Chapter Twenty-Two
Damian would have asked Georgie what she had been thinking had they been alone.
He could not remember seeing such a deep blush on her before.
It wasn’t what she was reading. He’d read those pages over her shoulder because the book had lain open for a very long time so he knew that hadn’t captured her interest.
Frome followed Damian and Georgie from the carriage when it came to a stop at the next coaching inn. His friend arched an eyebrow and shook his head and Damian knew he wanted a private word, which couldn’t be found here.
“Please excuse me,” Georgie said right before she pushed her satchel toward him and hurried away.
Frome stepped further from the carriage and Damian followed and waited for his friend to speak.
“Married?” Frome asked.
“Yes,” Damian answered.
Frome narrowed his eyes and studied Damian. “Somehow, I do not believe you.”
He had already suspected that Frome would question his claim, but Damian would not admit to the truth where others may hear. Had they been alone, Damian would have been honest since Frome was one of the few gentlemen he trusted.
“Nor is she a lover. I know your type, which leaves me to wonder who she is and why the two of you are traveling together.”
“I will admit that there is a certain type of woman that I have pursued in the past, but they had been to fulfill the role as mistress. Those tastes do not extend to a wife. They serve separate purposes.”
The corner of Frome’s mouth quirked. “In the privacy of a bedchamber the purpose is the same is it not?”
Damian supposed that was true, for the most part.
“If she were truly your wife, you would have bedded her by now.”
Damian nearly choked at such a statement.
“The tension rolling off you is palpable, her as well. It makes me want to find a lover or jump in a cold lake.”
“You exaggerate, my friend. Perhaps it is your own dissatisfaction that you are projecting onto me.”
“Perhaps.” Frome chuckled. “If you will excuse me.”
As his friend walked away, Damian was left to wonder how it was possible that Frome had perceived so much from simply sitting across from him. Yes, they were friends but did not see the other nearly as much as they had while attending Cambridge, yet his observation was accurate.
It wasn’t possible that Damian had given anything away, unless Frome had noted his discomfort while lusting after Georgie. Yet, a husband desiring a new wife should not be so unusual.
*
Georgie nearly groaned when she had to return to her seat. She was tired of traveling on a mail coach. She was exhausted and her back and bottom were hurting. Each time they stopped, she left the coach immediately and walked and stretched until she had to board it again.
Frome left them in Stafford, and with each stop until they reached Liverpool, some people boarded, others left, a constant change of passengers except for her and Damian.
Damian sighed more times than she could count and often shifted in his seat.
He’d pushed his fingers through his auburn hair so often that the curls were no longer neat but what she assumed they would be if he had just risen from bed, which went along with the auburn-streaked-with-blond beard that had started to grow.
Not that she had any complaints. She rather liked the scruff along his jaw and lower portion of his face.
Georgie was even tempted to touch his face to test the softness of his beard or find out if it was harsh and rough.
Of course, she did not. Such would have been improper, and forward, even if they had been alone instead of surrounded by other passengers.
She hadn’t realized that a beard could grow so quickly, not that it was near full, but given the length now, it would not take him long to grow one.
Tension the likes she had never experienced filled her being. A result of worry about Grace and not being in a position to search for her beyond their current circumstances, discomfort from sitting and being uncomfortable, and her unexpected desire for Damian.
She needed to find her sister as soon as they arrived in Liverpool or she might just do something she would regret.
Well, maybe once all had been settled, and Grace was safe and before he left them, she might attempt to seduce Damian.
No! She would not because she would have Grace with her and they would need to book passage on the next ship to Italy and Damian would return to his home.
“We are finally here,” Damian said as the mail coach pulled into a coaching inn.
She couldn’t get off the mail coach quickly enough and then retrieved her valise.
They had left London twenty-four hours ago and she had managed to sleep maybe an hour or two. It wasn’t that she couldn’t have fallen asleep, but after someone had tried to rob them once, she didn’t trust any stranger who rode with them.
Damian had remained awake as well, and likely for the same reason.
Hopefully, their search of the docks would not take long and she’d be able to find Grace and bring her back to an inn where they could both sleep and make decisions for what they would do tomorrow.
“Where is the port?” she asked Damian.
He turned and stared at her. “It is nighttime.”
“I have noticed, but that does not mean we cannot ask after my sister.”
“Those who might know, or who could direct us to a ship sailing for America will be at home. We will go in the morning.”
Georgie wanted to argue with him but knew that he was probably correct.
“What do we do now?”
“I am going to see about a room for the night.”
“Would you get me one as well.” She had been able to save her funds because Damian had paid for everything so far, which meant that she could afford a night in an inn.
Oh, she would love to be able to wash and then sink down into a soft bed. Could she do that here? “I would like to bathe as well. Do you think that would be possible? Or should I request a pitcher of water.”
That was probably the best way. Simply wash. She would find a way for a proper bath later.
“We are getting one room,” he said, staring her in the eye.
Her heart skipped. Was there a possibility that they may…
“I do not trust that you will remain safe when all manner of men come in and out of the inn or spend hours in the tap room. If anyone with ill intentions learned you were alone, he might get the idea to disturb you.”
She had not considered that possibility but could she sleep in the same room with him without…?
The carriage ride had been difficult enough and put thoughts and desires into her mind.
But she would set that aside.
Besides, she was exhausted and as much as she would like to argue with Damian and insist that she would remain undisturbed and keep her door locked, she recognized the determination in his blue eyes enough to know that he would not be swayed so she simply accepted his decision.
Georgie waited off to the side as Damian requested a room. She could not hear the conversation, but she assumed he was asking for a room for him and his wife.
When he returned, he escorted her up a set of stairs. “I have requested water so that both of us can wash and dinner to be delivered so that we do not have to return downstairs.”
For that she was grateful. She had already spent too much time with strangers and would like to be alone.
Except, she wouldn’t be alone. Damian would be here as well. Just as he had practically been by her side since they left Southampton. And he would remain with her through the night again, except this time, they’d be in a chamber, with a bed, and not on a mail coach.