Page 5 of Her Duke’s Second Chance (Regency Second Chances #1)

CHAPTER 5

“ I got you another gown. The publican’s wife is a seamstress, and she had a ready-made gown on hand that she adjusted to your size. I hope I got it right,” Robert said, holding up his offering to her.

“How fortunate,” Georgiana said breathlessly, still sitting by the fire looking bemused.

After collecting his traveling bag from the carriage, Robert had gone in search of the publican’s wife, from whom he had ultimately acquired the dress.

Once he had entered the bedchamber, a serving girl carrying a tray of food and a young man bearing a tub followed suit; Georgiana would get her dinner in the bath. Still, he was not sure how she would react. It puzzled him why she was so resistant to his overtures. Robert was determined to get to the bottom of her defiance and silently promised himself that he would persevere in his attempts to wear her down and win her over.

“Not really. Many a runaway bride arrives unprepared. Having gowns on hand is merely a profitable business for her,” Robert said.

“Mmm. Did you ask if she had seen Daisy or Lord Newston?” the duchess asked.

“I did. Unfortunately, she had not seen them. I expect Lord Newston would have arranged for more comfortable accommodations than what could be found here.”

“Do you think so?” she asked with a frown.

“I do. I have known the earl long enough to know that he abhors discomfort.”

She sighed. “Daisy’s much the same.”

“Two peas in a pod, are they?”

She hunched over, looking defeated. “Do you think it will be too late by the time we catch up to them?”

“I hope not. I shudder to think of Newston as my brother-in-law. Not a positive addition to the dinner table.”

She giggled. “No, it would not be.”

“Well, no use borrowing trouble. We shall know what’s what once we catch up to them, which we will do as soon as this storm has abated.”

Once the staff departed, they ate the soup and bread that had been laid out for them. Following their meal, Georgiana demanded that Robert turn away so she could divest herself of her clothes and step into the bath.

Once she was safely ensconced within the confines of the wooden tub, she told him that he could sit back down. He turned and sat back on the stone ledge but made a point of not looking at her.

He listened to the water splashing as she bathed herself, and could not help visualizing her lying indolently in the warm water, her nipples peaked from the chilly air, one leg bent at the knee while the other was stretched out.

Her long brunette hair hung over the edge of the tub in long curly waves, nearly brushing the stone floor with its wet tendrils.

He could hear her breath, his mind’s eye seeing the rise and fall of her breasts, following the gentle slope of her belly, and downwards to the dark secret center of her.

He pushed away the thoughts.

Still, Robert could not help grinning to himself at the memory of Georgiana’s face when he had taken off his coat and stood before her in his naked splendor.

He had wondered whether she had acquired a lover, especially considering her bosom friendship with the Dowager Countess of Galerton.

Spending her time with the young, widowed, well-to-do lady certainly would have been the ideal opportunity to sample the illicit pleasures of adultery. But from her reaction to his nakedness, he could only conclude that she was still as green as a girl could be.

He was perturbed by how much that pleased him.

As he glanced around for something else to muse upon, he thought of his grandmother currently terrorizing the servants at Emberford Hall.

She had been quite ill as of late, and it had worried him deeply. Thankfully, with the help of physicians and her own determined disposition, she had made a full recovery. It was her fondest wish that he marry and give her great-grandchildren.

How could Robert say no to that?

He glanced musingly at Georgiana.

Robert cupped his right hand under his chin and gazed at her still form. He had been right about her hair hanging out of the tub. He could not see much aside from that and the profile of her face in the flickering firelight. He chuckled silently as he considered her fiery temper and her sharp retorts.

She looked content, but he had no idea what to do with her.

Bathing while Robert was in the room made Georgiana feel simultaneously uncomfortable in her skin and languid, as though she had consumed too much wine.

She avoided looking at him and concentrated on scrubbing away the sticky feeling of sweat and rain on her skin.

Once she was done with the bath, she grabbed the robe that Robert had placed on the chair by the bath. As she wrapped it around her she was enveloped by his scent of sandalwood, cigars, and whiskey. Georgiana breathed in deeply, sighing contentedly as she inhaled the comforting, masculine aroma.

