Page 19 of Miss Wylde and the Wynd

Sterling had smiled more since he returned. More in this past month than he probably had in the year before he left. And, he was relaxed, and affectionate toward his new wife. He’d also found humor and if Damian were to be honest with himself, he was having difficulty reconciling his brother with the man he had been before he sailed and the one who had returned.

No doubt it was because he had fallen in love.

Love! A concept Damian had never considered for his future, nor did he expect to wed. After all, it was Sterling who was required to do so and that was because he was the earl and needed heirs, so everything had worked out as it should.

As for Damian, he had Trade Wynd. It was orderly and necessary for the family, and what he had been raised to do, even if it carried an odd emptiness of late.

“Is our guest getting settled?” Sterling asked as if he was not inconvenienced, whereas before, he would have bristled at upset in the household.

“Yes. She was going to rest before dinner and plan the next part of her journey.” Caroline wandered to the sideboard and poured herself a glass of wine.

“What do you mean plan?” Damian demanded. How could she do so from a bedchamber when Georgie had never been to England before?

“She asked one of the maids for maps of England, routes to London, a map of London and the docks, if we had those.”

Caroline settled on the settee and smiled.

Damian did not know Caroline all that well yet, but he was certain there was humor in her brown eyes. Did she not realize how dangerous it was for Georgie to travel on her own?

Further, Caroline seemed as unconcerned as Sterling.

Was he the only person in this household who was sensible and understood how dangerous Georgie’s intentions were?

He pushed his fingers through his hair again and took another drink.

Foolish women doing foolish things that would see them harmed and there was nothing he could do. It didn’t matter that he had just met her, Damian could not allow her to simply go off unprepared.

To think that at one time, when he was younger, he had wondered what it would have been like to have a sister instead of just brothers. No doubt, he would have been driven to madness as soon as she attended her first Season given his reaction to a near stranger who had stowed away on his ship.

*

After her hair had been washed and her body scrubbed, Georgie relaxed in the hip bath until the water started to cool too much to be comfortable. Just being clean lifted some of the anxiety that she had carried on the ship, from the fear of being found to worrying about what had become of Grace.

Her concern for her sister remained, but with clean hair and clean clothing, she was better able to relax, comfortable in her dressing gown as she sat before the blazing fire and combed the tangles from her hair. She then gathered maps the maid had delivered and studied them, making notes on potential routes she could take to London, while she hoped that her hair dried quickly.

And, as much as she hated the idea of walking all the way to London, she really had little choice in the matter, unless she was able to ride on the back of a wagon, or maybe someone would be kind enough to offer her a ride.

Though, was it wise to ride with strangers in a strange country?

Likely not.

However, if she continued to travel as a man, which she intended to do, it was likely nobody would notice her gender was not what she portrayed so all should be well.

Oh, she hoped that it was so simple.

With a sigh, she put her journal and the maps aside then checked the dampness of her hair.

Thankfully it was fully dry. Unfortunately, it was also full of curls inherited from her mother. They were nearly unmanageable, and the reason she often braided her hair, but she would not do so tonight. Instead, she settled at the dressing table and arranged her hair into a simple chignon but was unable to control the smaller curls on her forehead or before her ears, which were thankfully also in style.

Satisfied that at least her hair was presentable, she lifted the lavender dress that she had pulled from her valise and once again shook it in hope of the wrinkles falling away, but they were as stubborn as she and remained. As there was nothing else that could be done, she dressed for dinner after pulling on stockings and simple slippers.

Oh, it did feel good to be dressed as a woman and she would enjoy it for tonight because tomorrow she would be wearing trousers again.

Chapter Seven

“Has our guest come down?” Damian asked Charles as he descended.

“Miss Georgiana is in the parlor. Lord and Lady Wyndham have not yet come down,” the butler responded.