“Thank you,” Walter told him and nearly bolted for the carriage.
Felicia stopped him, so she could ask one more question, “Which park were they going to?”
“Hyde Park,” came the quick reply.
“Thank you so much!” she said, then nudged Walter towards the carriage so they could leave.
Once they were seated and moving towards the park in question, Walter said, “Thank you for getting the name of the park. I wouldn’t have thought to ask until I was already near one. I would have either had to drive all the way back here to ask or driven around from park to park until I found them.”
“And that is why I insisted I come along,” she said.
With everything of importance already discussed, Walter felt the journey was taking even longer than the trip to Irvington Manor had. His mind was repeatedly replaying the different possible things he could say to Georgiana when he saw her.
How will she react? How will Rowley react? What if I can’t control my anger and end up punching him? What if she doesn’t believe me? But she must believe me, because Felicia is the one who heard about the engagement from his own lips…
These thoughts, and many more like them, plagued his mind. What worried him most was concern for the state of Georgiana’s heart. Please don’t fall in love with him…
Chapter 27
Georgiana put a smile on her face as she and Ambrose arrived at Hyde Park. It had been a week since she had agreed to court him, and things had been going quite smoothly.
Admittedly, after the second day, she had felt the need to take him aside and tell him she wanted to take things more slowly. Even though they had known each other for a long time, she still needed to learn to love him in the way he did her, and him hinting at weddings was far too much too fast.
She had felt bad at seeing the disappointment on his face, but he had quickly agreed to her wishes, admitting she was perfectly right.
Still, she could sometimes feel he wanted more. Just as now, when they were taking a stroll together to enjoy the spring weather.
While she wouldn’t have minded a light conversation about the beautiful park around them, she felt the need for silence instead, knowing Ambrose’s idea of conversation would only somehow end up with him expressing his love for her. Again. Though it was very sweet, it was also growing annoyingly repetitive.
Georgiana sincerely hoped he would get used to courting her and wouldn’t feel the need to keep reminding her how much he loved her. Each time he declared it, it felt like a cut to her heart that she didn’t feel the same way.
However, her thoughts of telling him she didn’t want to court him any longer always ended with her picturing him with a broken-hearted expression. At which point, she would inevitably postpone the dreaded conversation for just a little longer.
Just as Georgiana had finished thinking through the same thoughts yet again, Ambrose apparently decided he could not stay silent any longer.
“Perhaps we could take a seat on that bench over there in the shade? It is a lovely day, but it is quite warm for spring,” he remarked.
“Very well,” she replied with a smile, even as her heart sank on the inside. She could tell, now he had broken the silence, he was going to start a conversation of some kind.
He led her to the bench, drawing a little book out of his pocket as he sat beside her. “Perhaps I could read or recite some poetry for you?” he asked.
Having little doubt what the topic of the poetry he had in mind would be, she still replied politely, “That sounds like a fine way to enjoy such a lovely view of the park. I assume you have something in mind?” she asked, as she gestured to the book.
“I thought you might like this new work by Lord Byron. It is called The Bride of Abydos.”
“Alright, then, I will let you read the whole thing to me–provided it isn’t too long,” she told him, not at all surprised he wanted to read her poetry about a bride.
“I will, then, though I should warn you, the ending is a tragedy.”
That piqued her interest more, and she eagerly nodded her head. “You can begin whenever you are ready,” she replied, as she settled herself more comfortably on the bench, so that she could look around at the scenery while he read to her.
“Canto the first, part one:
Know ye the land where cypress and myrtle
Are emblems of deeds that are done in their clime,
Where the rage of the vulture, the love of the turtle,
Now melt into sorrow, now madden to crime?
Know ye the land of the cedar and vine,
Where the flowers ever blossom, the beams ever shine;
Where the light wings of Zephyr, oppress'd with perfume…”
Georgiana tuned out the sound of his voice, for the most part, enjoying the flow of the words, while only caring to catch the sense of what was taking place in the story. Keeping her head tilted slightly to the side and her face towards him, she pretended to listen to him wholeheartedly, as she watched the other people who were also enjoying the park.
This proved to be perfect, until she saw two figures quickly coming up the path. Since she was facing Ambrose, they were coming up behind him.
He was too occupied with reading to notice the changes in her expression, as she was first puzzled as to why the two people were in so much haste, and then surprised as they got close enough for her to recognize Walter and his cousin Felicia.
She looked behind herself in puzzlement, as she tried to discover whom or what they might be making for so intently, but there was nothing of interest there. The pair seemed to be heading directly towards Ambrose and herself.
Placing a hand on his arm to draw his attention away from his poetry, she looked pointedly behind him to get him to look there. He did so just as Walter and Felicia were close enough to speak, both clearly looking discomposed.
Even Felicia seemed out of sorts, and she was glaring at Ambrose.
“It is nice to see the two of you, but what is the matter?” she asked, her attention split between Walter and Felicia.
She noticed Walter was also glaring at Ambrose, at well, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides. His gaze finally drifting to her as he said, “I … I have something to … I was looking for you.”
Felicia groaned at this, coming forward and sitting on the bench on the other side of Georgiana. Hoping to get answers as to their presence, she turned to face her instead of the two men. “Walter tells me he has mentioned to you the rumor that … well, the rumor which made him decide to leave for France two years ago,” Felicia said.
“Yes…” Georgiana replied uncertainly.