Page 18 of His Stolen Duchess (Stolen by the Duke #7)

Chapter Fourteen

“ I s this really necessary?” Lysander asked.

“Of course,” Georgina replied. “You are going to London on business, and I am to accompany you. You can’t expect me to leave Mr. Squawksby all on his own, can you?”

Lysander rubbed his head. “I don’t really know how to answer that question.”

Georgina looked at her husband as the carriage rumbled through the cobbled streets. She was excited about going to London, and especially keen to reunite with Dottie, but their conversation was putting a real damper on things.

“I know this is irregular, but there is nothing else that can be done.”

“He could have been placed in a different coach or even strapped to the roof. He might feel like he’s flying.”

“No.” Georgina shook her head. “He would be much too scared in his cage with the unpredictable nature of coach travel.”

“Unpredictable nature,” the parrot squawked.

Lysander shot the parrot a withering look.

“Your Grace, you really shouldn’t be annoyed at him.

If you want to be annoyed at anyone, it should be at me.

I’m the one who begged you to bring him along.

He’ll be so much happier at the townhouse with us instead of being alone at the manor.

And if he were to escape and gain entrance to the manor, who knows what he might do? This way, I can keep an eye on him.”

“Because that has worked so well thus far.”

Georgina leaned closer to the cage and tapped it gently. “I promise I will keep an eye on him. He’s usually very well behaved, but he doesn’t know the manor yet, and it will take some time.”

“He doesn’t know the townhouse either.”

“I know, and you’re right, but it will all be fine. I promise. Mr. Squawksby will be on his best behavior, and so will I. Anyway, I shall take him to my sister’s townhouse for a few days while I visit with her, so there will be no opportunity for him to cause any trouble.”

“One of these days, I shall put my foot down properly, and there will be no more parrot.”

“He will behave, you have my word. And I must thank you again for being so accommodating. What is your business in London? The town is always quite exciting. Is it stimulating business with which you will be engaged?”

“No,” Lysander replied dryly. “I don’t wish to talk about business. I don’t wish to talk about anything right now. I’d rather have some peace and quiet while I can. If that is possible.”

“Yes, of course,” Georgina said.

She knew better than to question anything when it had already been such a big request to bring the parrot with her.

She had hoped the Duke would allow it, but she hadn’t properly thought about how the parrot would travel until they were loading the coaches.

The bird usually rode with her, but she often rode without the company of other people.

Thankfully, Mr. Squawksby hadn’t made much more noise than a few words and squawks, as though he sensed that his future was on the line.

Georgina looked at her husband out of the corner of her eye.

He had turned his face away slightly to look out of the window, but not so much that he couldn’t keep an eye on the parrot at the same time.

His brow was knitting together like a gathering storm, and his eyes were dark in the shadows of the carriage.

It wasn’t all that long ago that they had stood in the water together, and she had sensed the pain he carried from his military days, and then the way he looked at her as she spoke of her father and her own military knowledge. There had been a moment when she thought he might kiss her again.

But the memory disappeared as quickly as it had come. As they rode together in the coach, she realized there was nothing intimate to be gained. He had his mind on business or other matters—on other things instead of her.

The coach slowed, and the sound of grinding metal assaulted her ears as the large iron gate before the townhouse opened. The coach passed through the barrier, entered the courtyard, and the gate was closed behind them.

Georgina took a cursory glance at the window to see the staff lined up, waiting for them. She had been so consumed by her own thoughts about the Duke and what had caused his pain that she’d nearly forgotten about Dottie.

Something clicked in her mind, and she opened the coach door before anyone could do it for her and leaped out, running with open arms toward Dottie.

She might have hugged the young woman if it were not for the other staff standing with her. She instead grasped Dottie’s hands and held them tight.

“My goodness, I didn’t know if I would see you again, but I am so glad that I have.” She looked Dottie up and down, focusing on the small bump beneath her dress. “And just look at you! You are glowing.”

“I can’t thank His Grace enough for hiring me,” Dottie said. “And I know that was because of you, Your Grace. I feel blessed to have a job here, and I would swear my life to serve you.”

Georgina still wanted to hug the young woman, but that would come later. She moved down the line, greeting each of the staff in turn before instructing two footmen to begin unloading the coach, and ordered the maid to prepare some tea.

“You must also give me something to do,” Dottie begged. “I don’t want any special treatment in front of the other staff. Your treatment of me has already been special enough. I only wish to do what you hired me to do.”

“Are you really all right?” Georgina squeezed Dottie’s hands again.

“I am,” she said. “The money you gave me really helped, and it bought me a place to stay and hide. This new position is wonderful. I can make my own way in the world, and Lord Abbington won’t come looking for me here. And don’t worry about the money. I intend to pay you back every penny.”

“No,” Georgina said. “That was a gift, and I was glad to give it to you. The best way you can pay me back is by impressing the Duke with your work and giving your child the best life possible once it arrives.”

“Oh, I will,” Dottie gushed. “Thank you so much. It is a pleasure to see you again, Your Grace. Now, I must go and help the others while there is still work to be done.”

Georgina smiled and nodded. She watched Dottie go, then turned back to the coach and the Duke, who was wagging an accusatory finger into the coach’s dark interior and saying something.

“Oh, no! Oh, Mr. Squawksby, please don’t argue with him.” Georgina dashed back to the coach to put an end to the argument between her husband and her cheeky, feathered friend.

“Oh, my goodness, it is so good to see you, Juliana!” Georgina hugged her sister and held on tight.

“We’re so glad you could come and visit us,” Juliana replied. “It only seems like yesterday that you were married, but it’s already been a month. That’s a terribly long time not to see you.”

