Page 47 of His Stolen Duchess
“Are you really all right?” Georgina squeezed Dottie’s hands again.
“I am,” she said. “The money you gave me really helped, and it bought me a place to stay and hide. This new position is wonderful. I can make my own way in the world, and Lord Abbington won’t come looking for me here. And don’t worry about the money. I intend to pay you back every penny.”
“No,” Georgina said. “That was a gift, and I was glad to give it to you. The best way you can pay me back is by impressing the Duke with your work and giving your child the best life possible once it arrives.”
“Oh, I will,” Dottie gushed. “Thank you so much. It is a pleasure to see you again, Your Grace. Now, I must go and help the others while there is still work to be done.”
Georgina smiled and nodded. She watched Dottie go, then turned back to the coach and the Duke, who was wagging an accusatory finger into the coach’s dark interior and saying something.
“Oh, no! Oh, Mr. Squawksby, please don’t argue with him.” Georgina dashed back to the coach to put an end to the argument between her husband and her cheeky, feathered friend.
“Oh, my goodness, it is so good to see you, Juliana!” Georgina hugged her sister and held on tight.
“We’re so glad you could come and visit us,” Juliana replied. “It only seems like yesterday that you were married, but it’s already been a month. That’s a terribly long time not to see you.”
“Now that I am more settled, I hope to be able to see the family more. It has been a whirlwind of a month.”
“Come, Vincent is in the sitting room, and I have had the cook make far too many cakes for us to eat, and we can wash down all the sugars with some hot Congou.”
“Congou?” Georgina asked. “I thought you preferred Earl Grey over black tea?”
“I do, but Vincent prefers good black tea like Congou. I’m sure you’re aware that in a marriage, you must make some sacrifices and learn to compromise.”
As of late, the Duke has been doing more of the compromising than I have. I never should have brought Mr. Squawksby with us.
“Yes, you need to make sacrifices,” Georgina agreed.
“Come, let me lead you to the sitting room.”
Georgina followed Juliana into her townhouse, commenting on the beautiful decor as she walked down the hallway. When they reached the sitting room, Juliana gestured inside, and Georgina entered, ready to greet Juliana’s husband, Vincent.
Her mouth dropped open in delighted shock. Vincent was by the window, conversing with Ava and Emily’s husbands, Oliver and Ambrose, and her two sisters were standing to their left, waiting for her arrival.
Both ran toward her at the same time, grabbing their youngest sister and hugging her tightly. Juliana also joined them, and the four spent a long time embracing each other. Georgina couldn’t remember the last occasion they were all together. Perhaps ithad been during her wedding, but they didn’t have a lot of time to visit back then.
“Will the Duke of Windermere not be joining us?” Vincent asked from the window.
“No, I’m afraid not,” Georgina replied. “He has a lot of business to attend to, and it will take up a lot of his time.”
Vincent nodded and went back to conversing with the other two men.
“Come, please sit,” Juliana said.
“I can’t believe you are all here!” Georgina exclaimed. “What brings you all to London like this?”
“We’re here to see you, sister,” Ava said. “We haven’t seen you for so long, and we wanted to make sure you were fine.”
Georgina sat down and tried not to frown. “Of course, I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”
Juliana gestured to the maid, and she came over with a fresh pot of tea, pouring some into each of the four teacups set out on the table. After returning the tea to the tea cart, she wheeled over the cake cart.
“We weren’t saying anything,” Juliana said. “We know you can take care of yourself. Ava was only asking after you. There’s no need to get defensive.”
“I wasn’t getting defensive.” She turned to Ava. “I apologize. It has been a blur this past month, and I still can’t believe I’m married. It really was quite unusual, wasn’t it?”
“You are in good company,” Ava said. “Getting married in a normal way is overrated, don’t you think?”
Georgina giggled.
