Page 17 of Her Duke’s Second Chance (Regency Second Chances #1)

CHAPTER 17

“ I think His Grace is courting you,” Daisy teased as they climbed the stairs to their chambers after breakfast.

Her little sister had not stopped smiling at her since breakfast and it was starting to irritate Georgiana quite a bit. She was clearly reading too much into a piece of pastry.

Georgiana had to admit that it was quite an effective olive branch, but it did not change anything between them, and that is what Daisy failed to understand.

“Do not be ridiculous. He is doing nothing of the kind. People can do lovely things for each other without it meaning more.” Although she said the words to Daisy, it was more to remind herself.

They stopped at the top of the stairs because Daisy’s chambers were in the east wing, while Georgiana’s were in the west.

Daisy gave her a look that said Georgiana was being utterly asinine. “You must know that you are wrong,” she said.

Georgiana sniffed, shaking her head. “I will see you later, my dear.”

She waved at her sister and walked to her room. She was not worried that Daisy would become bored on her own.

Her sister had very quickly become fast friends with their neighbor’s daughter, Lady Ariana. Her family was of good repute, and Georgiana knew them well. Her mother, the Marchioness Lady Stark, had made Georgiana feel extremely welcome when she had first moved into the duke’s townhouse a year earlier.

Daisy and Ariana were about the same age and had debuted together that year. If Lady Ariana was not calling on Daisy, then Daisy was over at Lady Ariana’s house.

It was a relief to Georgiana because Daisy seemed to have erased Lord Newston from her mind. More importantly, Newston had made no attempts to continue courting Daisy since they had rescued her from his clutches.

Her sister was a flighty girl, and it made sense that once Newston was out of the picture, he also dropped out of Daisy’s mind. At least that was Georgiana’s profound hope.

She discarded her morning gown, curled up on the chaise longue in her petticoat and picked up a book of poems by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. She flipped through its pages, seeking one poem in particular.

“Let me see now,” she murmured to herself as she turned the pages, “ah, here it is.” She smiled triumphantly. “A Hymn to the Moon.”

She settled down to read the poem, trying to decipher its meaning as she said the words aloud to herself.

“ By thy pale beams I solitary rove, to thee my tender grief confide; serenely sweet you gild the silent grove, my friend, my goddess, and my guide .” She looked up from the book, frowning in thought. “ My friend, my goddess, and my guide . I suppose we all need that… but who shall become that for me?”

She closed the book, lay back against the headrest, and sighed.

Maybe Daisy is right. Could he really be courting me? And if so, why now?

She shivered slightly thinking about it, wondering whether she wanted it or not. She felt as if she was standing on the edge of a precipice, unsure whether to jump or not.

She scowled and pouted, throwing the book on the table and folding her arms across her breasts. “I refuse to worry about his intentions. I have better things to do.”

She jumped to her feet, put on her dressing gown, and trotted downstairs to seek out the housekeeper.

She still needed to go over the household accounts with her as well as plan out the meals for the following week. She also hoped to have her friend Selina over for dinner one day that week. The widow loved oysters, which meant an early morning trip to the market.

A lot of time and effort was required to run the household, and despite Robert’s presence, this was still her responsibility.

Robert was quite pleased with how happy Georgiana had been about his gift. He sat in his study, tapped his pen on the blotter, and thought about his next step. He realized that he knew extraordinarily little about Georgiana.

I need to remedy that.

He rubbed his hands together as he thought about how he could make that happen.

“I will begin during dinner. A subtle interrogation disguised as pleasant conversation. By tomorrow I will know how to apply the information I glean from her responses.”

The butler knocked on the door to let him know that Jakob Gerhardt was calling on him. Reminding himself that he had other duties aside from courting his wife, he urged Sinclair to bring Jakob to his study.

“Ah, my friend,” Jakob said, breezing into the room. “I have news.”

Robert smiled. “That is good to hear. Please make yourself comfortable while I pour you a drink and you tell me all about it.”

“Very good,” Jakob said, nodding and beaming as he sat down in the wingback across from Robert’s desk. Robert retrieved the brandy carafe and two glasses and poured his friend a generous drink.

“Now,” he said, taking a seat opposite Jakob, “tell me this good news.”

When Georgiana entered the parlor at dinnertime she was surprised to find that Robert was the only person seated at the table.

She had passed through Daisy’s chambers to see if she wanted to join her for dinner, but her rooms were empty. She had assumed that Daisy was already downstairs.

She looked around the parlor. “Where is my sister?” she asked Robert.

“She left word that she would be having dinner with Lady Ariana and her family. Lady Ariana’s mother assured me of her chaperonage. We should expect her back by ten.”

“Oh. Then I suppose it is… just you and I for dinner.” Georgiana felt her heart speed up at the prospect.