“Now that I am more settled, I hope to be able to see the family more. It has been a whirlwind of a month.”

“Come, Vincent is in the sitting room, and I have had the cook make far too many cakes for us to eat, and we can wash down all the sugars with some hot Congou.”

“Congou?” Georgina asked. “I thought you preferred Earl Grey over black tea?”

“I do, but Vincent prefers good black tea like Congou. I’m sure you’re aware that in a marriage, you must make some sacrifices and learn to compromise.”

As of late, the Duke has been doing more of the compromising than I have. I never should have brought Mr. Squawksby with us.

“Yes, you need to make sacrifices,” Georgina agreed.

“Come, let me lead you to the sitting room.”

Georgina followed Juliana into her townhouse, commenting on the beautiful decor as she walked down the hallway. When they reached the sitting room, Juliana gestured inside, and Georgina entered, ready to greet Juliana’s husband, Vincent.

Her mouth dropped open in delighted shock. Vincent was by the window, conversing with Ava and Emily’s husbands, Oliver and Ambrose, and her two sisters were standing to their left, waiting for her arrival.

Both ran toward her at the same time, grabbing their youngest sister and hugging her tightly.

Juliana also joined them, and the four spent a long time embracing each other.

Georgina couldn’t remember the last occasion they were all together.

Perhaps it had been during her wedding, but they didn’t have a lot of time to visit back then.

“Will the Duke of Windermere not be joining us?” Vincent asked from the window.

“No, I’m afraid not,” Georgina replied. “He has a lot of business to attend to, and it will take up a lot of his time.”

Vincent nodded and went back to conversing with the other two men.

“Come, please sit,” Juliana said.

“I can’t believe you are all here!” Georgina exclaimed. “What brings you all to London like this?”

“We’re here to see you, sister,” Ava said. “We haven’t seen you for so long, and we wanted to make sure you were fine.”

Georgina sat down and tried not to frown. “Of course, I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”

Juliana gestured to the maid, and she came over with a fresh pot of tea, pouring some into each of the four teacups set out on the table. After returning the tea to the tea cart, she wheeled over the cake cart.

“We weren’t saying anything,” Juliana said. “We know you can take care of yourself. Ava was only asking after you. There’s no need to get defensive.”

“I wasn’t getting defensive.” She turned to Ava. “I apologize. It has been a blur this past month, and I still can’t believe I’m married. It really was quite unusual, wasn’t it?”

“You are in good company,” Ava said. “Getting married in a normal way is overrated, don’t you think?”

Georgina giggled.

The maid took cake orders from each of the women and placed their selections on their plates. Thereafter, she wheeled the cake cart away and waited for their next request.

It might have been the influx of sugar that did it, but their conversation became far less confrontational thereafter, which relieved Georgina immensely.

When she looked at her sisters and their husbands, they all looked so in love.

She was the odd one out; she didn’t have that connection with Lysander, and she never would, unless he experienced a monumental change of heart.

The afternoon passed pleasantly, and at some point, the four women left the table after devouring many cakes and mingled with the men in the room. Later, Georgina found herself alone in the corner with Emily, the sister to whom she’d always been closest.

“So?” Emily asked. “What is it like to be wed to the Duke of Windermere?”

“What do you mean?”

“You might have them fooled, but you can’t fool me. I could feel your tension back there. Something is wrong, isn’t it?”

“No, nothing is wrong.” Georgina twisted the fabric of her dress in her fingers. “Why would anything be wrong?”

“I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking. Look me in the eye, Georgie, and tell me that everything is fine with your marriage.”

Georgina looked her sister in the eye as instructed and tried to appear as genuine as possible. “Yes, everything is fine. I’m fine, and Lysander is fine, and even Mr. Squawksby is fine. I mean, it takes time to become accustomed to a new place, but he will be fine once he’s settled.”

“He’ll be fine when he’s settled, or you’ll be fine once you are settled?”

“Why are you going on like this?” Georgina asked. “I know it was an unusual way for us to meet, and I was running away from one marriage only to run into another, but he was very gallant that day. He saved my life.”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean you owe him anything.”

“I know that. He doesn’t expect anything in return for what he did.” Georgina gritted her teeth and then slackened her jaw. She brought her hands to her hips, then let them drop to her sides.

“I only want to know that he treats you well. I only know him from the day you met him, and he was rather a stern man. You know him better than I do, of course, but I worry.”

“You need not worry,” Georgina claimed. “He saved me, then married me, and now, he mostly ignores me unless I panic while swimming or Mr. Squawksby causes some havoc.”

“Panic while swimming. What do you mean?”

“Well, after what happened in Hyde Park, I thought it best that I learn to swim, and the Duke agreed to teach me.”

“We should have taught you to swim long ago,” Juliana said after eavesdropping on their conversation.

“Although, then you might not be married, so I don’t know whether that would have been a good thing or not.

There is something to be said for fate. There is also something to be said for a man who takes the time to teach his wife something like that. ”

“Yes, but he ignores her most of the time,” Emily chirped.

“Can we please talk about something else?” Georgina asked. “This is all new for me, and I am sure it will all work itself out in time. What gossip is there in society?”

“Well,” Ava—who had also been eavesdropping—chimed in. “You won’t believe who…”

As her sister spoke, Georgina ceased listening. She was only too glad to move the subject of their conversation away from her marriage. As a young woman, she had always wished for a marriage filled with love, but that obviously wasn’t her destiny, based on the two men to whom she had been promised.

Her sisters were in love with their husbands, and their husbands were in love with them.

Georgina had dreamed of that, but that dream felt very much out of reach.