressing gown Minty had left for her. And then, she waited. And he smiled. Which did nothing to improve her mood.
“Please,” she said, feeling worse by the minute.
She wanted like mad to stay. To crawl back in and fill herself with the weight and size and smile of her husband. She wanted to pretend that everything else would simply disappear.
But she knew better.
Finally, his grin positively piratical, he climbed out of bed and stretched like a giant cat, knowing perfectly well that she couldn’t keep her eyes off his battle-hardened body, that tantalizing line of curls right down his abdomen, the taut leanness of his hips, his horseman’s thighs.
Everything else. And then he just swooped her up and kissed her as if he’d just returned from a year away.
And she realized her grandmama had been correct.
His arms could hold her up when she felt that nothing else would.
But before she could enjoy it, before she could even really take it in, he kissed the tip of her nose and strode perfectly naked through the door into his room.
Georgie certainly hoped poor Minta wasn’t in there.
The Wrens were so dear in parting that Georgie fought a surprising sting of tears.
Oh, she wished they were her new staff instead of Grey’s, whom she still had to win over.
She wished she could stay at the cozy breakfast table sating herself on toast and eggs and Mrs. Wren’s comforting smile.
But they had little girls to see to, little girls who were going to lose a bit more stability by the next morning.
She had, as ever, responsibilities.
And so, with a final wave, she let Grey help her into the carriage.
The ride back into the city was more comfortable than she’d expected.
Grey sat next to her, holding her hand, and he filled her in on everyone in his London staff, from Chalmers the butler, who had let her in that first day, to Midget the scullery maid, who had been brought in like several of her compatriots from a foundling home.
He admitted he didn’t know all of them well, since he hadn’t spent much time at the London house until very recently, but he couldn’t think of one she would have problems with. She sincerely hoped he was right.
The good news was that she had quite a bit of experience with staff, from hiring to firing. The difference with his staff was that their loyalty would never be first to her.
By the time they reached her house she felt more settled.
After all, managing staff was her forte.
She’d been doing it since she was fourteen.
And if the reaction of her staff at seeing her was any indication, she hadn’t been awful at it.
Clarence, the first footman, welcomed them in with a deep bow and handed them off to Weems with a broad smile.
Weems looked like a proud father, and Mrs. Barnes, rustling and jangling up, did everything but genuflect.
“Well now, Lady Coleford, welcome back. I assume you’ve come to collect those scamps who’ve become our latest circus performers.”
Next to Georgie, Grey stiffened. “I thought you were joking.”
Georgie grinned. “Heavens, no. Dogs, tumbling, or elephant, Mrs. Barnes?”
Mrs. Barnes chuckled. “Oh, all of it. Especially Lady Sophie. She and Master Geoffrey have been learning somersaults.”
“And Lady Amelia?”
“Holding the cat.”
She nodded. “Come, my lord, and see the Packham circus.”
It wasn’t quite as out of control as she’d led him to believe.
The circus, just like all other activities for the children, was contained in the nursery, which took up the third floor of the combined townhouses.
Besides the dogs, which were indeed attired in brightly colored jackets and frilly collars, there resided a large mobile wooden elephant, two somnolent tabby cats dressed as tigers, and a swing that hung from the ceiling, upon which Amelia was kicking her legs back and forth to try to gain some height.
Grey almost objected until Georgie surreptitiously held him back with a hand and a minute shake of the head.
“Are you having fun, Amelia?” she asked quietly.
Her new niece gave a beatific smile. “May we have a swing in our nursery, Uncle Grey?”
“We’ll see,” Georgie answered for him. “Miss O’Toole, has it been a good day?”
A tall, almost skeletal-thin woman of indeterminate age unfolded herself from a seat in the corner, a mass of knitting in her hands. She had the smile of a mystic monk.
“Ah, they’ve been grand, milady,” she said with a very precise dip.
And then she made a noise between a throat-clearing and a hum, and the half-dozen of Georgie’s young kin came charging forward to give Georgie and Grey their own version of bows or curtsies, most giggling.
Georgie giggled back. Which was when she noticed that Sophie and Amelia did not join in.
In fact, the two of them froze, as if caught in a crime.
Amelia slid off the swing and Sophie, who had been riding the elephant behind Geoffrey, stumbled forward to stand just next to her sister.
Clutching hands, the two of them, produced stiff little curtsies, their heads and eyes lowered.
“We are sorry, my lord,” they chorused.
Georgie felt a chill slither down her back. She gave Grey a quick glance. The color had leeched from his face.
“Have you been having fun?” he asked with a step forward.
Both girls edged back. “Yes, Uncle Grey.” In chorus. “It is good to see you.”
Grey froze in place, obviously confused. So Georgie took over. Stepping past her crew, who were looking at the girls as if they were foreign objects, she crouched down to her knees right in front of the girls.
“Your manners are excellent,” she said, just for them.
She got both sets of eyes up to her, although both girls looked far too afraid.
She truly hoped they couldn’t see how blazingly angry she was.
The last thing any of them needed was for the girls to think she was angry at them.
“But as you can tell from these monkeys,” she continued, “we are not used to being formal here. It makes me nervous, isn’t that true, Geoffrey? ”
Geoffrey switched his attention from the girls to Georgie and back. He saw her slow wink and nodded. “My sister isn’t very formal, you know.”