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Georgiana shook her head. “I am tired Daisy. I would like to rest now. Please let me sleep.”

She closed her eyes determinedly and turned away. Her head was still throbbing, and she felt a little dizzy, but she pushed all that away, determined to escape into the arms of Morpheus.

The carriage came to a stop outside the manor house at Emberford. Robert continued to sit, unmoving, wondering if he had done the right thing.

I could still go back to London. It is not too late.

Georgiana’s pale, still body from his nightmare flashed through his mind and he shook his head to dislodge the image. He could not go back if there was the slightest chance his presence would cause the thing that he feared the most.

Her death.

There was a knock on the carriage door, and he peered out of the window to see his grandmother staring expectantly at him.

“Do you intend to live in there or are you coming out?” she asked. His face flushed in embarrassment, and he opened the door.

“Good evening, Grandmother. What are you doing outside?”

“Well, I was watching from the window, waiting to see who would emerge from this carriage, and I got tired of waiting, so I thought I would come and look for myself.”

He heaved himself out of the carriage and down the steps, reaching for his grandmother’s arm and propelling her back to the house.

“You did not have to strain yourself like that, Grandmother.”

His grandmother snorted. “Do not be ridiculous. I can behave exactly as I please and no one can stop me. Certainly not a young whippersnapper like you.”

Robert snorted, shaking his head scornfully. “As if anyone could ever tell you what to do. You are a force unto yourself.”

She puffed up her chest proudly. “Indeed I am. And do not forget it.”

They walked into the house in silence and Robert paused by the stairs. “Shall I return you to your chambers?”

“Heavens no! Not before I have heard everything. Why were you gone so long?”

Robert gave a long sigh. “That is a long story, Grandmother, and I am exhausted. Allow me to take my leave to freshen up, and I shall regale you with my London exploits during dinner.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Go on then. But I will hold you to it.”

“I know, Grandmother.” He turned away, his face falling as he climbed the stairs to his chambers.

He did not want to discuss Georgiana with anyone, especially not his grandmother. It would make what was happening all too real. He would rather keep running away from it until he no longer could. Nothing needed to change if he did not have to talk about it.

He called for a bath and a bottle of brandy, intending to disappear into it.

He was hopeful that he would get drunk, pass out, and avoid dinner altogether.

A knock on the door caused Georgiana to look up from the book in her lap. She had finally managed to convince Daisy to leave by saying she wanted to be alone and read her book, but she had not absorbed a single word.

She sighed. “It has not even been half an hour. Can this girl leave me alone?” she whispered to herself in frustration.

The door opened and three serving girls came in, each carrying a large bouquet of flowers. “These have just been delivered, Your Grace.”

Georgiana stared at them in surprise. “Delivered from where?”

“Why, from the florist, of course.” Jane, the first serving girl, looked uncertain. She hurried over to the vase, plucked a card from the bouquet and handed it to Georgiana.

Georgiana clutched the card in her hand without looking at it. “Thank you. You may go.”

She assumed that it must have been Selina who sent her the flowers. She did not think anyone else in London would bother. She looked down at the handwriting and frowned. It looked distinctly masculine and was most certainly not Selina’s handwriting.