“If I may? Mr. Markham can usually be found in his office.” He dropped his gaze to the floor in deferential respect.
Georgina smiled. “Thank you,” she murmured.
His gaze shot up and he returned her smile.
So here she stood, two…no, now three hours, one bath, one meal, and one painful hair-arrangement later, outside his office.
His door was closed as if to say go away, you are unwanted.
She stuck her tongue out at the wood. Well, that was fine, she’d been unwanted the better part of her life.
“Did you just stick your tongue out at the door?”
Georgina screeched and spun around. Her hand covered her thundering heart.
Her wide-eyed gaze shot from where Adam stood several feet away, leaning against the wall, to the closed door. “I thought—you…I…” She stopped talking.
He shoved away from the wall and stalked her like a wild beast stalking its prey and, oh God, how she wanted to be caught. Longed to lay herself bare for him. Her wanton desires turned her skin hot with embarrassment.
“Were you looking for me, Georgina?” A teasing sparkle glinted within the depths of his green eyes.
She wet her lips. “I—I may have been,” she conceded. She couldn’t conjure any real excuse for being outside his office.
“Did you stick your tongue out at my door?”
Her skin grew ten shades warmer. “I—I may have.” She could have kicked herself for answering, but doing so would garner even more attention than the whole sticking her tongue out business, so she contented herself with closing her mouth.
Adam tipped her chin up, forcing her to meet his gaze. His breath, a sweet blend of mint and coffee, wafted over her skin. He lowered his mouth and claimed her lips. She swayed on her feet, but Adam was there to steady her. Georgina pulled away. Her lids fluttered open. “I love you.” The words spilled from her before she could even try to call them back.
Except she didn’t want to call them back.
She loved him. There was no helping it. She had loved him a very, very long time, and would not be sorry for it.
Adam’s expression grew shuttered. “I…thank you.”
Thank you?
Georgina swore she could hear her own heart rending beneath her breast. She took a deep breath. His love would not come overnight. He’d loved Grace for many years; he could not so easily switch his affections to her, plump, plain Georgina Wilcox.
Pride leeched into her spine, stiffening it. No, not Wilcox. Markham. Grace may have had Adam at some point, but she had given him up. He belonged to her now. He might not love her—yet—but she would do everything in her power to change that.
She smiled up at him as if she’d not just had her words of love offset by a courteously polite response. Searching for something, anything to shift the conversation, she said, “Were you looking for me?”
His relieved-sounding sigh indicated he was just as eager to discuss anything but her awkward profession of love. “My mother came by.”
Georgina’s stomach twisted into a painful knot. She thought she might rather discuss her words of love than discuss his mother. “I…uh…how lovely.”
His lips twitched at her obvious lie. “We discussed your debut.”
“My debut?” To her own ears, she sounded like the parrot capable of mimicry she’d once seen at a fair in Bristol.
“My mother wants to help you—help us,” he amended.
Georgina wanted to stamp her foot in protest. She didn’t want to have a debut. In fact, she’d be quite content to disappear to some far-flung corner of the world to keep reality from intruding on her and Adam’s growing feelings for each other. Adam smiled, but Georgina could see the nervous lines of tension at the corners of his mouth and knew her response meant a great deal. She sighed, relenting. She would do anything for him. Even if it meant going out like a lamb to the slaughter.
“I’d be glad for her help,” she murmured.
Adam raised her hand to his lips. “I will not leave you alone. We’ll do this all together, Georgina. I’m sure the moment my mother left she’d already contacted the most respected dance instructor and tutors.”
Tutors?
Dance instructors?
It made sense. Why would Adam ever suspect she’d already been trained in the most popular dances? Why should he think she spoke French, Italian, and a smattering of Latin? Her father had scoffed at her ability to acquire languages, said a lady only had a need for the basic elements of a language. Nonetheless, Georgina was fairly fluent.
Adam only knew her as the battered maid in Bristol. He didn’t know that her father was a wealthy merchant or that she’d had her own Bristol version of a Season. She gulped as she faced the growing realization that it would be harder and harder to keep her many lies straight.
Adam nuzzled her neck and her body shivered in heated response. “I want to make love to you,” he whispered against her ear.
Georgina’s head fell back on a groan and, there for any servant who happened to pass by, Adam swept her into his office. He kicked the door shut with the heel of his boot and proceeded to make love to her.
And Georgina allowed herself to believe that mayhap it would all turn out all right.
Fox has earned Emmet’s displeasure. He defied Emmet’s orders to focus on supplying United Irish veterans with muskets. Instead, Fox believes the cause is best served by determining the identities of The Brethren.
Signed,
A Loyal British Subject
Chapter 16
When he’d made the claim to his mother that Georgina would not need more than the three winter months to prepare for the Season, Adam had secretly been filled with hesitancy.
Georgina completed the intricate steps of a quadrille with Tony.
He grinned. His wife was a woman of many talents.
Since his tense wedding day, Mother had come around where Georgina was concerned. With her kind spirit and genuine warmth, it would appear Georgina had charmed his mother. Even Nick appeared to be more easy-spirited around Georgina.
But then, Georgina had that effect on people. She said something to Tony, who threw his head back and laughed uproariously. His brother stumbled over his feet and nearly took Georgina down with him. At the last moment, he righted his footing and prevented them from crashing to the floor. They collapsed into a fit of laughter.
Adam smiled. Initially, he’d battled waves of jealousy over Tony’s seeming infatuation with his wife. Tony, however, had been Adam and Georgina’s greatest ally and, eying him as he moved her down a line of imaginary dancers, Adam could forgive his little brother’s seeming fascination. Georgina’s quiet hesitancy and fear had lifted, replaced by this gay, sparkling wood fairy. How could Tony not be charmed?