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Chapter Twenty-Six

Georgie dressed in her old gray dress, warm against the brisk fall weather.

If she’d had a choice, she wouldn’t have worn the shoes he gave her, but the old ones were long gone and she had no choice.

She waited down in the kitchen until Bertha had disappeared into the larder, and she slipped out into the city streets, her bonnet pulled low over her face.

She felt...gutted. She no longer had any doubt that he wanted her—that time in the butler’s pantry had banished all the doubts.

But he was still leaving her. He would never touch her again, and by tomorrow he would be gone.

And all she could do was walk blindly through the streets of London, awash in misery.

She walked, it seemed like miles, all the way to Green Park, her jacket pulled tightly around her.

It was too early in the season for the weather to be so cold, but it matched her bleak outlook.

It wasn’t until the rain began to spit from the sky that she turned back, keeping her head down as she made her way back to Corinth Place.

Unfortunately, keeping her head down wasn’t the best way to find the right direction, and when she should have turned onto Corinth Place she instead found herself down by docks.

Gone were the stylish couples strolling arm in arm, gone were the gentlemen with their carriages.

She was in a rougher area of town and this time there was no Rafferty to rescue her. It served her right.

“Well, well, what have we here?” came a familiar voice, and Georgie felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Looking up, she came face to face with Billy Stiles’s enormous teeth, and she stopped, momentarily panicked.

There was nothing to be frightened of, she reminded herself. This man wouldn’t hurt her—Rafferty had warned him away, and only a fool would go against a man like their makeshift butler.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Stiles,” she said politely. “I was just on my way home.”

“You were headed in the wrong direction, Miss Georgiana,” he said with a certain pleased malice.

“Allow me to accompany you the rest of the way.” He took her arm in one meaty hand, and she tried to pull away, to no avail.

“Does Rafferty know you’re out wandering?

” he said in a jovial voice. “I wouldn’t think he’d want you down in my territory, all on your own. Unless you were looking for me?”

“I...I got turned around,” she stammered, tugging at her arm. “Rafferty was with me, we must have gotten separated....”

“Rafferty’s at the Duchess of Ormond’s house. Perhaps you could tell me why?”

“I have no idea. And now I really must go home....”

“Not yet, Miss Georgiana.” His voice was implacable. “We’ll go for a nice cup of tea and you’ll tell me what our mutual friend has been doing. You see, he’s looking for something for me, and I worry he’s not being diligent enough in his task.

“He has no idea where the money is!” she said hotly.

“Oh, he told you about that, did he? He’s been a talkative fellow, now ain’t he? What else did he tell you?”

How could teeth seem malevolent, Georgie thought absently. He wasn’t about to bite her. “He just said he was looking for it, that’s all. I don’t know anything else.”

“I’m not sure I believe you, Miss Georgiana. I think our friend cares a little too much for you, enough to make him indiscreet.”

“Your friend doesn’t care about me at all,” she said bitterly.

“Oh, have we had a lover’s quarrel? Never you mind, he’ll come racing after you the moment he finds out I have you, and maybe I’ll finally get some satisfaction.”

“He can’t find the money if it’s not there.”

“Well, that will be too bad for you, now won’t it? I’m a patient man, but my patience has run out.”

“You looked yourself and couldn’t find it!” she said desperately. “How do you expect Rafferty to perform miracles? If it’s not there, it’s not there.”

“Oh, it’s there all right. All I have to do is give the man enough incentive and I expect to have it in hand by the end of the day.

You’d best hope so, Miss Georgiana. Because you’re not going home until I have it, and if it takes too long, I might be tempted to see what Rafferty finds so appealing about you. ”

“Rafferty doesn’t care about me, I told you.” Couldn’t he hear the ring of truth in her voice?

“We’ll see how long it takes him to come after you. Then we’ll decide. If I were you, I’d hope I was wrong. If you’re of no value to me, then I’d have to get rid of you.”

“You could let me go home,” she said in a small voice.

“Can’t do that. You’d tell the police and I’m already paying enough to keep them off my back.”

“What are you going to do with me?” she asked.

His toothy grin merely widened.

