First Comes Scandal (Rokesbys #4)(13)

Georgie gave a modest nod although in truth she was insanely proud of herself for having escaped.

“But couldn’t you have just gone out the door?”

“We were on the ground floor, so it wasn’t quite as awful as it might have been. And there were some rough looking men in the inn. I didn’t want to go back through the front room by myself.”

“Good thinking,” Violet said approvingly. “Were you terrified? I would have been terrified.”

“I was,” Georgie admitted. “I didn’t even know where we were. All I knew was that we were heading north—he’d told me we were bound for Gretna Green—and that we’d been traveling for hours and hours.”

“Edmund said you were in Bedfordshire?”

“Biggleswade,” Georgie confirmed.

“Biggles-what?”

“It’s a village on the Great North Road. There are quite a few coaching inns there.” Georgie stretched her mouth into a flat, self-effacing line. “I know this now.”

Violet considered this. “I don’t suppose you ever had cause to travel north before.”

“I don’t suppose I did.”

“But wait … Edmund said you were saved by Lady Danbury of all people?”

“She was at the same inn. Heading north, but she turned around to take me back to London.” Georgie could not even begin to describe the relief she’d felt upon seeing Lady Danbury’s familiar face outside the inn. Lady D was a leader of the ton, and Georgie wasn’t sure she’d ever exchanged two words with her, but she’d practically thrown herself at her, begging her to intercede.

“I don’t know what I would have done without her,” Georgie said. Or more truthfully, she didn’t want to think about what might have happened without her.

“She terrifies me,” Violet said.

“She terrifies everyone.”

“But surely she’s not the reason everyone found out,” Violet remarked. “She would never spread such gossip.”

“No,” Georgie said bitterly. “Mr. Oakes took care of that. He told all of his friends when he returned to London—minus the part about my, er, unmanning him.”

“And tying him up.”

“No, not that part, either.”

Violet let out an appropriately sympathetic snort of disgust.

“But even if he hadn’t,” Georgie continued, “there was such a commotion in Berkeley Square when he pushed Marian out of the carriage. From what I understand, the gossip was all over town by nightfall.”

Violet ground her teeth together. “It makes me so angry I can’t even tell you. I have never struck another human being, you know, at least not on purpose, but if I saw that—that bastard—”

The nurse gasped.

“I would blacken his eye,” Violet said.

“Do you know,” Georgie said slowly, “I believe you would.”

Violet poked her head out the door again. “Anthony! Benedict!” She looked over at the nurse, who was still recovering from Violet’s uncharacteristically coarse language. “Do you happen to know where they’ve gone off to?”

The nurse shook her head.

Violet let out a sigh. “I’m sorry to leave you like this, but we’ve got to go down to dinner.”

“We can ask one of the footmen to hunt them down,” Georgie assured the nurse. “They know all the boys’ favorite hiding places.”

“I can’t possibly be paying that nurse enough,” Violet said once they were in the hall. She smoothed her dress, a royal blue round gown that complemented her eyes. “Do I look presentable?”

“You look beautiful.”

Violet pulled her chin toward her chest as she tried to examine her shoulders. “Are you sure? The baby spit up in the carriage. I was wearing a cloak, but …”

“You look perfect,” Georgie said. “I promise. And even if you didn’t, no one would care.”

Violet smiled gratefully. “I think I asked you already, but has everyone else arrived?”

“I think so?” Georgie said. She wasn’t certain. She’d heard at least one carriage in the drive, but she hadn’t looked out the window. It could have held two people or five. “Oh, I forgot to tell you. Nicholas is coming.”

“Nicholas? Why? He’s not supposed to be here. He is in the middle of his examinations.”

“He’s obviously not in the middle of his examinations because he’s here in Kent. Mama told me this afternoon.”

“That’s very odd. I hope nothing is wrong. Edmund received a letter from him just last week, no, maybe a little before that, but still, he didn’t mention anything.”

Georgie shrugged as she followed Violet down the stairs. “I only know what Mama told me. And as far as I can tell, she only knows what his mother told her.”

“Pack of gossips, we are.”

“We are not,” Georgie said emphatically. “We are people who love and care about each other and are therefore logically interested in comings and goings. It is not at all the same as a pack of gossips.”

“Sorry,” Violet said with a wince. “There really ought to be a more benign word for people who love and care about each other and are therefore logically interested in the comings and goings.”