Page 19

But Martina simply nodded. “Rafferty’s very good at persuading people. And he told me I was to give you the majority of my time.”

“He must think I need it,” Georgie said in a disconsolate voice.

She almost missed Martina’s understanding smile. “No such thing, miss. I expect he just thinks you’ve been left out in the past. You deserve as much attention as anyone.”

Georgie said up straighter in the bed, pushing the breakfast tray away. “Have you known Rafferty a long time?”

“A long time,” Martina said, and Georgie waited for the familiar tickle of jealousy. Martina was very pretty—of course Rafferty would be attracted to her. Maybe they were even lovers in the past. Maybe they still were.

“Now what are you looking so gloomy about, miss?” Martina chided her. “This rain’s going to let up and you can have a lovely walk in the park this afternoon in the...rose dress,” she said, pulling it out from the others.

“Oh, no, that’s my favorite,” she protested.

“Exactly the reason why you should wear it. Pretty things are made to be enjoyed.” She swooped in and removed the tray.

“And I can’t walk in the park—I don’t have a chaperone.”

“Me or Rafferty will do the trick,” Martina said. “In fact, it’ll probably have to be Rafferty since I’ll be helping your sister get ready for the Ormonds’ ball tonight.”

“Oh.” She tried to hide her surge of happiness.

“Still want to wear the blue dress?”

Georgie glanced at the soft rose fabric. “No, I expect you’re right. The blue is too shabby.”

“Of course. if you’d rather go with me, we could go earlier in the day. I’d be too busy in the afternoon, but if you want to go out as soon as the rain stops...”

“Oh, I’d much rather walk in the afternoon,” Georgie said hurriedly. “Though of course I’d love to have you as company.”

Martina coughed something under her breath, and it sounded suspiciously like “liar.” “You don’t have to worry about my company, Miss Georgiana. I’m here as your servant, not your friend.”

“Can’t you be both?”

Martina’s smile was crooked. “Society frowns on that sort of thing. Makes the servants too familiar.”

“I don’t give a hoot about what Society does or does not want. Rafferty’s my friend, and there’s no reason why you can’t be one too.”

“Oh, he is, is he?” There was a decided twinkle in Martina’s eyes. “Then I can hardly object.”

Georgie scooted back in bed, fixing Martina with a determined expression. “So, tell me about Rafferty.”

Martina rolled her eyes. “I don’t think that’s proper, miss.”

“How old is he?”

“I believe he’s thirty-one.”

Georgie made a face. “That makes him eleven years older than me,” she said. “That’s not a big difference, isn’t it?”

“Big enough,” Martina said in her low contralto.

“Is he...he’s not married, is he?”

Martina kept her expression blank, but Georgie realized she could read right through her innocent questions. “No, miss, as far as I know, he’s never married. He’s footloose and fancy free. And he’s not going to be looking at a young lady like you.”

“Of course not,” Georgie said hastily. “I was just curious.”

“If you have any more questions, you’d best ask him yourself,” Martina said firmly. “In the meantime, let’s get you dressed. Your mother has been asking for you.”

Now that the possibility of Rafferty being married had entered her mind, however, she couldn’t let go of it. And it wasn’t as if he would stay still long enough to answer her questions—every time she saw him he disappeared on some mysterious errand.

But she would have him to herself that afternoon. She would insist on a long walk, and even if he refused to answer her very reasonable questions, he would still be there with her, with no one to distract him.

By the time she reached her mother’s salon, visiting hours were already in progress.

She paused at the door for a moment, watching all the gentlemen surrounding her sister, and she tried to slip away, only to back into Rafferty.

He caught her arm to keep her from stumbling, and she wanted to lean back against him, but he was pulling her away when her mother caught sight of her.

“Georgiana!” she trilled. “Come in and meet our callers!” For some reason, Rafferty’s hand tightened, as if he was reluctant to let her go, but then a moment later he released her, and she decided she must have imagined it.

She plastered a demure smile on her face, one that turned genuine when Andrew Salton rose from his seat beside Norah and came forward. “Miss Georgiana,” he said warmly. “I was hoping I might see you.”

“Mr. Salton,” she replied happily, still enjoying the memory of Rafferty’s strong hand on her arm.

For some reason, Norah’s admirers were paying Georgie sudden attention, and she saw the hint of a frown at the corner of her sister’s beautiful mouth.

A moment later, disaster was averted when the gentlemen turned back to Norah, and Georgie was left with Andrew Salton.

“Did you like the flowers I sent?” he asked, once they were seated.

“They were lovely,” she lied, having assumed all the floral tributes were for her sister. She glanced toward the door, some random instinct telling her that Rafferty was close by.

He wasn’t watching her, a disappointment, but he wasn’t watching Norah either. His attention seemed fixed on the man beside her, a disapproving expression on his face.

“I’m hoping you’ll honor me with a dance this evening,” Andrew Salton was saying, unaware of her distraction.

“A dance...oh, yes,” she quickly recovered, and smiled warmly at him. “That would be lovely.” She hadn’t danced since the cotillions held near their country estate, and she’d missed it. Dancing with Andrew would be very pleasant. And she wondered if Rafferty knew how to dance.

