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“I am relieved to see that you are better,” she said with a small smile.

Georgiana shrugged. “Am I?”

“Yes, I would say that you are. You have color in your cheeks and your lips are no longer blue. You have suffered a grave injury, but you are now on the mend.”

“I suppose that is good. Perhaps my husband will remember me after another year and come back.”

“Oh, darling….” Selina gave her a sympathetic look, “self-pity does not suit you.”

“Huh,” she huffed. “I do not care. I have no energy to feel anything else.”

Selina leaned forward and took her hand. “Woe is you?”

“Yes,” Georgiana said firmly. “Utter woe…and rage…and sadness; more emotions than I know what to do with.”

Selina squeezed her hand. “Tell me what you need from me.”

Georgiana shrugged. “I need nothing fromyou. You, my bosom friend, are perfect, just the way you are. You are here with me, indulging my discomfort when it has nothing to do with you. You do more than enough. Daisy is doing more than enough. I feel guilty about how I am treating you both, but I cannot seem to stop myself.”

“Do not be ridiculous. You have done nothing wrong. You are broken down and tired. We do not need you to feign joy on ourbehalf, or be polite, or whatever else you think you need to do. You do not need to entertain us. You need to rest and get well.”

Georgiana searched Selina’s eyes. “Havingyouhere, and Daisy, should be enough for me. Why is it not?”

Selina squeezed her hand again. “You want your husband. Do not feel guilty about it. Or weak. It is normal.”

Georgiana expelled a long, despairing breath. “You are right, I do want him, and I feel bad that it matters this much to me. I thought I was different.” She laughed bitterly, shaking her head before wiping a lone tear from her face. “But I guess I am not.”

Riding the borders of his holdings ordinarily filled Robert with such joy. He loved to see the crofters’ families thriving as they worked their little plots, while the children played in the chaff. He liked to watch his horses run across the fields as the grooms exercised them and listen to the mooing of his fat, contented herd of cows lazily chewing their cud.

He enjoyed the satisfaction of knowing that he was master of all he surveyed and that it was thriving beneath his rule.

Now, all he could think about was Georgiana’s pale face against white pillows, her body becoming gaunt because the little soup they had managed to feed her was not enough to sustain her.

He had not received any word from London and bitterly regretted not insisting that Daisy provide him with daily updates. Given how upset she had been about him leaving, she likely would have disregarded his demand in any event.

Robert was completely in the dark, and his nightmares haunted him day and night. His grandmother kept pressing him to tell her what the problem was, but he could not bear to talk about it, because that would make it real.

Robert had always thought himself a strong man, but he was beginning to realize that he was weak.

I simply cannot go through it again.

He turned his horse towards home and allowed it to canter at a leisurely pace. To date, he had successfully avoided running into his grandmother at three breakfasts and two dinners. However, he knew he could not evade her forever. She would eventually corner him, and he would have to tell her everything and be forced to face the truth.

The thought of it made his chest clench painfully.

At the last minute, he turned from the pathway to the house and headed to the village tavern, where he could have a drink with the residents, listen to their problems, and temporarily forget about his own sorrows.

That is a much better use of my time.

The next time Georgiana woke up she saw Daisy sitting on the window bench, intently focused on a letter she held in her hand. She was smiling widely, her face flushed with happiness.

Georgiana watched her for a while, momentarily taken aback as she realized she had never seen that look on Daisy’s face before.

Her sister was usually whimsical and tended to get lost in her own world. The blazing joy that now shone out of her eyes was something completely new.

“What are you reading?” Georgiana asked curiously.

Daisy startled and looked up at her, still smiling. “Oh, you are awake.”