Her father gave Emma a pointed look before shaking his head. “Emma, say goodbye to your sister. I’m afraid she needs to be on her way home—where she belongs. We do not shame our families by leaving them, and I will not allow us to be embarrassed. You’re a duchess, Georgiana, and we are your family. You need to act with grace. I know you were raised better than this. London will not hear of a duchess hiding away in her father’s house.”
As he spoke, Emma clung to Georgiana, who held onto her in return. She stared at her father while trying to hate him. Her eyes burned as more tears threatened to fall.
Judging by her father’s tone, there was simply no chance to negotiate with him as she had hoped. The hurt stung. Georgiana hugged her sister one last time.
“I wanted you to stay and have cakes,” Emma whispered.
“I know. I know.” Georgiana exhaled to calm herself. “Father is right. I should have been polite and requested an invitation. So, I shall go away and write to you so I can come again soon. Then we shall eat all the cakes.”
Her sister pulled back. “Promise me about the cakes.”
“I promise.” Georgiana kissed her cheek. She let out a pained laugh when Emma wrinkled her nose and departed. Then she turned to her father, who was watching the little girl as well. “Do you despise me this much?”
“No.” He turned back to her. “You’re my daughter, Georgiana. I’m proud of how far you have come. That is exactly why you cannot return. We do not move backwards. You should know this by now.”
All she could do was blink. Her father’s stern words reverberated through her as she considered them.
She wanted to hate him, and yet she couldn’t. He didn’t hate her either. It was a fear she had for a long time. The way he had treated her was never cruel, though she wouldn’t call it kind.
Even though she had told herself that he loved her in his own way, Georgiana supposed she had always worried about what her father really thought. But his words helped now. She could understand it. He was, in his own way, trying to help her. He didn’t know everything about what she did and why she did it, but he wasn’t entirely wrong.
And she hated that.
I wish I could run far away. I wish I could run into my papa’s arms and feel safe and hidden from the world. All I want to do is flee from the pain of the truth. But Father is right. I hate it, but I cannot run away from everything. I have to face my husband once and for all.
Nodding slowly, Georgiana met his gaze. “Thank you.”
His eyes widened in mild surprise. It appeared like he wanted to say something more. But at last, he nodded and then walked off, leaving her there on her own.
What happened next, she knew, she had to do alone.
CHAPTER30
Owen stared at his footman. “What do you mean she left?”
Thomas glanced over at the groom and then back at him. “Er, Your Grace… she left. On her horse.”
“But where?” Owen demanded.
They were going around in circles, he was certain. He was growing dizzy. His stomach was in knots, and he could hardly think straight.
There were only two things he knew right now. One, that Georgiana had run away from home. From him. And two, no one could tell him where she had gone.
I don’t understand it. I don’t understand her. We were talking, weren’t we? Why wouldn’t she let me explain? Just because Benedict loved someone before her didn’t mean that he wouldn’t have come to love her eventually if they married. I wasn’t in a position to tell her. But I apologized. I never meant to hurt her.
No matter what Owen did, he couldn’t seem to piece together exactly where things went wrong. He felt like he was missing something.
Her. I am missing her.
He hated missing anything. But never had it felt like this. There was a hole in his heart, and he was bleeding profusely. It hurt to move, to breathe, to think.
Never had he expected to be caught up in the throes of feelings such as these. He knew how dangerous they could be. Caring for others brought risks, but he had never known just how it could hurt in this way.
“Gah!” Pent-up rage had him kicking the ground, tossing up dirt and rocks. It was childish, but he couldn’t help himself. He clenched his hands into fists and wondered how he could possibly fix this.
“Oh!”
He whirled around as a slight figure stumbled back and dropped the two bags she had been carrying. Although she hadn’t come in contact with him or the rocks, she must have rounded the corner quickly without expecting to see him.
