Chapter Forty-Nine
Approximately two months later ~ Carrera, Italy
The moment Georgie stepped foot off the ship, she nearly collapsed.
She was so tired and weak, having suffered from what she had been told was seasickness that began when they sailed into the Strait of Gibraltar from the Atlantic Ocean.
A sailor had explained that the currents of the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean were the cause of the rough seas and she’d been near the railing of the ship or a chamber pot ever since.
She had hoped that once they were through the Strait that her stomach would settle since the sea had calmed down but it had not and she’d been sick for nearly a fortnight.
At least she hadn’t been ill the first weeks of their journey, because that would have been even more miserable and she likely would not have survived.
But finally, they were home, and on land.
Grace escorted Georgie to a bench where she could rest and take deep breaths as she waited for her body to get used to no longer being on a moving ship but upon solid ground.
She also prayed that her stomach would immediately settle. While she did not have the urge to vomit, one could never assume that it would not occur.
“I will retrieve our valises,” Grace said before she hurried off.
Georgie did not know what she would have done had Grace not been with her. Not that her sister could keep her from being ill, but at least she had not been alone.
And thank goodness she had not gotten seasick when she had sailed to England or they may have found her dead body in the hold right alongside the marble.
Georgie closed her eyes and leaned her head back, then blew out a long breath.
Grace had been comforting at the beginning of the journey as well.
She listened when Georgie had told her about Damian and their travels, then held her when Georgie cried over her lost love.
She had also agreed that twelve days had not been enough time to know if it was true love, the kind that lasted forever.
Grace had learned her lesson when she had chased after Fisher, only to realize halfway across the Atlantic that she had been a fool, and she had known Fisher for a full month.
Georgie had wished Grace’s words had been a comfort and she had prayed that the ache in her heart would ease before she returned home, but it hadn’t.
Between her seasickness and broken heart, all Georgie wanted to do was crawl into her own bed, pull the covers over her head, and sleep for the next month and hope that all was as it had been before she left Carrera when she reemerged.
“Georgie, Signore Rossi has offered to take us home. He has his wagon because he made a delivery,” Grace announced when she returned.
“Let us get you home, Georgie,” Signore Rossi said, his voice warm with kindness. “Your sister tells me that you have been ill from sailing and you do not look very well.”
No doubt she looked a fright, but Georgie wasn’t going to look into a mirror to confirm her suspicions.
“Your mother will nurse you back to health.”
“Thank you, Signore Rossi.”
While her mother may know what to do to ease her stomach, there was no medicine for a broken heart.
“Ride on the bench with Signore Rossi, Georgie. I will ride in the back of the wagon with our things.”
Georgie did not even acknowledge her sister but allowed Signore Rossi to assist her onto the bench, where she got as comfortable as one could, then prayed during the entire drive that she didn’t vomit over the side of the wagon.
“Do I take you to your home or Accetta Panetteria?”
She did not even know what time it was to be able to answer.
“Accetta Panetteria,” Grace answered. “It is still open so that is where Mama and Papa will be.”
Thankfully she did not toss up her accounts and when the wagon pulled before Accetta Panetteria, she nearly wept with relief. She would soon be in her bed because her father’s house was not so very far away.
After Signore Rossi helped her from the wagon, he retrieved the valise and satchel and placed them beside her.
“Let me get you inside. I can come back for our belongings,” Grace insisted, taking Georgie’s arm to lead her into Accetta Panetteria.
It was near the end of the day so she did not expect many people to be inside, and she hoped that was the case because she did not want anyone gossiping about her and need to explain that she’d suffered from seasickness.
Except, before they reached the entry her mother was running out, arms open, followed by her father, also ready to embrace them.
Her mother first went to Grace whom she cried over and scolded at the same time while her father hugged Georgie.
Then they switched and Georgie nearly cried.
She was home, with her mother, who would take care of her.
She supposed one was never too old to want a mother when they were ill.
When her parents drew back and parted, they revealed her sister Glynis, hands fisted on her hips. “It is about time you returned!”
Georgie was not in the mood to be scolded, but before she could beg her sister to be kind, Glynis rushed forward and pulled her and Grace into an embrace before she whispered, “I missed you.”
