Page 12 of Better Not Bet a Bluestocking (Ladies of Opportunity #3)

Still in the drawing room

After ten or fifteen painfully slow tick-tocks of the mantel clock

“ Married ? ”

Georgine gaped at Robyn as if he wore boots upon his ears.

She closed her mouth with an audible snap.

Really .

Had he taken leave of his senses and packed them off to Bath ?

“ You . Cannot . Be . Serious .”

She shook her head a tad too vigorously, and her shoulder twinged in protest.

“ I do not wish to cause offense, Robyn , but I absolutely am not tootling down matrimony’s lane because of a nasty chinwag. In truth, I have never wanted to marry.”

Georgine could summon any number of reasons for becoming snared in the parson’s mousetrap, but trotting down the aisle for fear of tattle someone might spread?

No , thank you.

Still , she’d never seen amiable, easy-going Robyn so, well…in high dudgeon and frothing like a teapot on the boil.

In truth, she had never witnessed him in a pelter before.

She couldn’t deny his genuine concern, but to conclude marriage was their first option?

Flimflam and fiddle-faddle.

“ Come , Robyn . Be honest. You do not want to marry any more than I do.”

Her words sounded harsher than she had intended.

The edges of his mouth and eyes flexed the merest bit at her bluntness. “ I’ve always intended to wed someday.”

“ What I mean is, neither of us is interested in an arranged marriage. Of course, you will marry.” He would make an excellent husband. Just not hers. “ Someone you choose because you love her.”

His features remained unchanged, but something flashed in his eyes and disappeared before she could identify it.

“ I agree an arranged marriage is not ideal, but believe me, Georgine , there are worse things.”

Robyn shoved aside the fashion periodicals strewn on the tea table and sat upon the polished surface. Such earnestness creased his handsome face as he leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, that for the first time, a sliver of genuine alarm sluiced through her.

God above.

He is absolutely serious .

And that frightened the stuffing out of her far more than peering down the barrel of a gun had mere weeks ago.

Marriage was forever.

Women seldom escaped unhappy unions, and once they said, “ I do,” they became little more than chattel, forced to bend to their husband’s every whim and desire.

If they didn’t?

Well , some men—men like her dead father—did not hesitate to inflict their will with their hands.

She had seen the bruises Mama tried to hide.

Suddenly feeling quite like a bird in a snare, Georgine shot a glance toward the entrance.

Where were Matilda and Regina ?

Did they have to milk a cow for the tea today?

“ Georgine . Are you listening?”

Robyn scrubbed a hand down his face.

The poor man was truly in a dither.

“ Mrs . Wynecott saw you in your night attire.” He acted as if Georgine had been caught nude.

“ Because I am recovering from a wound.” No one could fault her for that.

“ Exactly . Flushed . Disheveled . Alone with me…” He let out a short, humorless laugh. “ And I was on my knees.”

“ Retrieving a book I dropped.” Georgine lifted her good shoulder. “ Perfectly innocent.”

“ That’s not what Mrs . Wynecott saw.” He gestured vaguely to the room. “ Or rather, not what she chose to see. And when you delivered that brilliant set down…”

In Latin , no less.

“ Because she has a filthy mind.” Georgine bit her lower lip.

Mayhap she had been a touch too quick to offend the woman.

No .

No , she had not.

Mrs . Wynecott hadn’t hesitated a jot to impugn her. “ And she went on to call me your mistress.”

Her cheeks burned hotly upon saying the words.

As if she would ever agree to be any man’s mistress.

Robyn’s mouth thinned. “ Which she is now likely repeating to every gossipmonger within a twenty-mile radius.”

“ But Robyn , as I’ve already said,” Georgine adjusted her sling to ease the increasing ache in her shoulder. “ If she is known as a horrid gossip, who would believe her?”

“ Half the ton , I expect. The other half won’t need to. The image alone—me kneeling before you, you in your nightdress, flushed and breathless—it will be more than enough.”

