Hart didn’t know what he wanted most—to strangle her or to kiss her senseless. Preferably both.
***
Having been balked of her prey in the morning, Aunt Agatha returned to Ashendon House in the late afternoon. Finding Georgiana out with her dog—again!—she informed the butler that she would speak to Ashendon and his wife. She found them in the small sitting room and wasted no time in presenting her views.
“Georgianamustbe made to understand. It is simply not acceptable that she cause such a disgraceful scandal and smear the reputation of this family.”
“Lily was enmeshed in a scandal, too, but—” Emm began.
Aunt Agatha dismissed it with a wave. “That was purely gossip, spiteful gossip. Georgiana’s lewd behavior, witnessedin the flesh—and far too much of it at that—her almost-bare legs were wrapped around the duke’s waist! And witnessed by half the ton!”
Cal shrugged. “Scandal gets old quickly. The tabbies will soon move their claws on to someone else.”
“Pah! You men understand nothing! And Georgiana understands less.” She trained her lorgnette on Emm. “So it is up to you and me, Emmaline, to steer this family back to respectability.”
Emm shook her head. “I won’t be a party to forcing George to marry a man she doesn’t like.”
Aunt Agatha stared at her in amazement. “What has liking to do with marriage?”
Emm glanced at her husband and smiled. “Quite a lot, actually, if the marriage is to be a happy one.” She held out her hand to him, and he took it and kissed it. And held on to it.
Aunt Agatha gave them a pained look. “I would appreciate it if you refrained from such vulgar middle-class behavior in my presence.”
Grinning, Cal kissed Emm’s hand again.
His aunt gave him a severe look. “You were irritating as a child, Calbourne, and though I occasionally have hopes for you, this is not one of those moments.”
She turned back to Emm. “Wecannotlet it be known that a second Rutherford gel has let a duke—thesameduke—slip through her fingers. The ton will start to wonder whether there is insanity in our line, and we don’t want that, do we?” She looked pointedly at Emm’s belly.
Emm just laughed. “I don’t think we need worry about that, Aunt Agatha. After all, George has made no secret of her wish not to marry. And it’s not her fault that the duke put the betrothal notice in the newspapers without consultation. I won’t allow George to be forced into marriage.”
“I concur,” Cal said.
There was a long silence. “What is the matter with this current generation? I quite despair of the future. Letting young gels decide what is best for them—faugh! It’s utter folly, mark my words.”
Emm, Cal and Aunt Agatha sat in silence. There was nothing more to say.
Just as Aunt Agatha was about to rise and depart, they heard the front door open and George laughing in the hall in response to whomever had opened the door.
The clatter of claws on the floor alerted them to the arrival of Finn. He nosed open the door and trotted over to Cal. George poked her head in, saw Aunt Agatha sittingramrod straight on the edge of her chair, pulled a face and stealthily tried to withdraw but Aunt Agatha had espied her. “Ah, Georgiana, just the gel I came to talk to.”
“I need to change my clothes. I’m damp.”
“It won’t take a minute.”
“If I stay in damp clothes, I might catch cold,” said George who’d never had a cold in her life.
“I shall come upstairs with you,” Aunt Agatha announced majestically and rose from her chair. “We can talk as you change. A nice cozy chat between gels.”
George grimaced.A nice cozy chat between gels?As cozy as sitting down with a python. But her great-aunt was not to be denied. She followed George up the stairs to her bedchamber and watched critically as she changed her clothes with the assistance of Milly, the maid.
The minute Milly left the room, Aunt Agatha started on her. “I gather you are determined to repudiate the duke’s offer.”
“I have already declined it.”
Aunt Agatha’s lips thinned. “And your uncle and aunt by marriage refuse to intervene.”
Her words warmed George. Dear Cal and Emm. “Good.”
