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He lifted his hands in surrender. “Very well. On my honor, I shall not breathe a word to anyone..”

She breathed a sigh of relief. “Good.”

“But…I have questions,” Robert said.

“No.” She shook her head emphatically. “No questions.”

“Just one?”

“No,” she hissed angrily.

He sighed in disappointment. “I suppose…well, it is a relief to know I am not the only man who has not managed to deflower his bride.”

“Indeed,” Georgiana responded, her tone more cutting than she had intended.

Robert glanced at her curiously, tilting his head to the side, as if wondering whether that bothered her.

Did it bother me? Yes… no… our is solely a marriage of convenience. But still…

She hardly knew.

The ticking of the hall clock dominated the silence.

Georgiana looked down are the stack of papers on the table and realized that they were drawings.

She indicated them with her hand. “What are these for?”

Robert looked her up and down, his gaze so penetrating that she felt he could read her innermost thoughts. She shivered involuntarily and wrapped her dressing gown around herself more tightly to stifle the sensation.

He nodded nonchalantly towards the papers. “My advisors informed me that my business in London involves the purchase of a building. I wanted to look over the plans to determine the integrity of the structure before my meeting.”

She looked up at him, suddenly seeing him in an entirely new light. “Do you know much about building structures?”

He nodded. “While I was in Germany, I studied architecture under the tutelage of some of the world’s best builders.”

She frowned. “So, you lied to me about never having left the country.”

He looked startled for a moment, then grinned at her ruefully, shrugging at her with his right shoulder,

“I meant to distract you,” he spread out his arms, “and I succeeded. I did not know about your fear of thunder. Have you always suffered from it?”

She gave him a cynical smile. “Now you are changing the subject.”

“I am not. I shall be glad to tell you anything you want to know about architecture. But first, tell me about your fear. Did something occur when you were younger? Did you get lost in a storm, perhaps?”

“Why do you care, Your Grace?”

“Just humor me, Duchess.”

Georgiana sighed, then shook her head slowly. “I do not know why, and I cannot recall when this fear began. But yes, thunder does terrify me.”

“Well, that is good information for the next time.”

Her lips formed into a bashful grin. “Why would that be?”

“Because I will be better prepared to assist you in your hour of need.”

“Oh, will you?” She took a step closer, smiling up at him with amusement. “Better prepared for what?”