Page 14 of The Duke, My Rescue


Font Size:

“You aren’t the first anxious bride. Just think positively, won’t you? I’m sure it will all come together well,” Jean promised.

As she played with the handkerchief, crumpling it into a tight ball, Georgiana sighed. Her eyes wandered over the room that was mostly all trunks right now, then her sister, who was shoveling a biscuit in her mouth, and then to her own hands again, and she slumped.

“What a dreary day this is.”

“It’s really sunny,” Emma commented innocently with a glance toward the window.

Jean patted her on the head. “Your sister means in her heart, not outside. Do try to find some hope, My Lady. I’m sure Lord Egerton shall give you whatever your heart desires. I can always come and fetch Emma for you if he agrees. He must see how you care for her, and he shall dote on her as well.”

“I suppose.” Returning the handkerchief, Georgiana smoothed out her dress. “All right. I just need a moment, and then I shall be ready to go. Can you please take Emma down to the hall, Jean?”

“Of course. We’ll meet you there, so the two of you can ride together.”

Jean and Emma offered hopeful smiles before disappearing out the door. Once they were gone, Georgiana sucked in a heavy breath that she held for a moment before releasing. She rested her hands over her stomach and glanced at her reflection in the mirror.

Thick ringlets of light blonde hair framed her face, both short and long, so she had some hanging down her shoulders. They accentuated the soft yellow of her dress and the white lace. A string of pearls dotted her throat, a shade of white that matched her long gloves, which reached up past her elbows.

A tall woman stared back at her in the mirror, her green eyes wide in fear and her pink lips pressed tightly in a thin line between her thin cheeks. Georgiana wasn’t the prettiest woman. She knew that. But today, she hardly knew what she looked like.

“I wish you were here, Mama,” she whispered.

It would give her such courage if her mother were here. What would she have said? To give in and do as her husband asked? To fight back?

She would tell me to do everything I could for Emma. That is what she would say.

Then she would keep trying.

Straightening her shoulders, Georgiana thought not of herself but of the man she was about to marry.

“My Lord, I must request a change of your mind over the matter of my sister. Emma is very dear to me. I cannot imagine living without her. There must surely be a way to… No, no. If you would only give her a chance, then you would see she must be with me. That is, I want her to. She needs me. I must…”

She paced back and forth in her room for several minutes while trying to pull her thoughts together. The sooner she convinced her new husband to change his mind about Emma, the better. All she had to do was prepare a strong argument.

But she was running out of time.

It wasn’t long before they were leaving the house to attend the wedding. Already two trunks had come along with them to the church; the rest would be delivered by tomorrow. Her father had ridden to the church on his own, so she rode with Emma and Jean. Her sister and her maid weren’t allowed to attend, but all three of them wanted to be close for today.

“I shall watch from out here,” Emma promised.

“And I’ll keep an eye on her,” Jean chimed in while Georgiana climbed out of the carriage. She offered an encouraging smile. “Then I’ll come with some of the trunks this evening. I promise.”

“Thank you, kindly, Jean. And you, Emma… You are my favorite person,” Georgiana promised. “You always will be. Thank you for being strong.”

“I don’t want to be. I want you.”

The lump formed in her throat again. Nodding, Georgiana took a second to steady her voice. “I know. I promise we won’t be parted for long. You’ll behave yourself in my absence, won’t you?”

After glancing at Jean, her little sister sighed. “Fine. But only because I love you.”

“And I love you.” Georgiana winced when her voice broke.

“Georgiana?”

She shook her head at Jean’s anxious tone. They all knew how little she cried. There wasn’t ever a time for her to sit around in her misery. But this was at least the third time she almost burst into tears since last week. What was happening to her?

“I’ll be well. Thank you, ladies.” She managed a smile before taking her leave. She inhaled deeply before moving up to the church doors.

Her father appeared there. “You’re nearly late, my child. I expected you sooner. Right this way.”