She then pulled back and looked Georgie in the eye. “And I wasn’t the only one.”
She couldn’t imagine who else it might be other than her grandfather.
Glenys then gestured to the entry of Accetta Panetteria and Georgie found the most handsome man, with the bluest eyes, that she had ever met.
Was he really here, or was she now experiencing hallucinations?
“Damian?”
Instead of answering, he marched forward, grasped her about the waist, and pulled her close. He was just about to kiss her when she put her hand over his mouth. As much as she had missed kissing him, her stomach could revolt at any moment.
He drew back, frowned, and slowly set her down, stark pain in his blue eyes.
Oh, it wasn’t a rejection but before she could assure him of such, her stomach churned and Georgie covered her mouth and rushed to the side of the building, out of sight of the others.
The last thing she heard was Grace starting to explain that she suffered from seasickness.
Once she had emptied her stomach, Georgie took a few moments to make certain all was settled and that her shaking had subsided.
Damian was here, in Carrera.
Why?
Did she dare hope…
He had been about to kiss her.
Goodness!
As soon as she returned, her mother pulled her into Accetta Panetteria motioned to a table. “Sit!”
Georgie knew that tone and did not dare quarrel. Besides, she didn’t have the strength of an argument and slid into the chair. A moment later a cup of tea was placed before her along with a slice of bread.
Damian settled across from her, his blue eyes filled with worry.
“You have lost weight. I noticed it the moment I lifted you,” he whispered.
Georgie’s face heated. What would her parents think?
“When did you arrive?” she asked. “Why are you here?”
“I have been waiting for you for ten days. If your parents had not constantly assured me that your ship should arrive any day, I would have gone in search of you.”
“You would have taken a ship and sailed the Atlantic Ocean until you found me?” She chuckled at his ridiculous plan.
“Well, no, but I would have been tempted to.”
“Why are you here, Damian?”
“Because I love you and I do not want to live without you.”
Tears sprang to her eyes. She had never dreamed or hoped…
“I will live here if you cannot leave Carrera. I saw how warmly and lovingly your family welcomed you home and would understand if you wanted to remain in Italy. I even talked to my brother about opening a shipping office in Genoa in case you couldn’t leave.
It is not so far that you couldn’t visit your family often.
I have already been given permission from your father to marry you, if you will have me. ”
He was speaking so quickly that she was afraid that she had not fully understood. Or maybe she was afraid to hope that he was here for her.
Oh, she wished that she wasn’t ill, tired, and weak because then she would be much more confident in what she heard.
“What of Trade Wynd and Southampton?” She knew that he could not be away. He was needed there, as much as she was needed here, and the reason they had parted as they had.
“I have come to realize that there are matters far more important that fulfilling my father’s priorities.”
She couldn’t believe that he was willing to give everything up for her.
She also would not allow it. Damian may believe that he could step away from their shipping offices in Southampton, and that an office in Genoa would satisfy his need to be a part of Trade Wynd, but it would never be enough.
He might not realize it now, but after time had passed, he would crave a return to what he knew well and did best.
“Trade Wynd is you. It does not matter who placed you there. You must return. If you do not, I fear that you will regret every decision you make today and in the future.”
She stared into his blue eyes and without him saying a word, could tell that he agreed with her.
“I am willing to take that chance, if you will have me.”
He truly meant what he said, but it was not something Georgie could agree to. She would not allow him to set aside his future.
Georgie looked over at her father and in a moment of clarity, she knew what she wanted. “What of Accetta Panetteria? I promised to take over when you could not work any longer.” It was not just a promise she had made, but it was an obligation that she no longer wanted to carry.
She loved Damian and wanted to be by his side, no matter where he chose to live.
It also wasn’t a love that would go away or fade because it remained as strong as it had been when they arrived in Dublin.
“Accetta Panetteria is not your responsibility,” her father said.
“My great-grandfather began it. It was grandfather’s dream, then mother’s, which you joined her in.”
“Yes, my dream,” her grandfather said. “It was what made me happy, where I wanted to be.”
“What will happen to Accetta Panetteria if I am not here?”