Although Georgiana immediately opened her mouth to ask what made the woman pause, she was quick to change her mind. She wasn’t certain she wanted Mrs. Helen gossiping too much like this, or else it might prompt the woman to gossip about her.
At least until they knew each other a little better, Georgiana decided she had best wait on such matters.
It is curious. She almost doesn’t seem fond of them. How could that be? If the Duke is rarely here, then she wouldn’t know the Carlisle family. She definitely wouldn’t know about Benedict. The Duke seemed quite close with him when I saw them together in my father’s house. And yet Benedict is the one who stood me up—that must be it, why Mrs. Helen has decided not to like them.
“Is there anything more I can do for you?”
With a shake of her head, Georgiana excused Mrs. Helen from her bedchamber. She took a seat near the large windows after tugging back the curtains, where she could see across the street and into the square.
Few people were up and about out there in the world. Sipping her hot chocolate, she enjoyed her view and tried to find pieces of her new life that she could grow excited about.
Opening the curtains helped greatly brighten her room, Georgiana decided. And yet countless repairs needed to be made to render it a respectable space. That included most of the other rooms she’d explored on her tour with the housekeeper yesterday afternoon.
I wonder if I would be permitted to make some changes. I know Father referenced some pin money that I shall have from my mother, but unfortunately, I will still need to speak with my new husband to confirm any numbers. I’ll need to consider such budgeting to make decisions.
She changed into one of the morning dresses she knew she could manage by herself, and then loosely pinned her hair with the curls that had lingered from yesterday’s affair. It was all done so quickly, readying for the day, that Georgiana soon stood in front of her bedchamber door, with her hand on the handle.
All she had to do was to pull it open. Then she would be out and about in the house.Herhouse. A simple thing, and yet it made her stomach churn. She swallowed her nerves to brace herself. Three deep breaths later, she bravely stepped out into the hall.
Nothing happened. She scolded herself for her nerves. As she convinced herself some food would help her courage grow, Georgiana started off toward the dining room. She made her way down the stairs, only to pause.
“Left?” she mumbled, tapping her bottom lip. “Or right?”
No one was close enough to answer. Georgiana hesitated a moment before turning left. She only made it to the next corner before she heard voices that made her slow down.
“It wasn’t your place!” an unfamiliar voice snapped. Something about it made her skin crawl, and she drew to a halt.
The other voice was the Duke’s. He spoke harshly, his voice almost shaking. “That’s what you came to say? To what, accuse me of manipulating your son? To conspire against you?”
Georgiana leaned against the wall. She couldn’t even think about not listening. Something was going on, and her gut told her that she was involved.
“Tell me it isn’t true!”
She could feel the tension from the hall where she stood. The air itself crackled with an uncomfortable energy that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up.
A cold, harsh laugh escaped the Duke’s lips. It almost sent shivers down her spine. “You had mad machinations before, Uncle, but this goes far beyond anything you’d ever accused me of.”
Her mouth hung open as she realized who her new husband was talking to. This had to be the Marquess of Carlisle, Benedict’s father.
“Get out.”
“Not until you tell me the truth! You knew what Benedict was planning, and you helped him get out of this. It’s your fault he’s weak. You ruined everything!” the Marquess hissed.
Georgiana couldn’t bring herself to move even as footsteps started in her direction, growing louder by the second.
The man who had nearly become her father-in-law appeared. He stood at her height, with a bulbous nose and oiled black hair glued to his scalp. His looks were not aided by the putrid yellow day coat he wore.
As he stepped into the hall, he shot her a cold glare. But he said nothing as he stormed past her and disappeared. All he left behind was the scent of cheroot and an unsettling feeling in her stomach.
Putting a hand over her heart did nothing to quell its wild beating. Although Georgiana tried not to be upset over what she had just heard, she couldn’t stand there and do nothing.
Mama always said I must act how I see fit, didn’t she?
She was breathing a little unevenly on her way to the parlor the Marquess had left. She stepped into the room before she spotted Owen. Her husband had moved to the mantlepiece to rest his arm against it, over his head. He stared at the unlit fireplace with tight shoulders.
“Your Grace?” Georgiana squeaked.
He whirled around. His free hand had been on his forehead, she realized, but now it dropped down to his side. Then he dropped the other. She watched him try to compose himself, suppress the emotions roiling within him.
