Page 26 of His Stolen Duchess (Stolen by the Duke #7)

Chapter Twenty-One

“ I didn’t know you were a fan of horse racing,” Georgina said.

She sat in a private box with Lysander, sporting a high-waisted pastel pink muslin day gown with long sleeves and a modest neckline. She’d paired a delicate parasol and a wide-brimmed bonnet with the dress and carried a reticule containing a selection of personal belongings.

“I don’t usually go in for any sort of racing, but I have two horses competing here today. I thought you might enjoy attending the event.”

“Well, that was very thoughtful of you, Your Grace.”

“I think we are well beyond formalities, don’t you?” he asked. “Please address me as Lysander.”

“Your wish is my command,” she replied.

Lysander wore cream breeches with high-polished black boots, a pale gold silk waistcoat, dark green cravat, and a perfectly fitted deep green tailcoat. He embellished his ensemble with a pair of cream leather gloves and a black beaver felt top hat, worn at a very slight angle.

“Do you win money if your horses win their races?” Georgina asked.

“Yes, some,” he replied. “I make more from breeding them with local horse owners, but that doesn’t matter. We don’t need to get into the intricacies of my business. We are here so you can have fun.”

“And what about you, Lysander?” Georgina asked. “I don’t wish to have fun alone. Can’t we have fun together?” She pouted.

“Of course,” he replied. “That’s what I meant. Now, I will fetch you some white wine and some cognac for myself. If Thomas turns up today, I know I will need it.”

“Thank you,” Georgina said.

Lysander leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, and it felt intimate, not something he did to prove to the world the legitimacy of their relationship. It felt to her like he meant it.

She watched him leave their personal box and go off to get them both refreshments.

Georgina didn’t know much about the races, but it all felt terribly exciting.

Three races had already passed, and she had never seen some members of the ton looking as animated and passionate as they were when the race was in full swing.

It’s only horses racing against each other .

As she watched the spectators cheering on the horses, looking as though they were riding invisible horses themselves, she knew there was something to be unlocked about the sport.

A part of her also desired to be embroiled in the excitement and understand it on a deeper level, but for the time being, she was content to watch and experience the excitement through them.

Georgina raised her hand and waved when she saw two familiar faces walking between her box and the paddock. Isabella and Beatrice waved back and made their way over. They were both unaccompanied.

“Georgina, what a pleasure to see you here. First the ball, and now Ascot. You are really making your way around the events,” Isabella said.

“There was some talk about you after you left the ball the other evening,” Beatrice said.

“Oh, no, please come and sit,” Georgina said. “What did people say about me? I fear people must have been gossiping non-stop.”

“Oh, they are,” Isabella said, sitting closest to Georgina. “They couldn’t stop talking about it. It was just about the only thing everyone spoke about for the rest of the night.”

Georgina groaned. That was not what she’d wanted to hear.

“Don’t worry, it was Lady Eastbeck they talked about,” Beatrice added. “They spoke about you and His Grace, of course, but only in relation to her.”

“She would have struck you,” Isabella said, balling her fist before her. “I can’t believe that.”

“She wasn’t going to,” Georgina corrected. “Perhaps she might have slapped me.”

“Lord Havisham saw the entire thing,” Beatrice told her. “He was the first one out on the veranda after hearing the commotion. He was very boastful about it for the rest of the night.”

“Yes, but wouldn’t you be if you were the one who saw it?” Isabella questioned. “His Grace ran in there and grabbed her hand! If I were the one to witness such a commotion, I would be telling everyone! It was so dramatic, wasn’t it?”

“I don’t want dramatic,” Georgina commented.

She knew she was the last person who should ask for such a thing after running away from her wedding to Lord Abbington, then falling into a lake and being saved and claimed by the Duke, all in the same day.

“You are the talk of the town. That is all we know about it,” Isabella said.

“That’s not the only thing we know about it,” Beatrice corrected.

Georgina sighed and lowered her head before looking back up. “Please tell me everything you know so I won’t be surprised by anything.”

“It’s not as dramatic as my sister makes out,” Isabella said. “I mean, the part with His Grace at the ball is very dramatic, but there’s nothing else quite as dramatic.”

“We obviously know that you were promised to Lord Abbington, and the betrothal was broken, and we assume there was a good reason for it,” Beatrice said.

