On the one hand, didn’t refilling both of their glasses mean they were going to talk longer? And yet, her uncle still wasn’t saying anything or even looking at him at the moment.
He nearly jumped out of his seat when he heard what seemed to be a strange sound, only to realize Jonas was chuckling. Looking up in astonishment as Georgiana’s uncle turned back around, he saw a smile on the man’s face. A very large smile, at that.
Still in shock, Walter accepted the drink handed to him as the chuckling grew louder. “What … I… does this mean…?”
His reaction was apparently amusing to the other man, whose shoulders shook as he told him, “Oh, don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t lying when I told you I am not going to forget how you hurt Georgiana. However, since she was willing to forgive you, and clearly still loves you, too, I suppose an old man like me can’t hold it against you too much. You have my blessing to marry her, if she says yes, which I have little doubt she will.”
Walter was starting to feel calmer now, but his eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Then, what was all that about just now? You nearly had me believing you weren’t going to give me your blessing.”
“Well, I didn’t want to make it too easy for you,” Jonas replied, as though it were obvious. “I had to make you sweat a little first before I gave you my blessing. That is what I did when Eloise’s husband came to me to ask my permission. Since I truly do consider Georgiana to be a daughter to me, it would have been showing partiality if I hadn’t done the same to you.”
Walter may have felt a little exasperated at being played in such a way, but the knowledge he could now ask Georgiana to marry him far outweighed any other consideration.
“So, you really weren’t ever considering refusing?” he asked, sipping his brandy and enjoying the taste for the first time.
Jonas smiled and shook his head. “Not for a moment. Anyone who sees the two of you together for any length of time could never deny you belong together. You have had more than enough difficulties getting to where you are now. I am not about to add another to the list.”
“Well, I can’t tell you how much this means to me, sir. I promise you won’t regret giving me your blessing,” he replied, now too excited to sit still.
“I know. So, when are you going to ask her? Have you got something special in mind for that?”
“Actually…” he pulled out what was in his pocket, showing Jonas he had the ring with him. “I was thinking we have waited long enough already. I want to ask her today.”
He was certain his eyes were shining with happiness, and nothing was going to take the grin off his face. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see a matching grin on Jonas’s face.
“Good luck with that, not that I think you’ll need it. I have no doubt she is going to be grinning so much, her cheeks will hurt by this evening.”
“I hope so,” Walter replied, almost breathless with anticipation as he pictured it in his mind.
“Well, what are you waiting for? Go and ask her.”
Jumping up from his seat and setting the now empty glass aside, he left the study in a rush. He only hoped he could keep his smile to a minimum, so she wouldn’t guess what he was up to just by looking at him.
Even though he knew there was almost no chance she would refuse him, he still felt the butterflies fluttering in his stomach as he headed to where he hoped to find her.
Chapter 29
Georgiana and her aunt sat in the garden, each with a cup of tea in their hands as they enjoyed the roses. They had spent the morning trimming the dead blooms and were now relishing the refreshed beauty that was the result of their labors.
They talked over many light topics but, after a while, their conversation died off. When Georgiana decided to speak again, it was on a more serious note.
“So … have you heard how Ambrose is doing?” she asked her aunt reluctantly.
“That’s right, you haven’t seen him since … well, you haven’t seen him in a whole month, have you?”
She shook her head in the negative. “No … and, while I am not at all anxious to see him again, I am a little concerned about him…” she admitted.
Georgiana hadn’t seen him at any of the social events, having only run into him in passing on the evening of that eventful day as he collected his things from Irvington Manor. She had quickly turned away, and he had not even tried to stop her.
“Well,” Adelaide began hesitantly, “I hear he is still in London and is staying at his house there … I know he would be delighted to see or hear from you again. Are you thinking of writing him a note?”
Georgiana thought for a moment before shaking her head. “No … not yet at least. I am not certain I will ever be able to forgive him.”
“But you have forgiven Walter,” her aunt pointed out, glad she was talking on this painful subject.
“Yes, but he … Walter didn’t mean to hurt me by his actions; he was simply reacting. Ambrose … what he did couldn’t have been anything but hurtful, no matter how you look at it.”
“Well, if that is what you really want…”
Georgiana looked at her aunt out of the corner of her eyes. “You think I should write to him,” she stated. “And what should I say?”
“I don’t know.”
“That is not very helpful.”
Adelaide gave her an amused smile. “What I do know is that you grew up together, and you still care a little about him, or you wouldn’t have even mentioned him.”
She sighed but was forced to admit there was some truth in what her aunt had said. “I suppose you are right. I will write a short note and have it sent to him later today.”
“And what do you plan to say in this note of yours?”
She gave a half playful glare. “I will try to figure that out without any help from you.”
Adelaide snickered as she rose from her seat. “Well, I am going to go inside now and leave you to think on it, then.”
“I will come in momentarily,” she told her aunt, as she poured herself another cup of tea.
“Oh, it seems you have a caller, dear.”
Georgiana turned and a surprised smile lit up her face the instant she saw Walter standing nearby and looking at her. “What are you doing here? I wasn’t expecting to see you before dinner later. Wait, you are still coming for dinner, aren’t you?”
He laughed at her and then nodded his head. “Yes, of course. Actually, I can stay until dinner, if you don’t mind my company for that long,” he said as he walked up to stand just a few inches away from her.