Chapter Eleven
What had started off as a tedious journey was turning out to be quite delightful.
Damian had first been surprised when Georgie had chosen Characters of Shakespeare’s Play by William Hazlitt.
He really did not know what it was about but assumed that the title was explanation enough.
Why would anyone want to read about the characters when they could read the plays?
Then again, he didn’t really know Georgie enough to even guess her reading preferences, but he would have anticipated her to be more interested in realism, or epistolary novels. She seemed too pragmatic to enjoy anything in the romanticism genre.
When they had left Southampton, Georgie had one purpose, to get to Grace as quickly as possible, and only allowed him along because she had no choice.
He was fairly certain that she did not even like him.
However, if he was not mistaken, there had been a spark of irritation when the blonde woman had joined them.
She was not a lady, and her dress and makeup, and the way she openly admired him had led Damian to believe that she was most likely a mistress in need of a protector.
Respectable ladies, even if they were lonely widows, did not assess a gentleman so openly, especially when others were present.
He also made the same judgment of the auburn-haired woman who had taken a seat across from him.
The two were vaguely familiar, as if he had seen them before, but there had never been an introduction. He often attended courtesan balls, especially when he was in need of a mistress, and could have seen them there, just as they likely recognized him.
Not that he had any interest in either the blonde or the redhead, which took him aback for a moment. Instead, he was fascinated by what appeared to be Georgie’s jealousy.
When the auburn-haired woman’s eyes swept over him from head to boot and back up, Damian had intended to ignore her, but when he glanced at Georgie, who glared at the woman, he couldn’t help but chuckle, then was quickly rewarded with a swift kick of her booted foot to the bone of his ankle.
Was Georgie jealous of another woman? While Damian had no interest in either one of them, he couldn’t help but be humored by Georgie’s reaction.
The two women were ornaments who knew the art of charm and flirtation in hopes of gaining riches from benefactors.
They were likely well practiced in the bedchamber in the art of pleasure.
Yet, they did not even come close to the genuineness that was Georgie.
She was honest. She was stubborn. She was quite pretty, and until they reached London, she was his wife.
*
Georgie was not certain what she would find within the pages of Characters of Shakespeare’s Plays but assumed it would be simply descriptions. Instead, it was a book of essays that analyzed each character, a critique and discussion of motivations.
If she continued to read, she might very well fall asleep again.
Oh, why hadn’t she taken the time to find an entertaining, fictional novel?
However, despite how much she did not want to read another essay, Georgie would not look up from the book, and especially not at either woman for fear of what she may discover, such as them assessing Damian, or Damian assessing them, while they waited for the opportunity to offer an invitation for him to visit when his wife was otherwise occupied.
However, neither one of them was pressed against his side due to the crowded carriage. They did not get to experience his hard, muscular thigh against theirs or enjoy his scent of citrus and sandalwood.
When the carriage shifted, Damian lifted his arm and once again placed it along the back of the seat, his hand cupping her shoulder. She ducked her chin and smiled as she imagined the jealousy the other two must suffer because he was hers, for now.
What she did not understand was her own jealousy. Damian was hers for only so long as they traveled to London. After she found Grace, those two could have him.
Yet even that bothered her, which she intended to push from her mind and therefore, she would keep reading her book even though she had no interest in it and ignore everyone else in the mail coach.
Such resolve only lasted so long, unfortunately, because after what she believed was their last change of horses, the sun had set with only lamps hanging near the windows.
It was not bright enough for her to read so she finally had to close the book and shove it into her satchel that had rested on her lap since they left.
She glanced up to try and look out of the window only to find Damian looking at her. His blue eyes held humor and the corner of his mouth quirked. She prepared the best that she could for what he was about to say.
“Good book?”
Oh, she wanted to kick him again because he knew that it was not entertaining, especially if he had bothered to read over her shoulder, but she would never admit that it had almost put her to sleep.
“Riveting.” She grinned. “Thank you for asking.”
He chuckled again and shook his head. “Stubborn as always,” he mumbled before he looked out the window.