Page 61 of The Viscount's Diamond Bride
It would have done no good, however. The streets of London were busy, heavy with traffic, and the carriage crawled along at a slow pace.
At last, atlast, however, the carriage pulled up in front of Sinclair House, and Ursula stumbled out before the footman even had a chance to get to the door.
Richards greeted her at the top of the steps, looking mildly confused.
“Is something the matter, your ladyship?”
“Matter? I, uh, no,” Ursula stammered. “Is the Dowager at home?”
“I believe so, but she is in her rooms.”
“Excellent. And Lord Sinclair, is he home?”
“Not yet, your ladyship.”
She deflated a little. All that anxiety over the trip, and Graham wasn’t even here. She had made up her mind, though. They would sit down and talk about it plainly and simply. It would be enough.
Richards gently cleared his throat. “You do, however, have a guest, your ladyship.”
Ursula blinked, frowning. “A guest? At this hour? Who is it?”
“Your cousin, Miss Georgiana Worth, your ladyship. She is waiting for you in the parlour.”
Georgie, never being able to sit still, was pacing up and down the parlour when Ursula entered. She came hurrying towards her, eyes wide.
“I thought you were never coming back, Cousin,” Georgie breathed. “For mercy’s sake, what is the matter? You’re as white as a sheet, and your hair is dishevelled. There are tendrils around your forehead. Here, let me…”
She trailed off, and Ursula was obliged to stand still while her cousin tucked hair back into its swept-up style.
“Tea, please, Richards,” Ursula requested, and the butler bowed neatly and stepped out of the room.
“I am so glad to see you,” Georgie sighed, taking Ursula’s hand. The two of them sank onto the sofa, Georgie still clutching at Ursula. “You were such a triumph at the ball the other night, I started to believe that all was well with you and Lord Sinclair.”
Ursula flinched, eyeing her cousin narrowly.
“I don’t understand. Are you implying that all is not well with my husband and I?”
Georgie groaned. “You don’t know. Iknewhe would not have told you. I have something to tell you, Ursula.”
Ursula drew back, guarded. “I am not sure that I want to hear it.”
“Please, just… just give me a moment, can’t you?”
Ursula folded her hands on her lap, pressed her lips together tightly, and exhaled.
“Very well. Tell me what you came here to say, Cousin. But know that I don’t wish to hear anything against my husband.”
Georgie bit her lip, staring into space for a long moment.
Whatever it is, she’s having second thoughts about telling me,Ursula thought. A sensation of unease had begun to coil in her chest, and she had a strange, vivid image of a snakesqueezing itself about her heart, tighter and tighter until the put-upon muscle gave out entirely.
“There was a woman with whom Lord Sinclair was very much in love with, shortly after his father first died,” Georgie said at last. “Her name was Jane Whitmore, and she was a merchant’s daughter. It was all rather hushed up, but he was wildly in love with her. Wanted to wed her, even though she would of course never be received by any proper families, viscountess or not. It was said that the business reached such scandalous proportions that he was so determined to wed her that the dowager had to intervene. But he did love her that was for sure.”
Ursula cleared her throat, tilting up her chin. “Being in love with somebody else is not a crime. I imagine it was half a decade ago, in any case.”
Georgie’s eyes widened. “Oh, not so! I have heard that it was only two years ago.”
Ursula flinched at that. Two years could be a dreadfully long time, but also a very slow one, if one was recovering from the loss of the love of one’s life.
