The Betting Season (A Regency Season Book) (25 page)

There wasn’t time to delve into that at the moment, though. He shook his head. “Never mind. That can wait. We need to find Georgie.” The task would be a much easier prospect if she would have told him what she was planning with Haworth, or if he’d found Haworth last night at Vauxhall. Since he hadn’t done either, he didn’t really have even the slightest inkling of where to start looking.

Still, he finished pulling all of his clothing on and headed out the door, signaling for Bridge to come with him. One thing was certain—she wasn’t in his bachelor lodgings.

Perhaps one of her friends would know where he might find her. If he could convince them that she might be in danger with Haworth, or at the very least that her reputation was at risk, maybe they would divulge her secrets.

But then again, maybe they wouldn’t. He had to try, though.

He took off on foot towards the Casemore household with Bridge at his side. It almost felt like old times, two friends off to slay dragons together. Almost, but things had certainly changed since they were boys, not the least of which being that they were now chasing Georgie, instead of Georgie chasing them.

And this time, there might truly be a dragon to slay.

The balloon was massive and beautiful, rising up to be visible over the tops of the trees in Green Park, with red and yellow silk in vertical stripes covered with a rope net. The ropes came down over the side and attached to the basket.

Georgie couldn’t stop her limbs from trembling as she excitedly climbed down from Haworth’s carriage and dashed towards the waiting flying machine.

He came along beside her, but at a much more sedate pace. “It uses hydro—”

“
Hydrogen gas, yes,” Georgie interrupted breathlessly. “Hydrogen is lighter than oxygen, and concentrating it beneath the balloon will lift our weight into the air.”

“
That’s correct.” Haworth cleared his throat and looked at her askance as they came up to the basket. Several men were holding it in place by the ropes coming down from the netting. He nodded to them. “When we’re ready to descend—”

“
We’ll release some of the hydrogen.” Georgie blushed when he looked at her with perplexity. “I apologize, my lord. I’m fully aware of the scientific principles behind it all. What I
don’t
know is how it feels to fly.”

Haworth gave her a wry grin. “Well, I suppose we should move along with this, then, shouldn’t we? No reason to keep you waiting any longer than absolutely necessary.”

“
Indeed.” Particularly because the twinges of nerves that had been dancing in her stomach for the previous couple of days had been more than enough to send her to Bedlam before they’d become more like a chisel and hammer, etching a new surface on her insides.

If they didn’t get up in the air soon, she might not be able to for lack of control over her body.

Side by side, Georgie and Haworth made the brief trek across the open expanse at Green Park towards the balloon.

“
You’re certain these men who are assisting you are discreet?” she asked once more as they drew closer. She still couldn’t make out their faces, but it wouldn’t be much longer before she would be able to. The last thing she needed was to have someone run off to report on her adventure to Mother.

“
Positive. Much like your brother, they owe me a debt of sorts. This is one of many ways they’re able to repay me. They won’t say a word to a single soul.”

She nodded, chewing on her lip. Surely, once they were up in the air, they’d be high enough no one would be able to recognize her. Wouldn’t they?

But then, that was why they were taking off from Green Park, after all. Anyone of importance out for a stroll or a ride would be at Hyde Park or somewhere along Rotten Row. No one would bother with Green Park. Her anonymity would be assured, once they were high enough in the air to clear the trees. She was sure of it.

When they finally reached the basket, Georgie looked up, trying to see all the way to the top of the balloon. It was so far up in the air that she felt like she’d fall over backwards if she stretched her neck back any farther. “Gracious, it is even bigger than I’d imagined.”

“
Four hundred sixty cubic feet, my lady.” Haworth winked at her. “It will hold enough hydrogen that we could take two other people with us, if we were so inclined.”

She did a quick calculation in her head, factoring in the likely weight of the basket. “I’d wager it could carry six grown people, actually.”

He lifted a brow. “You may be right. I’ve never taken more than four, however.”

Debating the physics and chemistry involved was not aiding her cause. Georgie bit the inside of her cheek to keep from spouting off with any other random and inane facts which no one would care about. “Very well. Let’s get started. How do I get into the basket?” It stood nearly to her waist, and there was no door that she could see.

“
I’ll have to lift you over.”

Damn and blast, she hadn’t planned on that. Thank goodness no one she knew was around to see such a sight. She nodded and pressed her eyes closed, hoping it would be over in an instant.

He put his hands to her hips and grasped her. The heat of a blush crept over her face, and she cursed her inability to hide anything from anyone at any time. It was highly inconvenient.

