Page 17 of Her Duke's Second Chance

“Yes, but why didyoudo it? Why did you agree?”

She shrugged one shoulder. “My family needed the money, Your Grace.”

His face fell. “And that was the sole reason?”

She pressed her lips nodding. “What other possible reason could I have?”

“Do you not wish to be a mother? To have children?”

She gave him a cynical look. “In a way, I am a mother. I have been looking after my family almost before I was out of leading strings.”

He laughed ruefully. “I suppose that is true, seeing as you are here chasing after your sister, and they are not.”

Georgiana sighed, “My sister is a lovely girl, whimsical and naïve. Easily led. It is not her fault that she has landed in this predicament, it is mine. I do not know how it escaped my attention that the earl was wooing her, or that she was falling prey to his wiles.”

She shook her head as a wave of sadness spread across her face. “Now, if she is ruined, I will never forgive myself for it.”

“Never fear. The earl will simply have to come up to scratch if he has ruined her. We will just have to resign ourselves to having him at our dinner table.”

“She will be so unhappy with him. Daisy loveslove. She loves to be happy, carefree, and coddled. She is not accustomed to being neglected. I fear what will happen once Newston tires of her. When he has moved on to the next shiny object he finds…”

Robert’s mouth twisted scornfully. “I shall make sure to put the fear of God in him if he does.”

She gave a long, drawn-out sigh. “If only that were enough; then there would be no broken-hearted women in the world.”

He huffed in amusement. “Indeed. Now, if we intend to find them tomorrow, we must get some rest.”

He flicked a glance over to the bed, and Georgiana could feel her heart rate increasing.

She felt it prudent to discuss what would happen in the bed before they got into it, but she had no idea how to broach the subject.

“I-I-I am not ready to do anything more than sleep…with you. In the bed.”

He smirked. “Nobody has asked you to do more than that, Duchess.”

“I believe we should speak about the…boundaries of our relationship. Heaven knows it is somewhat unorthodox. If we are making our own rules, then we should do so now.”

“Is that what we are doing? Making our own rules?” he asked.

“I think so,” Georgiana said nervously.

“Well then, I think we have had enough for tonight. How about we just rest? We will have plenty of time to draw out the rules of the game once your sister is firmly in hand.”

She nodded, firmly. “Yes, I think that is a fine idea. Will you be wearing some clothes to bed?”

“No,” he said getting to his feet and offering his hand. “I am comfortable as I am.”

CHAPTER 6

“What is it?” Robert asked her as they settled into the plush cushions of the carriage.

After a fitful night during which she hardly dared move lest she unintentionally touch some part of Robert, Georgiana woke up feeling tired and disoriented.

The rain, at least, had stopped, meaning that they could continue their journey.

After a hearty breakfast, they set out in the carriage for Gretna Green.

“Oh, I was just thinking how well the gown fits. At first, I had thought it would be either too big or too small for me, considering the circumstances,” Georgiana answered.

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