She wrapped the robe securely around her and went to her reticule to find the hairbrush, cringing in dismay as she remembered she had forgotten to bring it with her from London

Once again, she took a moment to regret rushing off from London half-cocked without a change of clothes or Cecile. In all honesty, she had thought she would catch up to Daisy before they had gone far. She had not anticipated coming all this way.

She sat down on the bench and began to untangle her hair with her fingers, letting the rhythmic strokes soothe her into a state of meditation. The sound of the rain beating down on the roof, the crackling of the fire, and Robert’s gentle breathing all served as a musical backdrop to her soporific state.

As they sat down to eat their dinner, the fire crackled softly, casting a comforting glow around the room.

Georgiana picked at her food, acutely aware of Robert’s presence across the table.

“Is the chicken not to your liking?” Robert asked, glancing up from his plate and raising an eyebrow.

“It is quite delicious, thank you. I am simply… preoccupied,” Georgiana replied, trying to keep her tone neutral.

“Preoccupied with thoughts of your sister, I presume?” he ventured, his voice teasing but laced with genuine concern.

Georgiana shot him a sharp look. “Yes, well, not everyone has the luxury of living in a world where they can disregard family obligations, Your Grace.”

His expression shifted slightly, his amusement fading. “That is unfair of you, Georgiana. I came here to help.”

“Help? Is that what you call it? Chasing after her without even letting her own sister know?” she shot back, her irritation quickly bubbling to the surface.

Robert leaned back in his chair; his arms crossed. “I am trying to protect your sister from making a mistake. If anyone is to blame for her predicament, it is?—”

“—her own foolishness?” Georgiana interrupted, her voice rising. “You seem to think you know everything.”

“Duchess… If I did not act, who knows what could happen? If your sister is intent on ruining her future, then perhaps she deserves it,” Robert replied, his tone firm but simmering with frustration.

“Deserves it? That is a rather harsh judgment coming from someone who thinks himself a savior,” she retorted, unable to keep the bite from her words.

“I do not think myself a savior, Duchess. I am simply stating the truth. But perhaps we should put aside our bickering for now. We are both tired, and it is best we get some rest before tomorrow’s journey,” he suggested.

“Fine. But I will not make any promises about tomorrow,” she shot back.

After their hearty meal, it was no surprise that Georgiana felt drowsy. She plaited her hair loosely and crossed to the bed, curling up against the pillow, her gaze fixed absently on the flickering firelight.

The quiet crackle of the flames lulled her until, suddenly, a sharp clap of thunder shook the air. At that same moment, the lamp extinguished, plunging her corner of the room into darkness.

Georgiana screamed, startled and terrified. She shot upright and instinctively ran toward Robert’s comforting silhouette.

He had already risen, stepping toward her, but she collided with him before he could take another step. She clung to him, trembling like a leaf in a storm.

His arms immediately wrapped around her shaking body, steady and strong, a haven against the chaos outside.

“It is all right,” he murmured, his voice low and soothing in her ear. “You will be fine. I will keep you safe from harm.”

His hand moved up and down her back in a calming rhythm, as gentle as if he were soothing a spooked horse.

Another roar of thunder rumbled through the air, and Georgiana stiffened, burying her face in his chest. The fear had gripped her since childhood, an irrational terror she had never managed to shake.

She shivered violently, but Robert remained patient, holding her as if he had all the time in the world.

His tenderness only deepened her mortification. Grateful though she was, the vulnerability of the moment made her acutely aware of how tightly she clung to him.

She finally pulled back, meeting his steady gaze.

“We should… perhaps relight the lamp,” she suggested quietly, her voice barely above a whisper.

He nodded, his expression calm and assuring.

“Sit here by the fire,” he said, guiding her to the stone hearth.

He lowered her gently to the warm ledge, his touch firm yet careful, before moving to retrieve the lamp.

Georgiana’s gaze followed him as he crossed the room, his body an arresting display of masculine grace.

The play of muscle beneath the taut skin of his back was impossible to ignore, every movement fluid yet powerful. She bit her lip, helpless against the pull of her own curiosity.

He picked up the lamp, snapping a splinter from one of the logs with his bare hands. The raw strength in that simple act sent a shiver through her that had nothing to do with the storm. Plunging the splinter into the fire, he kindled a small flame and used it to relight the lamp.

