Chapter Seventeen
Discovering that she was now free to call upon her friends without her husband in tow, or anyone else for that matter, Georgina immediately called for the coach and was soon rolling through the streets to visit Rose.
She bounced her knee, too anxious to sit still.
Her husband’s confession had her wishing to run in different directions, each one to make him feel better, but until she had her answers about his father’s malady, there was nothing she could say that he would listen to.
The last thing she wished was for him to think of her as he did his mother.
Not jumping up halfway through his story had been difficult because she knew what it felt like to recognize one’s own selfishness.
The coach slowed, so she looked out, but she was barely halfway there.
The streets were busy. Walking would get her there faster, but it would not look good, even if she weren’t married.
The conveyance moved forward at a snail’s pace, frustrating her to no end.
Did they not know she was on an important errand?
Her husband’s soul might well hang in the balance.
She grinned. Perhaps not. But she was anxious to relieve Philip’s torture.
That he would move into his father’s rooms as some kind of self-flagellation had made her heart constrict with sorrow.
How could she have not seen what terrible angst he was in over his father?
She’d been watching him all along, but he hid it so well.
The coach rolled to a stop and she groaned. Peering out the window, she recognized the block. She wasn’t so far away, then. She absolutely couldn’t wait. She called out to the footman and quickly exited the coach. “You shall escort me to Lady Harewood’s townhouse on foot.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Pleased that no one tried to argue with her, she waited while the footman let the coachman know, then she started down the sidewalk, which was almost as busy as the street.
She’d only gone a few yards when she saw the cause of the delay.
A wagon had overturned and men were trying to right it to move it aside.
More confident that she’d made the right decision, she continued down the busy walkway, slower than she’d like.
When a couple stopped to greet another, she started to walk around them and ran right into someone.
Falling, she found her arm yanked to keep her standing.
Seeing who’d saved her, she froze. “You.”
“Lady Georgina, what a pleasant surprise.”
She stared at Lord Ashfield as if he belonged in Bedlam.
“Pleasant? Unhand me.” She pulled her arm from his grasp, her anger mingling with shame at seeing the man who’d promised her everything.
He looked the same, but as she studied him, she found him wanting.
His hair was too light, his eyes too dark, his sideburns too long. How could she have been so na?ve?
“Yes, seeing a lovely lady such as yourself on the street is quite pleasant. Can I escort you somewhere?”
The look in his eye told her exactly where he wished to escort her to. “I have my footman with me, and as Lady Durham, I have no need of your services.”
His brows rose in surprise. “Lady Durham? You did well for yourself, then. If you ever tire of your husband, I’d be happy to bring happiness once more to your life.”
The arrogance of him had her fisting her hands. “Sir. The pleasure I find in my husband’s company is so much greater than what I found in yours that I can’t help but wonder at my naivete, or that of any other woman who has been in your company.”
Though she’d been careful in her words, she could see that he understood her exactly.
“In fact, after you, I was anxious to be a spinster, but my husband showed me how much happier married life could be. Good day, Lord Ashfield.”
She’d turned to continue to Lord and Lady Harewood’s house when the man growled low in his throat, and grabbed her arm.
“Simpering chit. You’ll rue the day you dared speak to me in such a manner, you trollop.”
Fear raced through her and she yanked her arm from his grasp.
Quickly, she started forward without a backward glance, stepping around a curious couple, hoping her footman was with her.
She’d barely taken three steps before she found Philip’s servant at her side.
Relieved, she continued on as quickly as she could, hoping no one had heard her and that she would reach Rose before Lord Ashfield caught up to her for whatever it was he thought she deserved.
As she walked, her anger overcame her fear. To think he thought she deserved to be reprimanded when it was he who had acted so poorly… It was enough to make a person scream.
“Lady Durham. I believe you wished the house back there, did you not?”
She halted, so intent on her thoughts that she’d passed the house. “Thank you.” Turning about, she hurried back and almost ran up the steps. As soon as the butler showed her into the parlor and she saw Rose talking to Arabella, who sat in her wheeled chair, Georgina started to cry.
“Georgie, what is it?” Rose ran over to her and wrapped an arm about her waist to guide her to a settee. “Come sit with us. Is your husband with you?”