“
No need to be embarrassed. Lifting your skirts and climbing over by yourself would be far more awkward, I can assure you.” Haworth firmed his grip on her. “You’ll need to steady yourself by holding onto my shoulders.”

She placed her hands gingerly where he directed, and then she was off her feet. Before she could protest, he had her back on her feet inside the basket. With a leap, he came over to stand beside her.

“
Are you ready?” he asked.

Georgie nodded, keeping her eyes pressed tightly closed for some reason.

“
Let us go, boys!” Haworth called out, and then he chuckled. “You’ll want to open your eyes for this.”

The weight of the basket shifted beneath her, and then it all wobbled slightly as they left the ground. Georgie’s eyes flew open as wide as they would go, as they left the earth far more quickly than she ever would have imagined.

“
Oh!” she cried, desperately reaching for the edge of the basket. Within seconds, she was at eye level with the trees and continuing to rise.

It wasn’t fear she felt—far from it. At the moment, her heart was soaring and her soul flew alongside with her. The breeze fluttered her hair, and she looked down over the edge of the basket at the men below who’d held the balloon down.

“
They look so small,” she said in awe. It made sense, of course. When one was many feet away from an object, its appearance seemed diminished whether the distance was horizontal or vertical. Yet she hadn’t expected it to be quite like this, for whatever reason.

“
They’ll look smaller yet in a few moments. We have a bit higher to go before we’ll travel any great distance.”

As the balloon lifted them higher into the sky, streets and houses and parks and buildings all fell into place. “It’s just like a map,” she mused aloud.

“
One wonders how they created maps before they could fly.” Haworth fiddled with some instruments and handles, and a rudder moved out to guide their path through the air. He was kind enough to refrain from openly laughing at her awe, but he couldn’t hide a small chuckle.

Georgie took a moment away from staring out at London below her to examine his gauges. In all of the reading she’d done about gas balloons, nothing had been mentioned about the necessity of having a gauge on board for any purpose. Then she made out what the smaller of the two was. “You’ve got a barometer with us!”

This time, Haworth could not contain his laughter at all. “Would you like to see how it works?” he asked when he could finally breathe again.

She
knew
how it worked, of course. But that didn’t mean she’d ever used one before. Georgie nodded, and then she waited for him to situate everything just so.

This flight was proving to be everything she’d wanted and more.

Halfway to Berkswell House, Bridge had stopped in the middle of crossing a busy street and looked at Cedric like he was a Bedlamite. “Isn’t Moira’s house closer than Pippa’s?”

And of course, it was. Bridge seemed to think that Cedric ought to be able to think clearly and sort all of that out, for whatever reason. Nevertheless, Cedric thought better of starting an argument at that precise moment and instead agreed.

They made their way to Moira Kirkwood’s home, where the Dowager Countess of Hearne informed them that her daughter had gone for a ride in Hyde Park with a gentleman suitor, and added that she had no idea where Lady Georgianna might be as she was not that debutante’s chaperone, thank the Lord. Mere seconds later, she closed the door on them.

“
To Hyde Park, then?” Bridge muttered.

Cedric didn’t respond. He just took off in that direction.

When they arrived at the park, it was, of course, the fashionable hour. Finding anyone specific within the crush would be a daunting task, at best. It was a task that must be undertaken, though.

“
I’ll look by Rotten Row,” Cedric decided. Perhaps Georgie would be with Moira and her gentleman. It was unlikely, but worth testing that line of thinking. “Why don’t you look in the main park, where people are afoot? We can cover more ground if we split up.”

Bridge grunted, but took off in the proscribed direction.

Cedric turned his attention to those on horseback and in carriages, searching for the face of Georgie or any of her young friends. He’d been at it for at least a half hour, coming across any number of friends and acquaintances but not one of Georgie’s friends, when everyone around him started saying “Ooh,” or “Aah,” and pointing up in the sky.

He was determined to ignore their fascination with whatever might be taking place…until one young lady directly next to him almost squealed, “Why, it’s Lady Georgianna!”

“
You really can’t be running out of hydrogen gas right now,” Georgie grumbled. It was the worst timing in the world. The wind had been rather uncooperative, so they’d flown over Green Park, crossed over the Thames, and looked down at Vauxhall. But then the direction of the wind changed considerably, and they crossed the Thames again, saw Ranelagh Gardens from the sky, before taking the scenic path up to Hampstead Heath. Yet another change in the wind had them heading back towards Mayfair—which was good. At least on the surface.