“ I was not breathless.” Perchance a little flustered at having a man’s head so near her lap.

A perfectly natural reaction.

“ I doubt Miss Twigg will risk dismissal quite yet.” Genuine remorse shadowed Robyn’s face and darkened his eyes to a deep coffee. “ She’ll remain silent, which will only add substance to Mrs . Wynecott’s fabrication.”

Only too true.

Companion positions were as scarce as invitations to Almack’s Assembly Rooms —something Georgine had never received and was not likely to. Not that she desired an invitation.

“ I was surprised by her barging in unannounced and uninvited. It flustered me.” It seems Mrs . Wynecott appeared precisely where she was least desired, much like a gale sweeping in from the Channel —only louder. “ That is why I appeared flushed.”

“ Society does not care a snap.” Robyn snapped his fingers; the sound loud and oddly startling.

A tiny morsel of doubt crept into Georgine’s mind.

He brushed a finger over her cheek.

“ They never do. The truth is dull, Georgine . Scandal , on the other hand, spreads like fire through dry thatch—and no one bothers to ask where the spark began or who started it.”

She opened her mouth to object, but couldn’t.

Every word rang with truth; more was the pity.

Anger simmered inside her at the injustice.

What a horrid bumblebroth.

“ Facts are far too plain for their ignoble tastes.” She twisted her mouth in derision, not caring that she sounded bitter. “ They crave scandal—juicy, sordid, and preferably ruinous.”

“ Yes .” Robyn sighed, the sound hollow and resigned. “ It is a fault of humankind.”

“ Not all humans. Some refrain from such vileness.” She stared past him, idly noting the breeze teasing the purple lilac blossoms outside the window. “ Matilda and Regina will suffer because of the scandalmongering.”

He had already said that.

So dashed unfair.

She had said that already too.

“ They can put aside all hope they have of making a match.” He lifted her good hand and cupped it in his palm. “ They’ll be turned away from drawing rooms, receive cut directs, and their names will be whispered behind fans. Yours will be dragged through the mire.”

Georgine couldn’t prevent her involuntary flinch, and Robyn must have seen it because he gently squeezed her fingers.

“ I cannot stand by and allow any of that when I can prevent it,” he said softly.

Gossip drew blood as surely as any blade, the wounds lingering long after the whispers faded.

He brushed his thumb over her palm, the movement soothing and tantalizing at the same time.

“ Georgine , I know this isn’t fair. We’ve done nothing wrong. But this is how Society works. And the only way to salvage this mess is to alter the story to our benefit. We shape the truth into something palatable.”

The intensity in his warm brown gaze made her heart beat faster and sent a rush of sensation flooding through her.

Only Robyn had ever caused her to respond in such a feminine manner.

“ And we must act quickly before Mrs . Wynecott paints something grotesque and irreparable.” A steely edge had entered his voice.

She narrowed her eyes, not yet willing to concede her freedom for the trappings of matrimony. “ And I suppose you have just such a solution?”

“ In fact, I do.” He winked. “ Something rather clever, I think.”

There was the boyish charmer she knew so well.

“ And ?” Georgine lifted her eyebrows. Even as she asked, in her mind, she railed against the injustice.

No , no, no.

I do not want to hear his solution.

I shall not like it . I shan’t.

“ It’s quite simple, but I believe it will hold up under scrutiny.” The contours of Robyn’s face folded into thoughtful lines. “ We fell in love during your convalescence and are secretly betrothed.”

Love ?

Betrothed ?

She studied him, as taken aback by his lack of rancor over their situation as she was by his quickly contrived scheme.

Why didn’t he seem distraught about his proposition?

Wouldn’t a man resist being forced into a marriage with the same intensity as Lucifer would, compelled to attend a baptism?

Especially since she brought nothing to the union but a high-spirited sister and a small stipend?

Oh , and thanks to Mrs . Wynecott , a tainted reputation and questionable virtue.