Rafferty knew how to do everything. She glanced back at the doorway, but he’d disappeared, and she felt a pang.

Why couldn’t Rafferty be Andrew Salton, a perfectly unexceptional guest?

It would make life so much easier. She planted a smile on her face and turned to Mr. Salton, trying to banish Rafferty from her mind.

Andrew and the horde of other gentlemen were rising, the strict timing of a morning call coming into play, and were gone before Georgie could get up the desire to even flirt with him. She watched him go with a sigh.

Norah looked at her from across the room, her eyes narrowing. “Why did you decide to join us this morning?” she demanded sharply. “Calling hours are for the senior members of the household.”

Georgie ran a hand down the soft muslin of her new dress. “I thought that I should, now that I’m no longer dressed like an aging schoolgirl.”

Norah let out a long-suffering sigh. “I think it would be better if you didn’t join us for calling hours, at least not until I marry. You look absurd in that dress, and then you monopolize a gentleman’s attention with that aging schoolgirl act. I’m certain Mr. Salton found you quite ridiculous.”

“I think the dress is lovely. And I wasn’t monopolizing anyone’s attention. I was just talking with him.”

“Don’t be absurd!” Norah said. “He’s only here to see me, and then he has to deal with your puppy-dog attentions. I thought you were madly in love with our butler. Keep away from my suitors.”

“Mr. Salton isn’t your suitor!” she shot back, ignoring the jibe about Rafferty. Not that she wanted Mr. Salton paying court to her, but she was so tired of Norah getting everything, all the attention, all the gentlemen, all the love.

“Oh, isn’t he?” Norah said archly. “Why did you decide to join us this morning?”

“I told her to join us,” her mother said with a trace of asperity. “You aren’t the only one in need of a husband in this family.”

Norah jerked her head upright in sudden disapproval. “You aren’t giving her one of my admirers! I won’t have it!”

“Don’t be ridiculous, darling,” Liliane soothed her. “None of your admirers would be willing to settle for her. I thought Mr. Salton would prove an admirable choice.”

“Mr. Salton is completely unsuitable for a chit like Georgie.”

“Don’t be a dog in the manger, darling,” her mother said. “You don’t give him the time of day—you’re almost rude to the man. Surely he’s the last man you’d begrudge your sister.”

“He’s...” Norah’s voice trailed off as she made an effort to pull herself together. She turned to Georgie. “Why don’t you go in search of Rafferty and leave us alone? Mother and I need to talk.”

Startled, she looked behind her, and realized to her relief that Rafferty was no longer looming beside the doorway. He hadn’t heard that apparently she now had a suitor.

But Andrew Salton was a kind man. She was not the idiot everyone seemed to think she was—she knew her feelings for Rafferty could lead nowhere. But until she left this house, he was hers, whether Norah liked it or not.

He was in the kitchen, talking with Bertha, and she took a moment to admire his beautiful back. She hadn’t made any noise on her slippered feet, but he stopped and turned, a frown on his face, and she wondered if he knew what Liliane had planned.

“I have a suitor,” she announced glumly.

There was no surprise on his face. “So I gather. It’s all settled then?”

“Of course not. I’ve just met the man last night.”

“He’s not the right man for a young girl like you,” Rafferty said in a tight voice.

“I’m not a young girl.”

“You are to me,” he said in a clipped voice.

Georgie looked up at him, stricken. Was that really how he saw her? Her brand new grown-up dresses seemed to have done her no good.

“Then tell Norah you disapprove,” she said. “She’ll be happy to agree.”

“Your sister is not my problem. You are.”

“Why am I your problem?” she asked.

“Because I don’t care about your sister.”

Georgie had a swift intake of breath. “You care about me?” she said in a soft, hopeful voice.

“I don’t care about anyone,” he said, looking discomfited. “As a member of this household, you’re my responsibility.”

“So is Norah.”

“Norah can take care of herself.”

That stung. “I can take care of myself,” she shot back. “I have been for the last twenty years.”

He said nothing, but she could practically hear his silent scoff. “Then may I be the first to felicitate you on your upcoming nuptials?” he said smoothly.

Georgie ground her teeth in frustration. “I’m not going to marry Andrew Salton, no matter how nice he is. In fact, I don’t intend to marry at all. I intend to live out my years in a house in the countryside, full of books and cats.”

“And how are you going to manage that?” Bertha piped up, having watched their conversation with blatant disapproval. “You think you can look after yourself without a husband to see to things?”

“I’ll have a maid and a butler,” she said hotly.

She saw Rafferty jerk in discomfort. “I suggest you not count on me, Miss Georgie. This is only a short-term engagement, not a way of life. You’ll need to find someone else to look after you.”

“I can look after myself,” she said again.

“Yes,” said Bertha, “but who’s going to?—”

“I don’t need anyone,” she announced.

“Good to know,” he said gravely.

“Particularly not you,” she added, but if she hoped to crush him, or at least damage his amour propre a bit, she was doomed to failure.

“As you wish, Miss Georgie,” he said gravely, and there was nothing Georgie could do but beat a hasty retreat.

She flounced off, there was no other word for it, turning on her heel and moving toward the stairs. When she turned back to see how he was appreciating her high dudgeon, he was gone.