Page 9 of A Scarred Wallflower for the Duke
“Marcus.” Georgina laughed a little. “You have not made a mess of anything.” She shot him a playful smile. “For once.” She watched her brother’s shoulders sink as he visibly relaxed. “I am sorry,” she said. “I just have a lot on my mind at present.”
“Anything I can help with?”
Not in a million years.She shook her head, offering him a sweet smile. “No. Thank you. I shall manage.”
“How could you do that, Grandmother!” Lydia’s distraught cry floated down the passage, making them both turn toward the doorway.
“Oh no.” Marcus was on his feet. “Whatever has happened now?”
He and Georgina followed Lydia’s raised voice down the hallway into the sitting room. Lydia was pacing back and forth across the room, tears flooding her cheeks. The Dowager Viscountess was glaring at her, eyes unforgiving.
“Whatever is going on?” asked Georgina, looking between her grandmother and sister.
Lydia sniffed, shooting another poisonous glare at the Dowager. “Grandmother sent away the man I love.”
Georgina blinked, sure she had misheard. “Pardon?”
Lydia is in love?
She grabbed her sister’s wrist to stop her pacing. “Lydia, what is all this about?”
Lydia wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “I am sorry I did not tell you earlier, Georgie. Peter—Lord Renshaw—and I wanted to keep things quiet until the time was right. He was going to speak to you all at the ball last night. Make his intentions known. But then grandmother announced this match with the Duke of Levinton…” Lydia dissolved in a fresh rush of tears.
“The Duke of Levinton is a very fine match,” the Dowager Viscountess snapped. “Far better than some lowly baron.”
“IloveLord Renshaw,” Lydia sobbed. “He is a wonderful man. Kind and generous and wise. I know you would love him too if you just gave him a chance.” She turned back to Georgina. “He came calling this morning. But Grandmother…” she coughed down her tears, “…sent him away. Can you believe she would be so rude?”
Georgina looked back at their grandmother. Her steely eyes remained unmoved.
“Well,” Marcus spoke up. Georgina had forgotten he was there. “If you ask me—”
A knock at the open door interrupted. Their butler, Jensen, poked his head into the room, eyes down. Georgina could tell he was ashamed at having overheard such a heated conversation.
“I beg your pardon, My Lord, My Lady. His Grace, the Duke of Levinton is here for Miss Lydia.”
The Dowager Viscountess’s gray eyes lit up and she clapped her hands together. “Wonderful! I trust refreshments are on their way?”
Jensen nodded. “Yes, My Lady. I will send word to the kitchen.”
The Dowager turned to Lydia. “Enough of this nonsense now, child. Go and make yourself presentable for your future husband.”
“No!” Lydia’s eyes flashed. “I shan’t marry the Duke! I shan’t!” She rushed out of the room before their grandmother could catch her.
The Dowager Viscountess sighed, shaking her head at Lydia’s dramatics. “Go and fetch her, Marcus,” she said, waving a dismissive hand in her grandson’s direction. She turned to Georgina, looping her arm through hers and marching with her toward the staircase. “Come. You and I will greet the Duke. Let him know he is welcome in our home. At least I can count on you to make a good impression.”
Caught up in the whirlwind that was her grandmother on a mission, Georgina hurried down the stairs beside her. They emerged into the foyer to find the Duke of Levinton waiting.
And for one fleeting second of horror, Georgina’s heart stopped beating.
ChapterSix
“Your Grace.” The Dowager Viscountess dropped into a dramatic curtsey and offered a hand to the Duke. “Welcome to our home. Miss Lydia will be down shortly.” Her smile was almost painfully broad. “May I introduce my eldest granddaughter, Miss Georgina Wyatt?”
How is this happening? Is fate playing some cruel joke?
Georgina managed something vaguely resembling a curtsey, half-surprised when her legs did not give way beneath her. She could feel her cheeks burning. “A pleasure to meet you, Your Grace,” she mumbled. What was wrong with her voice? Why was it coming out so high-pitched and breathy?
She offered him her hand, and for the briefest of moments, he took it in his. But that brief moment was enough to send a rush of desire shooting through Georgina’s body. Enough to reawaken the flames she had spent the entire night trying to tamp down.
