Chapter Ten
Georgiana
The carriage ride across London went by in a flash with Maggie at my side.
Half of my mind heard every word she said, enough for me to nod my head where appropriate, but the other half was still lost in the whirlwind of the past twenty minutes.
Peter was gone—the apartment emptied again—and I was in London alone with the duke and his family. This turn of events would either work brilliantly in my favor or ruin me all over again.
Gabriel seemed as pleased as Maggie to have my company. “Brilliant!” he’d said, when Maggie had explained the whole of it.
Marlow, however, had sat silent and still since we’d left. Maggie’s insistence that I stay at Ashburn Abbey had made refusing her offer seem rude, and in truth, the duke and I both needed to see this arrangement through.
He’d obviously felt the same. He wanted his ring back enough to comply.
I wondered if he was angry with this turn of events, but his expression gave nothing away, not the slightest hint of annoyance or care.
It was maddening how he could keep his features so relaxed and still.
Those few glimpses I’d caught when he actually let down his guard were the most interesting of all, like peering into a hidden passageway.
I wished he’d tell me how he felt right now.
Perhaps the truth was, regardless of how well our first outing had gone, regardless of how I’d come to his aid, he truly did not care about me—not my reputation nor my well-being—at all.
Perhaps I was like a fly buzzing in and out of his orbit, of little more importance than the dirt beneath his boots.
In that case, I’d take his generosity while I could, and I’d stretch it like dough until we broke apart.
I had his time, his friendship, and now his home, and I would enjoy every bit of all of them.
I had every right, seeing as how his ring was still in my possession, and we had made a rather fair deal over the matter.
Still, I worried for Peter. Should I have left with him? He had Amelia, but if something was wrong with her or the baby, who did Peter have to take care of him?
I would write this evening to Amelia. Jane and I could leave at any time.
It would not be the safest or smartest idea to travel alone with my maid, but I had enough money with me to take the mail coach, and we’d endure the journey.
This opportunity with the duke was my only chance to regain life in Society.
I could not give it up unless things were truly dire at home.
And for that, I would simply have to trust Amelia to tell me the truth.
She was not the sort to ever ask for help for herself, but for Peter? She would tell me if he needed me.
The carriage slowed, and I looked out my window as we approached. A stately rectangular house of stone stood grand and looming in the clouded darkness of night, lit by lanterns, and framed by gardens and greenery.
It looked like a painting.
The carriage rolled to a stop. A young, stalwart footman opened the carriage door and stepped back as we descended.
I’d visited many grand houses beyond my own, Sir Ronald’s Lakeshire Park among them. But this felt different. This view made my heart speed up.
The rolled gravel crunched beneath my slippers. The duke led us to the tall, heavy front door, propped open by another servant, and Maggie and Gabriel walked inside with as much ease as though they, like him, were coming home.
I hesitated in the doorway, looking over my shoulder at the retreating carriage and horses, with no alternative but to step inside.
I took one step on the polished, checkered marble floor that stretched out in the open entry, and looked up.
The sight took my breath.
Gold-trimmed walls. Exotic plants heavy with large leaves pushed up against corners.
Colorful porcelain vases held full, fragrant flowers on every table, Grecian busts stood atop pillars on the far wall with cream carpets rolled out to greet them, and ornate plaster molding crowned a high ceiling, rising two floors with a sparkling chandelier at the center.
I’d never seen anything like it. And this was his home.
“Beautiful, is it not?” Maggie called back my attention from several paces ahead.
I blinked out of my trance, hurrying toward her as the men shrugged out of their coats and handed them to the footman. “Yes,” I breathed. Beautiful did not seem quite strong enough a word.
The duke glanced over his shoulder at me, but I could not read him. I knew he lived well, but it was still strange equating him with this.
“I’m to bed,” he said to no one in particular.
“Old grump,” Gabriel murmured. He’d already paced halfway up the grand stairway. “I’m changing, then to White’s. Won’t you join me for once?”
“And watch you gamble away half your allowance? No, thank you,” the duke said.
Maggie led me toward the stairs. Toward him. “And what of Miss Wood? Your guest?”
More time with the duke was the last thing I wanted tonight. It was already too much being in his home.
“I am accustomed to his moods,” I said loud enough for him to hear. “Let him sleep so we have half a chance at a good one in the morning.”
Maggie grasped my arm and leaned forward, laughing. “Too true, isn’t it?”
Even Gabriel stopped to throw back a grin.
The duke continued his ascent without a word.
Maggie walked me to my room, which was a few doors down from hers.
While Jane worked quickly to ready my room for the night, Maggie gave me a brief tour of the surrounding rooms, the most interesting being a large library I could not wait to explore tomorrow.
We met the duchess in the hall, and she told me how pleased she was to have me stay. I hoped she meant it.
I liked Maggie. She was genuine and fun. I found I wanted her friendship, her true friendship, and felt a pang of guilt for having stolen her attention under false pretenses.
If she knew the truth—that the duke and I were barely acquaintances—what, then, would she think of me?
He’d promised not to divulge our contract. Promised to follow it.
But what would Maggie think after our time was over, and the duke no longer invited me out? If I wrote to her, would she write me back?
Alone in my room, I tucked the ring in its little box safely in the bottom of the trunk at the foot of my bed.
I lay in bed that night, my opposing feelings at war—sorrow at all I’d lost, but also joy at the prospect of what I might gain; anxiety from being surrounded by strangers, but excitement for potential new friends; despair swiftly turning into hope.
My life had completely transformed. If anyone came to call upon me after tonight’s outing at Drury Lane, they’d be directed to the Duke of Marlow’s house, where I was currently staying. Word would get around.
Nights like tonight could become normal again.
And this was only the beginning.