“I know. Maybe I’ll redecorate it later. But you like it, and I think I like it, too.” The smile Georgiana offered was friendly and charming. It was impossible for him not to return her smile. “For now, I think we’re just fine the way we are.”
Is she still talking about the room, or something else?
There wasn’t a chance to ask Georgiana the question, as their first course was served. Owen nodded his thanks for the soup. He enjoyed a few sips before his wife asked politely about his horse-riding habits.
It was a friendly sort of conversation. There were safe topics for them to discuss, he learned—ones that wouldn’t irritate him. As he kept in mind his promise to Georgiana, Owen worked hard to make the most of their supper.
But the invitation to the ball was still somewhere in his thoughts, fishing around for a chance to make its way into their conversation. During the last course, he couldn’t take it any longer.
“I noticed the mail today,” he said lightly, hoping it didn’t come across as suspicious.
Glancing up from her fruit tart, Georgiana started to smile before her expression sobered up. “The mail? Did anything interesting arrive?”
“Erm, not much. Mostly correspondence…” He realized he was tapping his leg and hastily stopped. “But I did find an invitation. It looked like it might be for a ball.”
“It looked like it might be for a ball?” she echoed.
This was not going as well as he had hoped. Owen considered changing tact. Shifting uncomfortably in his chair, he mumbled, “I might have glanced at it. Only for a moment. Maybe it didn’t say it was for a ball, after all.”
Setting down her cutlery, his wife said, “No, you are right. Or I should say your suspicions were right. My aunt and uncle are hosting a ball, and my cousin, Marjory, specifically requested my attendance.” He glanced back down. “I wasn’t certain I would attend.”
Owen glanced at her. “No?”
Georgiana sighed loudly. “Balls can be so tedious and lonely. I would have Marjory, of course, but she would be helping her mother, you see.”
“Ah. I see.”
“Yes. So… I don’t know if I will go.”
He nodded while staring at his mostly uneaten fruit tart. It was a delicious little treat. He liked it more than the chocolate cake that was usually served. Resisting the urge to drum his fingers on the table, Owen stewed in the growing silence. It gnawed at him like a hungry dog would a bone.
He hadn’t attended many balls in the past. He understood what Georgiana meant about attending on her own. Even attending with family or friends didn’t guarantee an exciting evening. Just the thought of having everyone stare at him left him feeling rather unsettled. They would stare and whisper and wonder. He couldn’t very well forget all the rumors about him circling about the ton.
And yet he could also picture Georgiana there, smiling, dancing, laughing, with the candlelight flickering across her soft features. She would surely dazzle everyone present, and a woman, he found himself thinking, deserved to dazzle.
Maybe there is something I should do about this. Would that be reasonable? But perhaps she doesn’t actually want my company. Or she does, and she doesn’t know how to ask for it? Would she, after everything I have put her through?
“I could,” Owen blurted out suddenly. “I could go. With you, that is.” He cleared his throat and pulled himself together. This was not the time to act like a child. “Perhaps we should make an appearance. That way, you would not attend alone. Only if this is something you wish for, of course.”
“Really?” Georgiana leaned forward, smiling at him. “You would? I mean, that would be rather nice. It could be nice, don’t you think?”
Feeling inordinately pleased, he nodded. “Yes, I agree.”
“Very good. Then we shall attend the ball together this week.”
The two of them sat across from each other, smiling like fools until a footman appeared to clear away their plates. It broke the strange silence in the room. A strange silence that had not been awkward or tense or upsetting. In fact, Owen thought it had been rather nice.
He excused himself after supper, hastily leaving the room. Up the stairs, he went to his greenhouse. The place was quiet and empty and peaceful.
Still, his heart hammered in his chest as he stared about at his growing plants. Owen tried to focus on his plans for every one of them. But even here, he could hardly focus, especially after supper. This might have been the one place where everything went his way, but now Georgiana was on his mind.
I have the strangest feeling that she is going to be there for some time. Perhaps I should get used to it. What happens if I stop fighting her?
It was a question that began to consume him.
CHAPTER21
Exhaling slowly, Georgiana studied her reflection in the mirror.
