Chapter Forty-Nine #2
Her grandfather shrugged. “It does not matter. It made me happy, but it will not be the same for you.”
In that he was correct. Georgie loved Accetta Panetteria but she was more content here than happy.
“Is he your heart, Georgie?” her grandfather asked gently.
“He is,” she answered as tears filled her eyes.
“Does that mean you will marry me?” Damian asked.
“Yes!” She did not fight the tears that streamed down her face. Her heart no longer ached but swelled with love and hope and filled her entire being.
“We will marry as soon as it is possible to do so in Italy,” he promised.
“I will see to the arrangements,” her father promised.
“We now only need to decide where we will make our home.”
If Damian had to be at the Trade Wynd office, then she would be by his side.
“Southampton will be my home.”
“Are you certain?” he asked. She knew what he feared because of his mother, but Georgie also knew that it would be different for them.
“Very!”
“I promise to bring you back to Carrera at least once a year for a holiday. Sterling can manage Trade Wynd. In fact, he will be doing so for at least the next ten months.
Georgie blinked at him. “You intend to remain in Italy so long?”
“As long as you need, but then I would like to sail to Cape Colony to visit my mother, then to Madeira to visit Elliot, and then home.” He grinned. “More adventures for us. More sailing, so we will need to bring along plenty of books.”
Georgie would have laughed but the idea of reading while sailing caused her stomach to roll. She tried to swallow the bile but it did no good and she had to rush outside to toss up her accounts behind the bakery.
Damian was close behind.
“Are you certain that you suffer from seasickness? It should have subsided by now.”
“What else can it be?” she asked as he escorted her back inside. “Nobody was ill on the ship so I do not believe that I contracted an illness.”
“Were you sick when you traveled to England? I know you were not when we sailed from Liverpool to Greenock and then to Dublin.”
Damian led her back to her chair as her mother refreshed her tea.
“It began when we started through the Strait of Gibraltar. The sea was rough. We thought Georgie would be better once we were through, but she did not get better,” Grace explained.
“There were times that she was sick through the day and other times not as much, depending how much the ship rose and fell in the water.”
Once again Georgie fought against her stomach revolting as her sister described the last fortnight of their journey.
She picked up the bread her mother had provided and took a small bite and hoped that it remained in her stomach.
“It always started with the morning no matter how calm the sea,” Grace clarified.
“Every morning?” her mother asked with concern.
“Yes,” Grace answered. “Since Gibraltar.”
“Georgie, I would like a private word.”
She cast a worried glance at Damian, but he did not appear concerned at all. In fact, the corner of his mouth quirked. He really should not make light of her illness. She then caught sight of her father, who had been jovial but now stared at Damian as if he was suddenly displeased.
“Come along, Georgie.”
She followed her mother to a private room and tried not to worry, but it was impossible.
“Have you been intimate with Damian?”
Georgie blinked. That was not a question she had anticipated and her face heated as if she were sunburned all over again and she had to look away because she could not lie to her mother.
“When were your last courses?”
Georgie frowned. She truly could not remember. With all her travel, it was not something she had concerned herself with.
She sank down onto a chair. This was something that she should remember, shouldn’t she? But the only time she could recall it happening was having to deal with the situation while also being a stowaway.
“I know that you were only with Damian for a short time, but it was long enough to fall in love, and long enough to get with child.”
Georgie straightened and stared at her mother. “That is not possible.”
“Ah, then you and Damian were not intimate.”
Her face heated again.
“Are you certain that my illness is not caused by the sea?”
“Have you had your courses since you left Dublin? You were sailing for over a month.”
Georgie frowned. She had not, nor while she visited with her aunt and uncle, or when she was riding in mail coaches with Damian.
Oh God, was she truly increasing?
“That is why I am sick?”
Her mother chuckled. “It happens to women often in the early months but it will pass.”
“Is that why father appeared angry?” she asked quietly. Would he hate Damian now?
“Your father will accept the circumstances.”
“What of Damian? What if…” He wanted to travel to see his mother and brother. Could she do that if she was increasing?
“Georgie, Damian already came to the same conclusion about the same time that I did.”
“How do you know?”
“He nearly smiled, and if I am not mistaken, there was happiness in those blue eyes. I do not believe your future husband is upset.”
“I hope you are correct,” she mumbled before joining her family and Damian.
She searched his eyes and hoped not to find disappointment. Instead, he held out his hand and smiled. “We should marry as quickly as possible, especially in light of the circumstances,” he chuckled.
“I will visit the priest this afternoon,” her father announced.
“Are you upset?” she asked quietly after they were away from the others.
“No, Georgie. I am just glad I arrived when I did so that you were not forced to face this situation on your own and be afraid of what your future would hold.”
That would have been a horrible dilemma.
“You want to visit your mother and brother, but what of Liechtenstein?”
He chuckled again. “It is no longer important. I am where I want to be, which is wherever you are.”