Oblivious to Georgine’s internal argument, Robyn continued, “ We decided to wait until you had recovered to share our good news with our family and friends—and to pick a wedding date.”

Plausible , but would their sisters and friends believe the taradiddle?

Regina would.

Anything to do with romance made the girl dreamy-eyed, though she might have her feelings hurt because Robyn didn’t return her regard.

Georgine eyed Robyn from beneath her eyelashes.

He had come up with a plan, and a trifle too dashed quick for her comfort. But then again, this situation was beyond the pale and called for extreme measures.

“ I do not like lying.” She pursed her mouth. “ It’s not an ideal foundation for marital bliss .”

Georgine couldn’t keep the scathing sarcasm out of her tone.

Was she considering his offer?

How could she?

She could bear the sordid tattle, whispers, and sly glances—the snubbing too.

But Regina …

She was the social butterfly and a romantic at heart as well.

Georgine was not.

Too young to remember their father’s abuse, Regina regarded love and marriage with an innocent’s fairytale ideals.

Would that she-devil’s forked tongue truly destroy any chance of marriage for Regina ?

Robyn hesitated, something other than vexation darkening his brown eyes. “ If I thought there was another way… But I shan’t allow your name—or our sisters’—to be dragged through the muck.”

Good God .

Marriage .

To Robyn .

“ What say you, Georgine ?” His tender smile made her heart trip over itself. “ I promise to be a good husband and father.”

Father ?

Sweet Jesus on Sunday .

How had he jumped to that already?

She still struggled with marrying him, let alone sharing a bed and giving birth to his children.

For the first time in her life, Georgine acknowledged she might become a mother.

Before she could respond, Matilda flew into the room, panting, as if she had sprinted the length of the house. Face pale and features taut, she wrung her hands together.

Robyn jerked his head up, instantly alert.

“ What has upset you so, Matilda ?”

Georgine had never seen Matilda in such a state.

“ Robyn , Nelly just took me aside.” For an instant, Matilda appeared about to cast up her accounts. She pressed both palms to her stomach.

Something drastic must have happened, and Georgine prayed it had nothing to do with the walking scandal sheet in stays who had departed this room only minutes ago.

“ Mittie ?” Robyn gently coaxed. “ What did Nelly say?”

“ As she returned from her half-day off, Nelly overheard that boiled cabbage in a bonnet, Mrs . Wynecott , blabbing to Lady Brammall and Mrs . Peasonhaugh down the street that she came upon you and Georgine in…”

Closing her eyes, she swallowed.

This was not good.

Not good at all.

Georgine’s stomach twisted into a tight knot as she braced herself.

So much for answered prayers.

“ In what , Mittie ?” Steel threaded Robyn’s gentle question, reminding Georgine of the unyielding and rather ferocious man in the garden weeks ago.

Slowly , Matilda opened her eyes.

Regret and embarrassment shone in their depths.

“ In congress. ” She choked on the word before blurting , “ With the drawing room door wide open for the world to see.”

Robyn swore beneath his breath.

“ Bloody hell .”

“ Oh , my God .” Georgine buried her face in her good hand. “ She’s Satan’s slithering spawn bedecked in silk and slippers.”

“ Georgine , we must marry.”

Georgine slowly lifted her face, taking in Matilda’s horror.

“ And we must do so immediately.” Urgency inflected Robyn’s voice and face. “ There is no time to delay.”

Georgine tore her attention from Matilda’s mortified face. She could not let her or Regina suffer from what that devil’s doxy would do with her false accusations and slanderous lies.

Her heart and throat aching, she lifted her chin, determined to be strong, though she felt she might dissolve into a weeping, wailing mess any second.

Nevertheless , she forced the dreaded words past her stiff lips.

“ Very well, Robyn . I shall marry you.”

She steeled her emotions and her resolve.

This might not be the path she had chosen for her life, but heaven help her, she would determine the pavement she walked upon.

“ But I have terms.”