Chapter Thirty-Six
Thank goodness that he had been able to find passage quickly and was lucky enough to know the captain of the merchant ship. Further, Damian was glad that he was not on another steamship.
However, he had not been prepared for Georgie to burst into tears the moment they were left alone and quickly drew her into his arms.
He had not even seen a hint of a tear in her eyes since they first met, and they had been in more difficult situations, and he was at a loss at what to do so he stood there and rubbed his hands up and down her back while hers shook with her sobs.
What did one do with a crying woman when the cause was unknown?
This was one of those moments when he would have benefited from having a sister, instead, he stood helpless until they finally subsided as a calm came over Georgie and only a few sniffs remained.
When she pulled back, she looked up at him with a watery smile. “I am sorry. I do not know what came over me.”
Damian smiled and drew her back into his arms. “Relief that we were on our way, worry, and it has been a very trying six days.” He frowned. “Has it only been six days?”
“Seven,” Georgie answered with a sniff.
“A full sennight,” Damian chuckled. “We have experienced much in a very short time.”
Georgie pulled away then searched in her satchel before she withdrew a handkerchief. She first wiped her eyes and then her nose. “Sometimes it feels like I left Carrera a year ago, when it has not been so long.”
“Well, those weeks on ship were not nearly as eventful as the one since you snuck off my ship.”
She chuckled. “That is true.”
“We will find Grace tomorrow,” Damian promised and hoped that it was not a lie.
“Why not today?”
“Twelve hours will deliver us to Greenock late in the evening.”
Georgie blew out a sigh. “Yes, you are correct, but I am so ready for this searching to be done.”
As was he, except, once they did find Grace, his time with Georgie would most definitely be running out and he was not ready to let her go. In fact, Damian wasn’t certain if he ever would be, even though he must.
*
Their time on the ship had been uneventful, thank goodness, but the hours had stretched and put her on edge.
Damian tried to take her mind off her concerns and shared more stories…
adventures of his ancestors, which at any other time she would have found quite fascinating.
He then pestered her with questions about Carrera, which she answered, from the history of the town, her favorite places to visit, how she enjoyed her free times, and in any other circumstance, she would have enjoyed sharing stories with him, but a part of her mind was constantly filled with fear that something else would go wrong.
How many times had she been certain that she would see Grace the following day only to learn that she was somewhere else and they had to travel again?
It did not matter that Chisholm claimed that Fisher had a position and that they had not yet left, Georgie knew that until she saw Grace, for herself, she could not go back to being certain that she was safe.
However, she did not pace through the hotel room they had acquired upon arriving as she had the night before. Instead, she lay in the bed, her head on Damian’s chest as she listened to his heartbeat in her ear, his breath’s steady as he slept.
She would miss him. The very idea of being parted from Damian caused her heart to painfully ache and with that, the realization came over her that she had fallen in love with him.
She had no idea when it had happened, nor should she have allowed it.
It was foolish to give her heart to a man that she would soon leave, yet she had done so without even being aware, and it had happened before he ever seduced her.
Yes, he could be grumpy when he was forced to do something that he did not want to do, such as accompany her to London, but he also had a good heart, and he was thoughtful, caring, enjoyable to be around, humorous at times, and a marvelous lover.
He’d done his best to take her mind from Grace when he could have ignored her, toured the ship or even read one of the books.
There was so much to admire at Damian that was it any wonder that he had claimed her heart without meaning to?
At least she knew that what they shared was true. Not that he loved her, but because they were honest, and that was something she would always appreciate and why her memories of the days they spent together would be fond.
At one point she did fall asleep but stirred as sunlight filled the room. With a deep breath, she rolled away from Damian and dressed for the day.
He woke not long after her and this time she did not turn away from his nakedness and openly admired his form as she dressed.
She should have seduced him last night because she might never get another chance, but she was not in the right state of mind for intimacy and she hoped that her failure to take advantage of the night was not something she would regret in the future.
“Are you ready?” he asked as he stood by the door.
“Yes, I am,” Georgie answered as she picked up her satchel before placing it over her shoulder so that it rested in front of her body. Damian’s had been folded and put into his valise, which he carried along with hers.
As they left the hotel and neared the docks, Damian asked for directions to Chisholm’s offices.
A sailor pointed them to a whitewashed, weathered building just down the way and they began to walk in that direction when Georgie saw Fisher standing just outside the building. Beside him was a woman, whose back was to Georgie, but she knew it had to be Grace by her stature and hair color.
So great was the relief that swept through her that Georgie nearly fainted. Instead, she rushed forward.
“Grace!”
The woman didn’t respond.
“Grace!” she called again.
It was then that Fisher looked up and directly at her and frowned. “Miss Wylde?”
How could he possibly be surprised that she was here?
Grace turned and Georgie nearly stumbled. The woman with Fisher was not her sister.
“Where is Grace?”