Georgina shook her head, trying to stop the tears, but she couldn’t stop trembling. “I…I walked with a…a footman.”
Rose turned to Arabella. “Do you have a handkerchief?”
“Yes, here. It’s orange-scented, though.”
Georgina took the handkerchief and wiped at her eyes before blowing her nose. “I’m sorry I’m crying.”
Arabella leaned forward and patted her knee. “You cry all you need to. And when you’re done, you can tell us why all these tears, and we will help.”
Georgina nodded before blowing her nose again. When she finally felt able to speak, she swallowed hard and cleared her throat. “I thought to take some exercise by walking here to visit you. It’s exciting to be married and not need a chaperone anymore, but today I greatly wish I had one.”
“What happened? Tell us everything.” Rose’s dark blue gaze was hardly sympathetic, more that of someone ready to act.
“I ran into Lord Ashfield. It was an accident. I was ducking around a couple and I walked right into him. When he saw me, he suggested that I might wish to be with him over Philip.”
Arabella gasped.
“Yes. I was so angry that I made it clear I found my husband far more to my liking, which angered him. He grabbed me and threatened me. He said that I’d be sorry I said such things.
All I said was the truth, but he made it sound as if I was in the wrong.
Shouldn’t he be the one castigated? He took advantage of my ignorance. Surely I cannot be to blame. Can I?”
Rose stood. “Absolutely not. How dare he manhandle you, and on the street, no less? The arrogance of the man. We must do something about this.”
“No, Rose. Please don’t. I don’t want to make it worse than it is. Philip and I have enough to contend with. Tell me you have not played any more pranks on Lord Ashfield.”
“No, I haven’t. I planned one, but I had to abort it at the last minute.” Rose sat back down. “What do you mean, you and your husband have enough to contend with? Is something wrong? Should I contact the duchess?”
Not willing to bring the duchess into her problems, Georgina shook her head. “No, nothing as large as that. It is of a more personal nature. It’s why I came here.”
Arabella laid her hand on her arm. “Georgie, I hate to interrupt, but what Rose said is true about your encounter with Lord Ashfield. You cannot simply let it go. At least promise us that you will tell your husband.”
Rose immediately sat straighter. “Yes. My brother would know by tonight if he and Dory were not out shopping at the moment. Dory can no more keep a secret than you can.”
That was true. “And because of that, you need not doubt that I will tell Philip what happened. I did tell him who ruined me, so it is only right I tell him about this encounter. I just do hope he doesn’t do anything about it.
There’s really nothing we can do, I suppose.
” Georgina looked at Rose and Arabella. Neither agreed with her, but they also didn’t disagree.
Arabella broke the silence. “Do tell us what your reason was for coming to call on Rose. I know that my curiosity is piqued.”
“Truly, Georgie. Arabella has to be the most curious lady among us. It’s a pity she didn’t join us sooner. Why did you come to visit?”
Confident that both ladies would keep her confidence, she explained. “Because I didn’t attend well to my studies in medicine at school, I’m hoping, Rose, that you might help me to figure out what killed my husband’s father.”
“I will be happy to, if I can. Tell me everything you know about it.”
Georgina related everything that Philip had told her.
Rose’s gaze moved away, not resting on any one object, a sure sign she was thinking. “It could be a couple of things, based upon the length of time and his age. Do you know if the late Lord Durham was very sick and then got better but had a lingering cough?”
“I don’t.”
“Do you know if he coughed up blood at any time the month before he passed?”
“I don’t.”
Rose stood before moving toward a bookcase, where she pulled out a book. “Let me check one other possibility.” After consulting the book, she shook her head and returned it to the shelf. “The only two possibilities I can guess would be the grippe or consumption.”
Georgina sucked in a breath. “Would having help with the estate make it easier on the lord in either case?”
Rose looked away once again, then met her gaze. “Possibly. If he was well cared for and didn’t need to worry, he would recover from the grippe sooner, but that doesn’t mean there wouldn’t be a lingering cough.”
“And if it was consumption?”
Rose shook her head as she sat back down on the settee. “Nothing would have helped. If he’d coughed up blood, it was definitely consumption.”
Immediately, Georgina rose. “I know who would know that. I will call on her forthwith.”