Page 12 of Invitation to Pleasure
By the time she had changed and returned to the drawing room and their guests, she could see the exasperation on Rheda’s face. Her father was still trying to sell his horses. What an absolute bore. She prayed Rheda had not told her father why she had dashed off.
Before her father could scold her in front of everyone, Georgiana smiled sweetly and said, “Apologies for my absence.” She turned to look at Rheda blocking her father’s view of her face and with a glance that screamed don’t dispute my tale, she said, “Your brother is not well, my lady, and I had to organize someone to accompany him home on his steed in case he got into difficulty.”
“Oh, is that where you rushed off to. I told your father it was some sort of horse emergency.”
She silent mouthed a big ‘thank you’.
Rheda said, “I think we should return home too. We can always catch up with my brother and offer him a ride in our carriage. I’m worried about the injury he incurred the other day, but he would insist on riding.”
“What injury?” her father asked and Georgiana threw a stricken glance at Rheda. The Countess was not to know it had been her and Billy that attacked Daniel but if Rheda mentioned someone had tried to steal Apollo her father would know.
Rheda must have caught on as she quickly said before her husband could answer, “a horse incident in the stables.”
Her father nodded. “Kicked in the head was he? I’ve seen that happen often. Rest. His lordship needs rest. I’ll summons Burton to organize your carriage,” and he moved away to pull the bell.
Rheda stood and moved close and whispered in Georgiana’s ear, her tone less than friendly, “I think you owe me an explanation.” When her father looked over, Rheda added loud enough for all to hear. “I would take it as a great kindness if you’d allow your daughter to visit with me tomorrow. I do miss female company. Perhaps Lady Georgiana could join us for lunch at Hascombe Hall.”
She could hardly decline given what Rheda had surmised about Daniel’s head injury. “I’m sure I shall be delighted.”
On that note their guests departed and her father retired to his study, probably to drink himself to sleep dreaming of the horses he might get Lord Hascombe to buy. Her father would be disappointed in the morning.
Georgiana retired too but couldn’t sleep. She’d left the curtains undrawn so that she’d wake early. She would ride to Hascombe at sun up and see how Colton was.
She lay in bed watching the moonlight flicker over the ceiling whenever the clouds moved over the moon. She ran her fingers over her lips and pressed her thighs together remembering his touch and how good it made her feel.Wanton.Daniel. Daniel filled her thoughts. Handsome, virile, passionate, desirous. Why were her flesh and her heart so weak? Perhaps that was the curse of all women—to have dispositions to love men regardless of their moral compasses. Like her mother.
Why did fate have to bring such a man into her life just as she was about to escape.
He was nicer than her father. She at least knew that. The man clearly loved horses and was kind. Plus he had not told her father or Lord Hascombe that she’d tried to steal Apollo. Or who had knocked him out. What she could not work out was why? Did he intend to use this information in some way when it suited him?
She’d never met a man who did anything just to be kind. And his words in the stable tonight hinted that Daniel was no exception.
But what kept her awake was not the fear of what he would do with the information, but the feeling of hurt swimming in her gut. He had kissed her as if she was his world. Was he false? Is this how her mother thought of her father?
She had wanted Daniel to be different. She swallowed hard. She liked him and that made him dangerous. She’d always said she would never let a man close enough to hurt her and Daniel’s words ‘pay me back’ cut like a knife deep into her chest.
And she didn’t know what she was going to do about it because to her horror she still liked him. She couldn’t stop thinking about him. But could she trust him?
She fell asleep planning how to test Daniel and what he wanted from her. It was terribly annoying that she looked forward to it.
Daniel slowly stirredawake still exhausted from his long night in the stable attending Colton. He’d fallen into bed at dawn’s light dreaming of long fair hair and soft creamy skin lying next to his. And in his dreams he’d kissed every inch of her skin.
Georgiana immediately filled his waking thoughts too.
He was about to roll over onto his back and instigate another sensual dream when a delicate feminine cough made him freeze. He glanced over his shoulder to see Rheda sitting on the edge of his bed and flopped back to the sheets, inwardly groaning as his erection withered.
“You normally don’t sleep this late. Were you up into the early hours with the horse you brought back from Lord Wentworth’s.”
Trust his sister to know everything before he woke. “Her father would have shot the horse. What else was I to do?”
“From what I hear from Michael we may have to anyway.”
He rolled over onto his back. “That is why I did not get to bed until dawn. I wanted to see if the inflammation had gone down at all with the heat.”
“And has it?”
He yawned before nodding.
“Then you can explain to me why you did not tell me it was Georgiana who hit you over the head and tried to steal Apollo.”
