Hopeless Heart

Georgiana revelled beneath the raw possession on his face he made no attempt to hide. Unfortunately, she then remembered that she was standing in the arms of a man who was engaged to someone else. Still, it was difficult to move away, especially when those arms were something she needed right now.

“We can’t do this,” she whispered as she reluctantly pushed out of his arms. “It’s wrong.”

“You are safe with me, Georgiana,” he assured her wondering if it was the memory of Simeon’s brutality that made her wary.

“I know,” she replied sadly. Once she had put several feet distance between them, she turned and studied him. “While I cannot thank you enough for your help tonight, you should leave now. We can’t keep doing this.”

“What?” Will interrupted.

“We should not kiss,” she replied bluntly. “Will, it isn’t right, or fair on your fiancé.”

“I need to speak with you about that.” Will ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

“Don’t,” Georgiana pleaded quietly. “I can’t do this right now.”

“Why? We need to discuss the wedding eventually,” Will said quietly but meant their wedding–his marriage to Georgiana-not his wedding to Penelope.

“Another time, alright?” she asked. Bravely, she offered him a smile that shook alarmingly and quickly turned away before he saw how much it wobbled.

“Georgiana,” Will murmured, refusing to give in, but Georgiana was having none of it.

“I am tired,” she said. “I am sure that Simeon has gone now and won’t bother trying to come back.”

“You should not stay here alone now,” he said firmly.

“I will be fine, I am sure of it,” she assured him, desperate to avoid having to talk about anything right now.

“I will swap rooms with you,” he offered. “If he tries to get in, he will get the shock of his life when he finds me here.”

“But he knows where your room is as well,” she protested.

“Yes, but I am not a beautiful and very attractive young woman,” Will argued.

Georgiana opened her mouth to argue but snapped it closed again. She would rest properly somewhere else. The prospect of getting undressed and climbing between the sheets again in this particular room would not bring her any comfort.

“If you are sure then thank you,” she murmured. It was then that a something suddenly occurred to her. “Why are you here by the way?”

Will paused beside the door and looked at her. “I asked Ruth where you had gone.”

Georgiana’s brows lifted. She doubted that Ruth would tell him and Simeon where to find her–would she?

“I wonder if she told Simeon where to find me as well,” she murmured with a shiver. Even saying the man’s name gave her the creeps now.

“I have no idea but I fully intend to speak with her about it when I get back,” Will warned.

“Please don’t,” Georgiana replied. “I will speak with her. She is my aunt. If she has, I need to find out why, and what she wanted to come of it. It is something I should do, not you.”

Now that her initial fear had subsided she was starting to feel a little more like herself and suspected that if she wanted to get through this she needed to take a little more control. If Will started to take over, and spoke to Ruth on her behalf, she would find herself being ushered back to Cranbury before she drew breath.

Will reluctantly nodded. “I will go and fetch my things. You wait here. I will knock three times when I get back. Don’t answer the door to anybody while I am gone.” He disappeared before she replied.

Once alone in the room, Georgiana’s worry grew. In an attempt to keep her mind off just how vulnerable she was she placed her bag on the end of the bed and sat down beside it to wait for Will’s return.

Will closed the door to his room, his bag clutched tightly in his hand. He walked down the hallway toward Georgiana’s room, his thoughts locked on her and how he could get her to consider a future with him. He didn’t realise he was no longer alone until a figure emerged out of the darkest shadow in the hallway and lunged toward him. Will knew immediately who it was but, before he was able to duck, a heavy fist landed on his jaw. To his disgust, he was embroiled in a fight for the second time that night. This time, he was a little more focused on what he was doing because he didn’t have Georgiana presence nearby to worry about. She was safely tucked away in her room leaving Will free to focus all of his attention on his enemy.

“I will damned well kill you,” Simeon snarled. “I’ll teach you for stopping me from getting what I want.”

“She isn’t yours,” Will snapped and successfully dodged the wild swing Simeon threw at his head.