Divine (23 page)

“All right. Let’s start with that.”

“Shatner D’Avery—ridiculous name, by the way—does not, in fact, exist.”

“Of course, he exists.”

“Georgiana, please, give it a rest. I thought we had agreed to be honest with each other.” His voice ever so quiet. “There is no solicitor in London who goes by the absurd name of Shatner D’Avery. I had a Bow Street Runner look into it.”

She stared at him, her stunned eyes eloquent.

“You did what? Why would you do
that
?” Her voice climbed with each question.

“Because I wanted to see who you would choose to marry. I guess I wanted to assure myself this D’Avery fellow was worthy of you.”

“Despite all your affection, I am
not
your sister and—”

“Does Arthur know about this D’Avery?”

“Naturally.”

“And has
he
inquired after the man?”

She stared at him.

“Honestly, I cannot for the life of me understand what this has to do with anything, Sebastian.”

“This is your
life
we are talking about, the man you are supposedly considering marrying, and yet every time I try to get a straight answer—”

“What do you want to know? Yes, I had consumption. Yes, I was gone for a year. Yes, I was cured by miraculous medicine. Yes, I visited some remarkable places: most of Europe, including Italy, America, the Bahamas. I even made it as far as Thailand—I mean, Siam—”

“Enough, Georgiana!”

He pushed off of the wall and came to his full height. Held up a hand, cutting her off.

Suddenly he was the menacing man from the rose bedroom: tall, broad, pulsing with barely leashed power.

All traces of the charming, happy-go-lucky boy gone.

He stared at her—dark, brooding—eyes intent.

Her breath caught.

“Give it up, will you please? We both know you could not have traveled to so many places in a single year. Europe is in chaos, torn apart by war. A boat to Siam alone would take well over a year there and back. Not to mention the French naval blockade. Why do you not tell me—”

“The answer is difficult. It’s hard to explain—”

“Try. I'm an intelligent man. Use small sentences if you must.”

“Sebastian—”

“If there is to be any hope of a future marriage between us, there needs to be honesty—”

“Pardon? Sebastian, let me repeat one more time. There is
not
going to be a marriage between us. After all my refusals and protestations, why do you keep
hoping
this will happen?”

He flinched at those words, something close to pain flickering in his eyes.

“Give over, Georgie. Am I so abhorrent you cannot stomach the thought of being with me? That you feel the need to make up absurd stories and a fictional betrothed to keep me at a distance?” With a deep breath, he ran a drained hand over his face, pinching the bridge of his nose again.

“No—Seb, that is not it at all. I am telling you the truth—”

“You would be a
countess
, married to a man who will do everything to ensure your happiness—”

“How can you know what will bring me happiness? I am a grown woman, not the thirteen-year-old girl you knew!”

He raised his head and fixed her with such a . . .
look
.

Fierce and intense.

“Yes . . . well, life changes us all, Georgiana. I am not that sixteen-year-old boy. Consider me a battle-toughened soldier. One who has endured a decade of life without you and, yet, still fights on.”

Her old friend vanished. Utterly gone.

And in his place was this man of power. An
earl
. A man who had commanded troops in the army. A man who sat in the House of Lords and oversaw thousands of servants and tenants.

She stilled, her throat tight.

He reached out a hand and brushed a stray curl off her cheek, his fingers grazing her face.

His touch
scalded
. Robbed her of breath.

Georgiana felt the axis of her world tilt. He was so much the same and yet so different.

So strong, so sure. Dangerous.

Thrilling
.

That last thought terrified. Not the good kind of terrified that tingled her spine and made her giggle.

Terrified
terrified.

Because he couldn’t be
this
man.

One who made her feel tingly. Hitched her breath.

Sent bubbles floating through her blood.

He was . . . Just. Sebastian.

Nothing more . . . right?

Because if she felt like this about Sebastian, then life suddenly became much more complicated with worrisome, difficult decisions. Feelings which could lead to having her heart split across centuries.

Something she promised she
would
not do.

A dreadfully possible impossibility.

They stared at each other for a long minute, breath sounding loudly. His dark eyes liquid, fathomless. Consuming.

A glimpse into his soul.

She was surprised to find it a cluttered place. Full of contradictions and darkness and pain she didn’t understand.

She felt like she was surveying him for the first time.

Truly
seeing
him.

And what she saw . . . well . . . was beautiful. It was that simple.

He was gorgeous.

All of him.

Her gaze dropped to his mouth.

How would his kiss feel? To have the breadth of those large shoulders surround her and hold her close?

To
know
tangibly he breathed only for her?

Her breath snagged.

His gaze had turned ferocious, consuming. The dark man who trapped her in moonlit rooms.

Unbidden, she drifted toward him. Closed the remaining space between them.

“Georgiana?” he whispered as her skirts swept against his legs.

His hand brushed her elbow, searing through the layers of fabric, and then wrapped around her waist, drawing her nearer still. Swallowing her up in his arms.

She placed a hand on his chest. Slowly rose onto tiptoes, eyes fluttering closed.

She could feel his breath on her cheek.

On her lips.

So close.

So impossibly close . . .

“Yoohoo! Lord Stratton!”

A bright chipper voice broke through the surrounding forest. Followed by the yipping of a small dog.

Shattering the silence.

Startled, Georgiana jumped back, her chest heaving, eyes saucer-wide.

Sebastian swore and glanced toward the sound.

“Blast! That impossible woman—I cannot endure—”

“Go.” Georgiana grabbed his hat and gloves off of the wall and pushed him toward the cottage. “I’ll deal with her.”

He stared at her for one more moment, eyes drifting down to her mouth, his chest rising as quickly as hers.