The night was closing early around the house in Corinth Place when Rafferty returned from his grandmother’s house, and thankfully there was no sign of Georgie.

Bertha was in her element, ordering her two assistants in the kitchen, and he didn’t make the mistake of asking her where Georgie was.

The less he saw of her the better—even the trace of her scent in the air sent the blood pounding in his veins, and he suspected Martina knew it.

He knew what was wrong with him—he was infatuated, and right at the time that he’d finally managed to drive her away.

He needed to get away from her—that would erase her from his mind and soul quite effectively.

But until then, he was growing more and more obsessed, avoiding her with ferocious dedication.

He had to leave, he told her he was leaving, but he wasn’t quite sure he could.

He was an idiot, and he knew it, but he was well and truly trapped.

He couldn’t leave this place without satisfying Billy Stiles—it was too dangerous to the family, and to Georgie in particular.

He’d been fool enough to betray himself to Stiles, and he knew that Georgie mattered to him.

Stiles wouldn’t dare touch her, but that would only last so long.

Sooner or later, he was going to break the leash on his partially civilized behavior and then God knew what would happen.

Billy Stiles had cut more throats than most of his men could even count, and he wouldn’t hesitate. ..

“Where is everyone?” he demanded of Bertha, who fixed him with a stern eye.

“Miss Norah and Lady Manning are still out visiting or whatever they call it,” she said irritably.

“And Georgie?”

“Miss Georgiana,” she corrected. “Never you mind where she is. It’s a good thing she’s not hanging around after you—maybe she’s finally over you. You leave her alone.”

He knew what was wrong with Georgie. He’d botched it when he took her to bed, and the time in the butler’s pantry had sealed it. She was a gently bred girl, she was probably horrified by the whole experience and she couldn’t face him.

He had butler duties to perform, and he headed for the stillroom, but something stopped him. He wasn’t going to be able to move ahead until he was sure she was safe.

He moved silently up the backstairs, heading toward the bedrooms. The doors were closed, keeping the heat inside, and when he reached Georgie’s, he hesitated. He told her he wouldn’t see her again. Wouldn’t touch her again. Could he keep that promise? He knocked on the door.

There was no answer, and he knocked a little more loudly. Finally he pushed the door open to find the room deserted, and a feeling of foreboding came over him. She was probably in the library, reading one of her French novels, but there was no sign of her. Anywhere.

Finally, he knocked on Neddy’s door, pushing it open to see Neddy and Martina curled up on a sofa, a pack of cards between them. “Have you see Miss Georgiana?”

Neddy looked up, a lot more sharp-eyed than he’d first been. In fact, he hadn’t passed out at the table or been carried to bed in days—Martina must have worked her magic. “Where’s Georgie?”

“I don’t know. I can’t find any sign of her in the house.”

Martina had jumped up, smoothing her skirts. “Do you suppose she’s gone out? She would have asked one of us to accompany her.”

“That’s the last thing she’s going to ask me,” he said bitterly.

“Why shouldn’t she?” Neddy asked, his new sobriety inconvenient.

“You know she has a crush on Rafferty,” Martina said patiently. “I told her it was a waste of time.”

“What did you say?” Rafferty demanded.

“My sister’s in love with the butler?” Neddy demanded, sharp-eyed.

“It’s infatuation, nothing more. I told her he didn’t care about her and she finally believed me,” Martina said.

“And now we can’t find her,” Rafferty said bitterly.

“You don’t suppose she’s gone out on her own?” she asked.

“That’s exactly what she’s done,” Rafferty said. “I’m going to beat her.”

“I beg your pardon!” Neddy said frostily.

“I’ll explain it to you later,” Martina told him. “In the meantime, we need to find her before Stiles does.”

“Who the hell is Stiles?” Neddy said.

“Later,” Martina said. “We need to go.”

Neddy rose. “I’m going too. She’s my sister, after all.”

Martina merely nodded, and Rafferty observed the two of them with no particular surprise and no room for worry.

Georgie was missing, and that was enough fear to keep him going until he found the wretched brat.

Whether he was going to spank her or kiss her was the question, so maybe it was a good idea that her brother was searching too.