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“For all we know, they were there that day,” he murmured to himself, torn between amusement and dread.

The article could so easily have been about his sister-in-law, had their timing been off. His irritation reared its ugly head again as he thought about the effort he had made to ensure that theyretrieved Lady Daisy safely, only for Georgiana to treat him like some sort of villain.

Flinging the rag aside, he got to his feet without finishing his breakfast.

Knowing his friend, the Viscount of Stanmore, was sure to be at the club, he decided to join him for breakfast instead. He was sure that Lionel would be much better company than what he currently had.

He thought about checking on Daisy—he knew that his spat with Georgiana must have perturbed her to some extent—but he did not want to invade her private space. It would not be seemly.

Instead, he made his way to his office to sort through the household bills before he left for the club.

If he was honest with himself, he was more disturbed by Georgiana’s refusal to explain where she was going than he wanted to let on, and his imagination was running wild.

She might not want him to know where she was going, but her bills would give him a clue.

He squirmed as he sat down at his desk, a slight feeling of embarrassment at his actions lending color to his cheeks. He had never imagined he would lower himself to spy on his own wife.

He opened the drawer and extracted the file containing invoices for the past twelve months. The rain beat against the window behind him, creating a cocoon of privacy for him to peruse the documents, something he usually left to his steward.

Aside from the normal household expenses, trips to haberdasheries, modistes, and emporiums—much fewer trips than he would have reckoned—there was nothing to indicate that Georgiana was doing anything nefarious.

Robert closed the file and stored it, rising to his feet with a sigh.

“What am I doing?” He shook his head remorsefully and stepped away from the desk.

I need to clear my head.

Grabbing his coat, he called for a carriage to take him to the club.

Georgiana removed her dripping cloak, shook it, and hung it on the coat rack in Selina’s foyer, then turned and walked down the hall behind Selina’s butler towards the library.

At this time of the morning, Selina would be sitting by the window reading poetry. It was a favorite shared pastime and one of the many things that had solidified their friendship.

The butler knocked and opened the door, announcing her arrival. Georgiana popped her head inside the room as the butler made way for her to pass.

Selina looked up from her nest of pillows and cushions on the floor by the fire. Her face lit up when she saw Georgiana.

“Good morning, darling. Did you find your sister all right?” Selina asked.

Georgiana stepped into the room and closed the door behind her with a sigh. Being here with Selina relaxed her spirit. She felt safe within the confines of this room and her problems did not seem so insurmountable.

“I did find her. Just in time.”

Selina heaved a sigh of relief. “That is good news.” She patted the pillow next to her. “Come. Sit. I just received a new delivery of poetry books.” She held up the one she was reading. “This one is a collection by Alexander Pope.”

Georgiana raised an eyebrow. “I would have thought those would be a little too political for your taste.”

Selina snorted. “Ach, between you and me, no one needs to know that I take an interest in it. After all, it is not as if I have a husband to frown disapprovingly at me.” She laughed softly.

Georgiana sighed, flopping down next to her. “You have no idea how lucky you are.”

Selina’s eyebrows rose. “Since when do you think that?”

“Since…” Georgiana trailed off, at a loss to explain everything that had happened to her.

Selina put her book aside, her face adopting a serious expression.

“Start from the beginning,” she said.