Chapter Ten
Damian glanced down at Georgie, still beside him but not as close as she had been at the start of the journey.
He knew that she had turned toward him because of the overwhelming stench of garlic and fish and likely had wanted to bury her nose in his suit coat to block it.
He could not blame her and part of the reason he had pulled her close was because the lavender scent of her hair was much more pleasant than the other options.
Not that he had a habit of smelling women’s hair, but the slight whiff when she had turned toward him was enough for Damian to pull her closer.
It had also been a mistake, but one that he did not regret.
He had liked having her head resting on his chest and her breasts pressed against his side.
With a suppressed sigh, he looked out the window.
Why the blazes had he claimed Georgie to be his wife?
She was also correct that the gossip would spread. No doubt his declaration had been overheard and someone not so well meaning but wanting to be the first to know how it all came about would call on his brother with congratulations to gain further gossip.
While Sterling may be shocked, Damian also trusted that his brother would likely inform the person that matters involving the Wynd family were private and if they wished to know more that they needed to ask Damian directly.
Then there was Georgie.
What to do about the woman who sat beside him? The one who had drifted asleep with her head resting against him while he kept a hand on her shoulder to keep her from falling if they hit a bump in the road.
He had liked holding her.
An odd peace that he had not anticipated, nor ever experienced, settled within him, as if he was doing what he had always been meant to do.
It also left him unsettled.
He’d never held a woman while she slept, nor had he wanted to be bothered by another physical presence while he slumbered. Sharing a bed was for activities that required the two people be awake. Sleeping was to be done alone.
Yet, contentment filled him when it was Georgie pressed against his side.
It had not been simple contentment and since he was alone in his thoughts, there was no purpose in lying to himself. Lust and desire were equally present. A want to hold, savor, and explore. To enjoy and discover without rush.
Who could imagine that a woman sleeping on him could stir so many conflicting reactions. Had she been a mistress, and if they had been alone, Damian would have never let her rest but awakened her with wicked desires.
Bloody hell!
Damian shook his head and pushed the unwanted thoughts from his mind. It did no good to desire an innocent miss who would be gone from his life in likely two days at the most.
Neither the contentment he had experienced nor the desire had meant anything either, and there was certainly no deeper meaning.
Damian was simply protecting her from herself, and others, and that was all.
His desire to hold her, and the peace that filled him came only from knowing she was safe and certainly nothing more.
The lust, well, he was a healthy man that appreciated desirable women. A completely normal reaction which meant absolutely nothing beyond a physical need.
It wasn’t because he cared for her. He had not even known her for twenty-four hours and one did not develop deeper feelings in such a short time. The only reason such emotions were unfamiliar was because he had never been in this situation before. It was as simple as that.
It was also strange to be left alone with his thoughts.
Damian never had the opportunity to just sit and think when his mind was not occupied with Trade Wynd.
Nor could he have a conversation with Georgie while strangers listened.
Who knew how many of the passengers had heard him claim that she was his wife?
Anything he might say to her or ask may reveal that he did not truly know her, exposing his deception.
While he did not know them, the Wynd name was known in England and he did not want to chance that someone who shared the mail coach enjoyed gossip.
Nor was he certain that he wanted to know more about Georgie than he already did.
There was certainly no point in getting close to her when she would likely be out of his life in two or three days.
She would return to Italy and he would be back to his orderly life.
Therefore, they should remain the near strangers that they already were.
Except she did not feel like a stranger.
She was not unfamiliar. He did not know her, yet he did. And while she frustrated him, he admired her independence. He would prefer that she was not so stubborn, but her tenacity and refusing to stop searching for her sister, no matter the danger, was commendable, and foolish.
However, when she had slept against him, it was as if she belonged there.
That was what he found most disturbing. Somehow her presence had widened a recently discovered crack in the protective veneer of his heart and soul that had, until recently, shielded the emptiness inside.
The first crack had appeared only a month ago, when Sterling had returned with Caroline and Livia and he witnessed his brother actually in love, but more importantly happy.
That newly discovered crack had brought with it a gnawing emptiness that Damian had been mostly able to ignore, until Georgie forced it to grow wider.
Now he feared that Georgie may be trying to fill it.
Not intentionally, because it was impossible for her to be aware of his internal struggle. But she was the first woman to get close to him since the disturbing discovery.
It could have been anyone who made him aware of the chasm, he supposed. She just happened to be the first woman who needed his assistance and protection, thus the first to slip through and fill that emptiness.
Normally, he was too busy to miss anything, so this emptiness…well, it would be filled as soon as he was back at work and not sitting on a blasted mail coach headed for London.
Except, the emptiness had first been noticed while his days were filled with duties required for Trade Wynd before Georgiana Wylde slipped away from one of his ships.
*
The coach stopped to change horses every twelve to fifteen miles or approximately every two hours.
At each stop the passengers were allowed ten or fifteen minutes to stretch their legs, use the privy, or purchase foodstuffs to bring with them.
Sometimes Georgie left the coach but never wandered far. Other times she remained in her seat.
She hated to be away from the coach and deeply feared that if she saw to her most pressing need that she would not return in time and be left behind.
However, with each bump in the road it became more painful and she feared that if she waited much longer, she would suffer an embarrassing situation, so as soon as the coach started to pull into another coaching inn, she turned to Damian.
“Do not let the coach leave without me. But if that is not possible, make certain my valise remains behind with me.” She then opened the door and jumped out as soon as the coach came to a stopped and hurried to find the privy, only to be forced to wait because it was already occupied and another woman waiting.
The entire time she tapped her toe as if it would help hurry everybody before her yet it didn’t.
She was nearing tears when the woman in front of her entered the privy once it was unoccupied.
She also knew that if the woman before her took much longer she would be left behind.
She could not get back on that coach without using the privy because traveling another two hours would bring disaster.
When it was finally her turn, Georgie hurried as fast as her body would allow, then shook out her skirts and ran back to the coach only to see a woman start to step into the mail coach, but she had stopped and smiled at Damian, who stood by the open door.
Georgie was close enough to note the come-hither look in the wench’s green eyes. And while she had no claim on Damian, it still irritated her that some strange woman thought that she could make a claim on a strange man.
Jealousy knotted in Georgie’s belly. No doubt Damian would rather sit next to the beautiful woman with golden curls, full crimson lips, and high cheekbones.
Too beautiful.
Nobody should be allowed to be that beautiful and, as Damian was a bachelor, no doubt he would succumb to her charms.
For a moment Georgie considered just taking a seat at the opposite side so that woman could charm Damian during the next leg of the journey.
This could be the very thing that would rid Georgie of her reluctant protector if Damian decided that he would rather accompany and protect the beautiful blonde.
Except, she did not want to do that either.
Damian was the only person who could help her find her sister at the Port of London, or at least quicker than she could on her own.
And, as much as she hated to admit that she needed anyone, she did need Damian in London.
He may not be hers permanently, but he belonged to her until they found Grace.
Damian glanced back at Georgie after the woman entered and just as the driver was picking up the reins of the coach.
She launched herself forward, stepped into the carriage to note the woman had taken a place in the middle of the bench and likely because she knew that Damian would be seated on either side of her since the bench across was occupied.
“You are in my seat.” Georgie smiled but knew it didn’t reach her eyes because she had already decided to dislike the woman.
That woman first studied Georgie from head to toe and nearly smirked before she smiled back at Damian.