Page 62 of Much Ado about a Widow

Lady St. Just raised one delicate eyebrow. “Apparently only at the breakfast table.”

In the mayhem that ensued, Rob gathered bits and pieces of the story, laughing himself finally at the mad circumstances that had led to Georgie’s display of golfing and his own unwitting part in the farce.

“I will admit, my life has had not one quiet moment since I met Lady Georgina.” Rob took her hand and kissed it. “But I would not change one moment of it. Well”—he stopped and seemed to consider—“I admit I would change having to leap into icy cold water, if I could. Although I would then have missed a terribly efficient method of warming oneself up.” His eyes twinkled at Georgie, and the heat rose in her cheeks. “You must demonstrate it again, my dear.”

“Speaking of our first journey”—she tried to shift the subject from that terribly intimate moment—“when will we begin our next voyage together, Rob? I recall last time we had to hurry to catch the evening tide. Will we leave in the evening again?”

“Not this time. After breakfast Jem and I will go to the harbor and make ready the ship. I’ve sent round to the crew, so they will be arriving shortly.” He looked up as Jemmy entered. “Just the man I wanted to see. Will you come down to the ship with me? There is much to do if we are to leave tomorrow morning.” He smiled at Georgie. “That is when the tide should be running right.”

“It’s been a few years since I sailed, other than this short journey, but I hope I can be of some service to you, Rob.” Jemmy settled into the chair beside Elizabeth. “You are not too fatigued this morning, my dear? You had a very late night. Perhaps you should go lie down, and I shall bring you a tray.”

Georgie got the feeling her sister-in-law was rolling her eyes inwardly. Elizabeth already had two children from her previous marriage, so carrying a child was nothing new to her. She’d confided to Georgie that sometimes Jemmy managed to be too solicitous toward her. “I wish to be thought capable of more than just carrying this child,” had been Elizabeth’s sentiment when they’d been at Fanny’s wedding. Perhaps that was why Elizabeth had insisted on accompanying Jemmy to Cornwall. Well, good for Elizabeth. What was life without a bit of adventure?

“My lord.” Myers entered the breakfast room and bowed, a trifle of concern showing in his otherwise inscrutable face. As a rule, butlers were unflappable. Her father’s butler at the castle would likely have borne burning at the stake with the same enduring calm with which he had answered his master’s door for the past thirty years. Something was up.

“Yes, Myers?”

“There are several liveried servants at the front door demanding to be shown to Lady Georgina.”

Georgie sat up at attention. “Travers’s men?”

Rob shrugged, but rose. “They could very well be. Having not succeeded last evening, he may have decided to try brute force. I told you, Jem, we should have settled his hash while we had the chance.”

Tossing his napkin onto the table, Jemmy bounded up, his face all frowns. “Dash it, Rob, you can’t just kill a peer.”

“I could have if you’d let me. There’s no other way to have satisfaction of him, save a duel.” Rob looked thoughtful. “That is an idea. A nice, permanent solution. God knows we don’t want word of what he did to get out.”

“Well, if your butler is right, you may get your chance sooner rather than later.”

“True. Summon all the footmen, grooms, coachmen, and gardeners, Myers. Have them assemble in the kitchen and await my instructions. Come on, Brack.” His smoky gray eyes shone with excitement. “Let’s go see how many of these fellows we can number to our accounts in the next half an hour.”

“I’m coming too.” On her feet before she could get the sentence out, Georgie wrapped her long, China silk shawl around her shoulders like armor. “I am the cause of all this ruckus. I should at least be there to cheer you on to victory.”

“And I will accompany Georgie, Jemmy.” Elizabeth had risen as well, her face set. “My support for her has been the reason for my entire journey. I will not fail her now.” She held up a finger, not allowing her husband to rebut her statement.

“And I will not allow myself to miss this encounter for the wide world.” Lady St. Just stood and stared at her son, as if daring him to make her stay behind.

Rob took one look at the three women and shook his head. “We don’t know who we are fighting yet, although Travers’s servants seem the logical conclusion. Come with me.” Rob led them through the corridor, down the front stairs to the castle’s main door. “In any case, your safety is paramount, my dear.” He’d managed to stay beside Georgie and now spoke directly in her ear. “If this turns against us, you are to retreat to the larder. After last night’s intrusion, I instructed Joseph to take you, Lady Brack, and my mother to safety in Penzance, at the home of a friend of mine, Captain Martin. Ask him, on my behalf, to take you back to London. It won’t be an easy journey, but it will likely keep you out of the hands of Travers.”

“And what should I do then?” she hissed back, angrier than she’d ever been at him. “Do you plan to meet us in London?”

He avoided her eyes.

Just so. “As I thought. So my answer is no.”

“Georgie.” He pulled her to the side of the entry hall. “I am trying to keep you safe, my love. If something should happen to me . . .”

“If something happens to you, I will be here with you.” Her words blazed forth, spoken directly from her heart. “By your side as though I were your wife in truth, instead of just in promise. Because if something happened to you, I would not want to go on. Again. It would be too cruel. You would not do that to me, Rob.”

“You will be the death of me yet.” He sighed and pulled her into his arms. “All right. Stay here. Let me go with your brother and find out who these liveried servants are and what they want with you. Then we will know better what we can and cannot do.”

She nodded gravely and gave his hand a squeeze. “I will be waiting here for your return.”

“I love you, Georgina.” He pressed his lips fiercely to hers. “Be ready,” he said, then strode to the massive oak door, and nodded.

Myers straightened his jacket, raised his chin, and opened the door.

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