“We don’t need to pry into your personal life.

The only addition we know is that Lord Abbington has left the country, and there is a rumor that he might never return. ”

What are you running from? From the shame of me abandoning you at the altar, or from your unborn child? It wouldn’t surprise me if you had more than one.

“Do you know where he has gone?” Georgina asked.

“No, we don’t,” Beatrice replied. “With any luck, the drama will cease in the wake of his departure. Lady Eastbeck is connected to him in some fashion, isn’t she?”

“Yes,” Georgina agreed. “I hope it is the last I have seen of her.”

“We hope so, too,” Isabella sang. “I don’t mind some drama in my life or someone else’s, but not when it puts someone in physical danger. How have you been feeling since the altercation?”

“I’m safe with Lysander.”

“Good,” Beatrice said.

“How about both of you?” Georgina looked around but didn’t see anyone else she recognized. “You are not here alone, are you?”

“No, Father is still in the enclosure talking business with some men from London. It was rather boring stuff,” Beatrice noted.

Isabella nodded. “We thought we might find some eligible lords if we took a stroll.”

“And the lords from the ball?” Georgina asked.

“No, they were not right for us,” Isabella said.

Georgina was glad. Not because her friends hadn’t found someone to fall in love with and marry, but because neither of them had succumbed to the first lord they’d encountered.

“You are both beautiful young women,” Georgina said. “And I am enormously proud of the way you conduct yourselves. God help any lord who gets close to either of you, because they will get double what they bargained for. No one will do you wrong when you are watching out for each other.”

“All of your sisters were married when it came time for you to find a husband, weren’t they?” Isabella asked.

“Yes, but I had Uncle Francis,” she said. “He was always there for me. You always have each other, and don’t let that go.”

“We won’t,” they said together.

“It is always pleasant to speak with you, Georgina,” Beatrice said. “We will continue on our stroll, but we will be forever on the lookout for lords who do not mean to treat us well.”

“Have a pleasant day,” Georgina replied.

“You too,” the twins chimed in unison.

Georgina thought about Lysander.

Does he treat me well?

Her mind went straight to the other morning at the lake. The swimming part had been fun, and she had learned a lot, but what happened afterwards knocked that event out of the water.

They had pleasured each other, and her orgasm was both welcome and surprising in its intensity. She couldn’t believe she had also brought him to climax. She didn’t know why she didn’t believe that—she hadn’t thought about it much before, but it was a pleasant surprise.

Then there was the bliss he’d given her in the carriage on the way home, and how quickly he had protected her from Lady Eastbeck, and the swimming lessons he willingly gave.

He did mean to save me from scandal by asking for my hand, but no one seems to be aware of that if they are gossiping about him and me behind our backs.

There was a lot Lysander had done for her, and he certainly treated her well in many ways. Nonetheless, her desire from an early age was to be unconditionally loved, and she didn’t have that.

Does Lysander care for me? Perhaps. Does he love me? No, he had made it quite clear that theirs was solely a marriage of convenience.

“A penny for your thoughts?”

Georgina was startled out of her daydreaming and looked up to see Lysander’s friend, Thomas Dolloway, the Marquess of Southfold.

“Lord Southfold,” she said, composing herself. “What a pleasant surprise, I’m sure. Lysander has gone to get refreshments, and he will be back any moment.”

“It is you I came over to talk to,” Thomas said.

“Me?”

“Yes, quite,” he replied. He eyed her up and down. “I needed to talk to the woman who has had such a profound effect on my friend.” He leaned over the wooden support separating the box from the walkway before it.

“An effect?” Georgina asked. “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.”

“Yes, Lysander claims the same ignorance when it comes to the changes I’ve witnessed in him.”

Georgina looked around. She didn’t notice anyone she recognized, but she knew people might be watching, and if someone saw her alone, talking to a man, it might be to her detriment. However, she was eager to find out what transformations Thomas had seen in Lysander.

“What sort of changes have you noticed?” she queried.

Thomas smiled and leaned in close, as though he were conveying a secret.

“He has always been a stoic and serious man, and he has a fiery anger within him that he usually unleashes at the appropriate time. He still has all of that, of course, but he’s…

how to explain it? He almost seems happy at times. ”

And that is because of me?