I am quite sure that Daisy’s absence is not a mere coincidence.

“Yes, it is.” Robert gestured for her to sit. “May I pour you an aperitif?”

“Yes, please,” Georgiana said with relief.

She took the offered glass of brandy and downed it with alacrity.

Robert smiled. “Another?” he asked.

Georgiana blushed deeply. “No, I think I shall wait until dinner.”

He took a seat beside her. “It is fortunate that we have this night alone. I wanted to speak with you about…” he bowed his head, then lifted it to look into her eyes. “Well, you know what.”

She swallowed, wishing she had accepted the second glass of brandy. “Yes, I know.”

“I wanted to sincerely apologize if I made you uncomfortable. That was not my intention.”

“No, no,” she hastened to say, “you did not make me uncomfortable. I was just… seized with an unreasonable panic. I am not even sure why. I hope you can be patient with me.”

“Of course. We are not in a rush to do anything. I can be as patient as you need me to be. I only ask for the same courtesy, should I also experience anxiousness.”

Georgiana looked at him in surprise, opening her mouth to ask him what could possibly cause him disquiet, but at that moment the butler entered the room and announced that dinner was being served.

Robert held out his arm. “Will you join me?” he asked formally.

“Of course, Your Grace,” Georgiana replied with a small smile.

Her hands were shaking with nerves, but she could not fathom why. They walked to the dining hall, and he sat her down on his left-hand side.

The soup was served, and they ate in relative silence, glancing briefly at each other from time to time. Once the cold meats and vegetables were placed on the table, Robert opened the conversation.

“I must say that I have been meaning to congratulate you.”

“On what?” Georgiana asked, eyebrow raised.

“On the running of this house. Everything is operating very smoothly, and I know that it is because of you. Considering that I left you without any instructions, you have done very well. Outstanding even.” He smiled. “Your parents were right.”

She froze, looking up from her plate to stare at him. “What do you mean by that?”

“Only that they told me you were very proficient in running a household and that you would make an excellent duchess.”

Georgiana ducked her head, her cheeks flaming. “Well, your staff was very well trained. They made things extremely easy for me.”

“Yes… Well, this was my grandmother’s home before she grew too old to live on her own. She was a very particular woman with exacting standards. She was responsible for hiring most of the servants who are now under your care.”

“Ah, that would explain it. I was quite surprised by how long they had all been working here before I arrived.”

“My grandmother is not fond of strangers. She was not one to change staff if it could possibly be helped. Some of her people have been with her for generations.”

She took a sip of her port. “Mmm yes, they are a very cohesive group.”

He smiled. “And you have maintained that cohesiveness.”

She nodded awkwardly at his unexpected praise, looking away from his piercing stare.

“Tell me about your childhood,” he said.

She looked up at him in surprise. “Why?”

“Because I would enjoy knowing all about the life experiences that made you the woman you are today.”

Her eyes widened in alarm at the thought of telling him all her embarrassing family secrets.

She shrugged. “As you know, my family has the mansion, as well as a fair bit of land. Other than that, we possessed little else. We were forced to make do with what we had. The servants who stayed with us did so out of loyalty rather than consistent pay. I…grew accustomed to finding ways to keep things afloat.”

“Why you? Why not your parents?”

She cleared her throat, taking another sip of her drink. “Well…my father has a reputation as a gambler, as I am sure you are aware. My mother…well…she is retiring…accepting. She simply assumes that matters will be taken care of…and so they were.”

“By you?”

Georgiana shrugged and looked at her plate.

“They must miss you,” he said softly.

Her mouth twisted. “I do not know. Now that they are well compensated , they no longer need me.”

His brow furrowed. “I apologize for using those words. It did not come across as I had intended.”

She gave him a skeptical sidelong glance. “Are you saying you did not pay them a large sum in exchange for me?”

“I mean…” he said carefully, “I did. But the bargain was certainly worth it.”

“Was it? It is not as though I have already provided you with an heir.”

He smiled. “We will get to that…eventually.”

“So, you are not disappointed with your bargain?”

He smiled slowly. “I am very happy with it.”

She nodded as she picked up her glass and drank deeply. “Well, I suppose that is a good thing.”

“Is it not? You seem unsure.”

She jerked a bit, startled by his perception. “I suppose I am not sure I am worth it. I have done nothing but run from you.”

He nodded. “That is true. But I do not blame you. You were afraid and I did nothing to assuage your fears and make you feel safe. I would like us to have a fresh start. Allow me to court you.”

She snorted. “Court me? We are already married. What would be the purpose of that?”

“Just as I said. We need to understand each other better so we may live harmoniously. Do you not agree?”

She searched his face, wondering what his real motive was. It seemed he was investing a lot of effort just to live in harmony. Especially when Robert spent most of his time in Emberford rather than London.

“All right. I agree,” she only said.