She shoved his hat into his chest and made a shooing motion with her hands.

“Go!”

Chapter 14

L
ady Ambrosia burst from the trees along the lane, a billow of pale-green low-cut muslin, golden hair peeking out from underneath her bonnet. Mr. Snickers wiggled in her arms, his matching green knitted shirt bunching around his neck.

Georgiana folded her hands at her waist and tried to slow her pounding heart as Lady Ambrosia drew near.

Had that really almost happened?

She would probably
still
be kissing Sebastian without Lady Ambrosia’s timely interference.

Or was it not-so-timely?

She couldn’t decide.

Kissing Sebastian . . .

His powerful arms around her, the racing pulse of his heart under her hand. So warm, so safe. She swallowed and tried to clear her brain.

She had a
boyfriend
. Did that count for nothing? Was she really the kind of woman who would commit herself to one man and then kiss another?

With an inward sigh, she recognized she very well might be.

What did that say about her? What did that say about her commitment to Shatner?

She was an awful person.

Part of her wanted to march into Duir Cottage, through the portal and leave this confusing mess of emotions behind.

Of course, the other part of her wanted to send Lady Ambrosia on her way and pick up with Sebastian where they had left off.

Dratted man was too handsome and charming for his own good.

Gah! She needed to
stop
!

This was Sebastian, her friend.

Even if she
was
the sort to kiss around, Sebastian deserved better than to be so trifled with.

She fixed a weak smile on her face.

“Well met, Miss Knight,” Lady Ambrosia said, stopping in front of her and then glancing around. “Heavens! I thought I saw Lord Stratton with you too. I had a most important question to ask him.”

“As you can see, I am currently quite alone.” Georgiana kept her expression vague and unassuming.

Lady Ambrosia brought her gaze back to Georgiana and pursed her lips, studying her.

“What is your game, Miss Knight?” she asked.

Georgiana’s eyebrows inched upward.

“Game, my lady? I cannot say I have any game—”

“Come now, there is no need to be coy with me. You have Lord Stratton panting after you, and yet you continue to keep him at arm’s length. It is a dangerous dance you play.”

“Truly, I do not understand your meaning, Lady Ambrosia. Lord Stratton is merely an old friend.” Georgiana pasted on her most vapid look.

Lady Ambrosia’s eyes narrowed.

“I wonder very much if I haven’t been mistaken about you, Miss Knight,” she said after a minute.

A beat of silence.

Lifting her head and studying the gray clouds, Lady Ambrosia continued, “I fear a storm. I thought perhaps I heard thunder and saw the threat of lightning earlier.”

Georgiana stared at her, a sudden suspicion forming. “Indeed,” she replied. “Perhaps a lightning bolt will strike us, much as the eagle’s cry . . .”

Georgiana paused, watching Lady Ambrosia’s expression pale as the words sunk in.

Bullseye.

It seemed she had found the original ‘helper’ sent by Lord Zeus.

Lady Ambrosia’s jaw tightened. The woman did have some pluck.

“Lord Stratton is my task, not yours,” Lady Ambrosia lifted her chin.

“Perhaps.” Georgiana coolly nodded her head.

Silence hung for a moment, stretching the tension.

“But is it perhaps possible Lord Zeus has become disillusioned with your abilities?” Georgiana asked.

Lady Ambrosia sucked in a hissing breath. It had been strictly a guess on Georgiana’s part, but an accurate one, it seemed.

Lady Ambrosia licked her lips nervously, glancing about.

“What has he said about me? Please, you must tell me.”

The poor woman was suddenly terrified. Even little Mr. Snickers trembled in his green sweater.

Was Lord Zeus as scary as all that?

Georgiana smoothed her face, not wanting to reveal anything.

“Unfortunately, I cannot say, Lady Ambrosia. As you well know, Lord Zeus does not countenance those who break his confidences.”

“Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear,” Lady Ambrosia murmured, lifting Mr. Snickers and burying her distress in his neck.

The woman’s anxiety was so real. Georgiana felt a twinge of something that smacked suspiciously of guilt.

She hadn’t meant to upset her. “Come now, there is no need to worry so.”

Lady Ambrosia lifted her head, her eyes filled with horror.

“Worry? I am hardly worried, Miss Knight. I am terrified. You know what
he
is capable of. We could both so easily end up like that unfortunate Miss Franklin, tossed off a castle wall. Lord Zeus does not tolerate failure of any sort.”

Georgiana blinked. The conversation had suddenly gone to a dark place.

Kill
them?

“I had so hoped my artistic skills would continue to be of use to Lord Zeus, just as Miss Franklin’s were. She only ran into trouble when she refused to help him any more. Oh dear, what are we ever to do?” Lady Ambrosia cuddled Mr. Snickers even tighter.

“Must something be done?”

Lady Ambrosia grabbed her arm.

“Of course! You musn’t fail us, Miss Knight. You must
stop
Lord Stratton from marrying. Please. My life . . .
your
life depends upon it.”

Sebastian peered surreptitiously out the front window of Duir Cottage. Lady Ambrosia was still talking with Georgiana, clinging to her arm.

How long would Lady Ambrosia keep her?

Georgiana shook her head and replied to some question.

Stepping back from the window, he began to pace the floor of the front parlor.

Lovely Georgiana. Dearest, sweetest Georgiana. So close! It had been so close.

And she had come to
him.
At last.

He had seen the change in her, the instant he had touched her petal soft cheek. Her eyes had narrowed, focused. As if
finally
truly seeing him.

His blood had shouted hosannas through his veins.

And then her eyes dropping to stare at his lips until he thought he would go
mad
.