He was pleased to see Miss Rutherford seemed to be at a complete loss as to how to reply to that, and it wasn’t entirely a lie, either. If Felicia took too long to reply to him, he might very well decide to go to France to find her and get his answer.
Of course, he would come back as quickly as he possibly could, but he felt no need to share that information. Instead, he let the sentence hang, implying he might stay a long while.
“I see…” she eventually said in a quiet tone. “And is there anything here worth staying for?”
Her real question was clear, so he decided to make his reply equally clear. “I am afraid not.”
She was silent for the rest of the dance, and afterwards she departed with only a few words out of simple courtesy. He was relieved he was now left to himself, especially when he caught a glimpse of Georgiana with Rowley beside her…
Now he knew without a doubt the man was indeed romantically interested in her, he felt equally confident he was the one who had started the rumor.
Unfortunately, there was no way in which he could prove it, not yet at least. Until he heard back from Felicia, there was nothing he could do. He hoped more than ever, she wouldn’t take too long to write back to him…
***
The next morning, Georgiana woke up feeling far from rested. She hardly said a word to Lucy, as the young maid got her ready for the day. As the ball had lasted so late the previous night, breakfast was also late, and she felt no hurry to get to the breakfast table.
She felt even less inclined to begin the day, when she saw Ambrose was already there with her aunt and uncle at the table. She brushed away the uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach and smiled at all of them.
She was courting Ambrose. It was ridiculous to be anything other than happy to see him, especially since he was so obviously delighted to see her.
“Good morning,” she told the others, as Ambrose jumped up from his seat to hold her chair for her.
As the others replied in kind, she noticed a peculiar sort of smile on Jonas’s face. Looking at her aunt, she found the same smile there, as well.
“So,” her uncle began after glancing at his wife. “I must admit I was surprised by a piece of news this morning.”
Georgiana was on the brink of asking what news could make him smile so, when she felt Ambrose openly grab her hand and hold it in his own as he sat beside her. She glanced up in surprise that he would do such a thing in front of Jonas and Adelaide. Then, she realized without asking what her uncle meant.
“Just imagine me, barely awake, when I heard the butler tell me Ambrose was here and wanting to speak to me,” Jonas continued. “I was concerned, at first, something might be wrong. However, by the time he had finished asking my permission to court you, you can rest assured I was fully awake.”
Though she felt her uncle wanted her to reply, to say something to affirm it was real, her mind felt blank. Fortunately, a small smile from her seemed to be sufficient.
“I suppose I am left with just one question, dear Georgiana,” he said as he reached over and held her other hand, looking earnestly in her eyes as his amusement faded. “Is this what you want? Mr. Rowley has made it perfectly clear, and I have no doubts that he desires it. But, as my niece, your wishes will always come first.”
She felt a strong desire to turn away from the searching gaze, but she held herself fast, concentrating on all the dear things about Ambrose which had made her agree to court him in the first place.
“Yes. I am certain it is what I want,” she finally managed to say. At that moment, she felt it was true. At least, that it could be true. Surely, there would be no more difficulties to make her reconsider.
“Then we are very happy for you,” he said, as he patted her hand before withdrawing his own. “I give you both my blessing.”
Georgiana looked up at Ambrose with a smile, squeezing his hand, which still enclosed her own. “Thank you, Uncle. I would never have agreed without your blessing.”
“I suppose we should have seen this coming,” Adelaide added, now her husband had finished speaking. “But, honestly, I would never have even guessed, though, now … it seems obvious.”
If there was a slight flicker of uncertainty in her aunt’s expression, Georgiana chose to ignore it. Instead, she turned to Ambrose and started up a conversation she knew he would be pleased with.
“So, what shall we do first?” she asked, adding as much enthusiasm in her voice as she could manage. “Perhaps we could start with a ride together after breakfast. I must admit, I didn’t look out of my window this morning. Does it look like good weather for a ride?”
He beamed at her as he nodded in agreement. “A ride sounds wonderful. It is a lovely day outside, so we might arrange for a small picnic to be set up for us, as well.”
“Perfect,” she replied, thinking it a nice idea.
“I will make the arrangements while you finish eating, and you can meet me at the stables. I will make certain your favorite delicacies are packed. I know you deem some foods to be incompatible with eating outdoors,” he teased.
“Thank you, that sounds nice, and I will try not to keep you waiting for too long,” she replied, as he rose from his seat.
As he stood, he lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles with a look of adoration in his eyes. Georgiana couldn’t shake a gnawing feeling of guilt at feeling nothing when he gazed at her so passionately. She couldn’t even have said she felt flattered by the attention.
Fortunately, Jonas and Adelaide had started their own conversation, and so did not notice her lack of appetite as she tried to eat. If they did, they would hopefully attribute it to her being too lovestruck to entertain such a mundane concern as food.
She took the opportunity to remind herself how well Ambrose knew her. He knew what foods she would and would not like to have on a picnic, and she had no doubt the whole thing would be perfect.
Somehow, that line of thought did not comfort Georgiana, who instead felt her mind drifting back to the recent memories of Walter. He had remembered such a small detail about her as the fact she was fond of the myths surrounding Amphitrite.
Ambrose had known her for much longer, so it was only natural he should know almost everything about her. But Walter had not known her for long at all in comparison, and yet he knew her so well. It had been one of the many things that had made her feel the two of them were meant to be…
She had to shake herself from such thoughts, reminding herself she couldn’t pursue anything with Walter since she had committed herself to giving Ambrose a chance. She refused to let herself regret her decision.
Chapter 26
A week later, Walter was sitting in his study absentmindedly compiling ledgers as he recalled his amusement at the events of the previous day. There had been another soiree which he had attended.