CHAPTER ONE
Georgiana dropped her toast onto her plate and stared at her mother. She didn’t need to worry about betraying any sign of emotion; everything within her had gone numb. As the seconds ticked by the buttery toast she was chewing turned to ash in her mouth. She swallowed it with a gulp and tried to ignore the wave of sickness that followed. A sense of betrayal unlike anything she had ever known before slammed into her. The force of it stole her breath. It rendered her incapable of thinking of anything except for the need to get out of the room before her mother saw her distress and asked questions she was unable to answer.
“Pardon?” she asked, interrupting her mother’s monologue.
The stunned gaze Georgiana turned on her mother almost dared her to say it again. To her horror, her mother nodded and hummed confirmation several times.
“Yes, it’s right. Will’s mother told me at the ball last night. It is all a secret at the moment, so you are not to repeat it. There is to be a formal announcement in the next couple of weeks, but because we are friends she made an exception for me. I assured her of our confidence. She told me that now Will has made his mind up to marry he is quite keen to get the wedding over with as quickly as possible. His mother is beside herself with joy. She didn’t think she would ever persuade him to settle down. She looked quite resplendent at the ball last night. You should have come with us, Georgiana. It was a splendid affair. The music was quite delightful.”
Cecily lapsed into an all too brief silence and stared dreamily out of the window having forgotten all about the wedding while she reminisced about her evening with the region’s aristocracy.
“Will is getting married?” Georgiana whispered in a voice thick with hurt.
“Yes, dear. I told you,” Cecilia replied with many emphatic nods. “Will is to marry Penelope Smedgrove. Did he not tell you? Yes. Quite the betrothal of the century.”
“Will is marrying Penelope Smedgrove?” Georgiana repeated.
Now that the shock was wearing off, Georgiana’s instinct was to laugh and deny it was possible. But, when her mother started to ramble on about where she should shop for a dress suitable for the wedding of the year, and instructed Georgiana what material she should wear, Georgiana realised it was true.
Will–her Will–the Will she had always adored-was getting married–to Penelope Smedgrove.
“When?” She asked, interrupting her mother’s diatribe on who would receive invitations to the engagement ball.
“What, dear?” Cecily asked. The delicate arch of her brows raised skyward in polite enquiry.
“When is the wedding?” Georgiana asked quietly.
“Oh, the banns are to be read next month.” Cecily leaned across the table conspiratorially. “They want to get the wedding over before he changes his mind.”
Georgiana’s broken heart sank further. “Is she-?”
Her gaze flew to her father when he coughed and frowned at her, silently reprimanding her for suggesting such a scandalous thing at the breakfast table. But Georgiana was frantically trying to find a reason–any reason–for why Will would want to marry someone like Penelope Smedgrove.
He has chosen Penelope because she is beautiful; petite, blonde, and has excellent connections. She is also very, very rich. She is everything you aren’t Georgiana, a small voice whispered.
Georgiana glanced around the somewhat shabby dining room. Her eyes were drawn to the faded wallpaper, which was peeling away from the walls. The frayed rug beneath her feet had been there for as long as Georgiana could remember and was as threadbare as it was useless to protect one's feet against the cold stone floor. The cushions in the window seat were worn thin and so old that they would have been in fashion several decades ago. Now they were aged and bespoke of a wealth that had long since faded just as much as the fabric.
In contrast, Penelope Smedgrove lived in Tamlington Gardens, a huge Tudor mansion nestled amidst gloriously sculptured landscape gardens and miles upon miles of rolling landscape which were all part of her father’s estate. The family had been linked to the Royal Court and enjoyed connections to the most wealthy and influential people in the country. It was little surprise that if Will intended to marry anyone he would choose someone like Penelope. Still, that didn’t ease the sense of betrayal Georgiana was now struggling to comprehend.
“I didn’t realise he was acquainted with her that well,” she whispered.
Cecily nodded. “They move in the same circles. I understand from Agnes that they have known each other for many years.”
Unaware of her daughter’s angst, Cecily leaned forward conspiratorially even though nobody but Papa was in the dining room.
“I hear Penelope is quite keen on the union. It has been Will who has been a little reluctant, but boys will be boys I suppose. Agnes was quite overcome when he finally relented and agreed to offer for the chit and is so excited at being able to work with Penelope on the arrangements. I have offered my aid should it be needed–yours too, Georgiana.”
Her declaration was more than enough to give Georgiana the strength she needed to push away from the table without seeking her father’s permission. Her father appeared startled as she hurried to the door but didn’t stop her.
“Excuse me,” Georgiana murmured when she reached the doorway. She didn’t wait for his reply and raced out of the door.