The room brightened once more, and Georgiana exhaled slowly, grateful for the reprieve from the shadows.

“Thank you,” she whispered, her voice soft with relief.

To her surprise, Robert did not return to his own bed. Instead, he joined her on the hearth, his movements casual but deliberate. The flickering firelight danced across his skin, illuminating every ridge and contour of his sculpted torso.

Her eyes roamed of their own accord, tracing the broad line of his shoulders, the defined planes of his chest, and the way his abdomen tapered into lean, powerful hips. His muscular thighs flexed as he sat down beside her, drawing her gaze lower until she realized she was staring.

Heat flooded her face as she quickly looked away, but the image of him—golden and unashamed—was seared into her mind.

He smirked, as though he could sense the direction of her thoughts. “Better now?” he asked, his voice laced with teasing amusement.

Georgiana swallowed hard, her pulse fluttering.

“Yes. Much better,” she managed.

She was not entirely sure whether she meant the light—or the dangerously distracting man beside her.

“Will you not put on some clothes?” she asked. “After all, even if we are married, we are not… intimate.”

He turned to look at her. “Indeed. But… perhaps we could change that.”

“Is that what you want?”

“Is it not what you want?”

Their gazes caught and held, each challenging the other, each waiting for the other to break away first.

Robert’s eyes shifted downward to her parted lips. Georgiana swallowed nervously, blinking in confusion as her heartbeat rapidly increased and her breaths came in shallow gasps.

Suddenly, he was leaning in towards her, his eyes still on her mouth. She leaned back and away from him.

He froze in place and again met her eyes.

“Why did you marry me, Duchess?” Robert asked.

Georgiana cocked an eyebrow, caught off guard by the question in the wake of their aborted kiss. “My parents told me to.”

“Yes, but why did you do it? Why did you agree?”

She shrugged one shoulder. “My family needed the money, Your Grace.”

His face fell. “And that was the sole reason?”

She pressed her lips nodding. “What other possible reason could I have?”

“Do you not wish to be a mother? To have children?”

She gave him a cynical look. “In a way, I am a mother. I have been looking after my family almost before I was out of leading strings.”

He laughed ruefully. “I suppose that is true, seeing as you are here chasing after your sister, and they are not.”

Georgiana sighed, “My sister is a lovely girl, whimsical and na?ve. Easily led. It is not her fault that she has landed in this predicament, it is mine. I do not know how it escaped my attention that the earl was wooing her, or that she was falling prey to his wiles.”

She shook her head as a wave of sadness spread across her face. “Now, if she is ruined, I will never forgive myself for it.”

“Never fear. The earl will simply have to come up to scratch if he has ruined her. We will just have to resign ourselves to having him at our dinner table.”

“She will be so unhappy with him. Daisy loves love . She loves to be happy, carefree, and coddled. She is not accustomed to being neglected. I fear what will happen once Newston tires of her. When he has moved on to the next shiny object he finds…”

Robert’s mouth twisted scornfully. “I shall make sure to put the fear of God in him if he does.”

She gave a long, drawn-out sigh. “If only that were enough; then there would be no broken-hearted women in the world.”

He huffed in amusement. “Indeed. Now, if we intend to find them tomorrow, we must get some rest.”

He flicked a glance over to the bed, and Georgiana could feel her heart rate increasing.

She felt it prudent to discuss what would happen in the bed before they got into it, but she had no idea how to broach the subject.

“I-I-I am not ready to do anything more than sleep…with you. In the bed.”

He smirked. “Nobody has asked you to do more than that, Duchess.”

“I believe we should speak about the…boundaries of our relationship. Heaven knows it is somewhat unorthodox. If we are making our own rules, then we should do so now.”

“Is that what we are doing? Making our own rules?” he asked.

“I think so,” Georgiana said nervously.

“Well then, I think we have had enough for tonight. How about we just rest? We will have plenty of time to draw out the rules of the game once your sister is firmly in hand.”

She nodded, firmly. “Yes, I think that is a fine idea. Will you be wearing some clothes to bed?”

“No,” he said getting to his feet and offering his hand. “I am comfortable as I am.”