Page 63 of Prince of Scandal

For the next quarter hour she told him everything about her time in Brundall; meeting Ashton and Phoebe and Sir Alan, the church fete, her quarrel with India, being rescued out of the river, and tumbling head over heels for Ashton. Then returning to London and finding out he was a prince.

Xavier looked entirely unsurprised by any of it.

More suspicious than ever, Georgiana continued: “Ashton retreated to Brundall after a scandal here in London ten years ago. A broken betrothal. As it turns out, his intended was Rupert’s first wife. Ashton is the man I was with today, in disguise. We visited Mr. Benjamin Carr, the father of Rupert’s third wife, and the Duke of Lansbury. Mainly because Rupert’s wives have a pattern of dying when he stops receiving blackmail payments from their fathers, and there is no way on earth I will be wife number four…now you tell me why none of this is shocking you,” she finished sharply.

Her brother smiled, looking relieved. “Because it’s all true. I wondered if you might conceal details or try to set me on a false path, like ladies do.”

“What? You knew it already? Xavier Vaughan Nash, tell me what the bloody hell is going on or I will set your entire wardrobe ablaze.”

“Steady on, Gigi. Very well. I’ll say what I can, and this must never leave the room. Understand?”

Oh God. Now Xavier looked so grim. Not a whit like her charming, reckless older brother at all. “I swear.”

“I didn’t go to France to fetch Osbourne back because of you. Others wanted him returned and it was an excellent cover.”

Georgiana’s gasp actually echoed in the bedchamber. A little hurt. Utter confusion. Fear. Who were these others? Did they know the truth about Rupert? Or were they protecting him? What on earth was her brother mixed up in?

“Who are you working for, Xav?” she whispered. “Are they…dangerous?”

He sighed. “I can’t say. But let me reassure you Osbourne is about to fall, especially now that Lansbury is involved. Everything that had stalled or met a stone wall is suddenly receiving every courtesy in swift time. The net is closing, Gigi. No way will you be marrying him.”

Thank God. Thank GOD.

“Rupert is a monster,” said Georgiana, wrapping her arms around herself. “And I never saw it. I feel so very foolish. But I just wanted so badly to leave. Especially after Lilian and Pippa escaped. It got so much worse here.”

Xavier stood then crossed the bedchamber, sat beside her and curled an arm around her shoulders. “I understand that completely. Grandmother is a hellbeast and Father is just so…weak. Yes, I have tasks that take me away from here, but I volunteer for far more than I’m allocated. I just hope you can forgive me for bringing Osbourne back into your world. Had I not received the order to return him to England, I never would have tracked him down. You deserve a prince, Gigi. And from what I’ve gathered, von Hagan is a good man. Even if he is a dour Prussian. What’s that saying? It is an honor to be a Prussian but not a pleasure? Ugh.”

She turned and raised one eyebrow. “From what you’ve gathered? Xavier. Please tell me you didn’t spy on Ashton. And don’t you dare criticize his clothing. Just because he doesn’t dress like a damned peacock, doesn’t make him dour!”

“Of course I spied on him. You’re my baby sister…and before you ask, no, I didn’t know the full story about Osbourne before my impromptu jaunt to France. If I had, the major would still be languishing at the bottom of a well…”

Georgiana blinked at the pure menace in his tone. All this time, she hadn’t truly known her brother, either. And yet…Xavier truly cared. Underneath all the banter and insults and dreadfully garish fashion, her brother loved her.

Tilting her head, she rested her cheek on his shoulder. “I love you, Xav. You’re my favorite brother.”

He laughed and hugged her tighter. “And you’re my favorite baby sister.”

But one thought continued to nag, even after Xavier departed. If the net was closing on Rupert, that made him a cornered rat.

The most dangerous enemy of all.

CHAPTER 14

The wait to hear from Lansbury was agonizing.

Ashton rubbed his face for about the thousandth time as he stared out the parlor window into Wigmore Street. Every carriage that drove past, every young lad sprinting by, had him tensing in anticipation of hearing news he’d waited ten endless years to hear: that Rupert bloody Osbourne was finally being held accountable for his crimes.

He was alone at present; Sir Alan and Miss March were visiting the Tower of London—the latter amusingly eager to come face to face with a ghost—and Franz had actually gone out to inspect a highly regarded costume shop near the Theater Royal on Drury Lane. For a short while, the silence had been rather welcome. But now, it merely gave him far too much time to ponder how much he missed Georgiana. And what he could have done differently in the past with Virginia.

Christ, her death haunted him. Especially the confusion as she’d told him she liked her first spanking and wanted more…then returned to Osbourne so soon after. On countless occasions Ashton wondered what he’d missed. A clue that she’d lied, some sign that his betrothed had not actually enjoyed their play in the carriage. But each and every time he recalled that scene, all he could hear were her squeals and giggles. It was enough to drive any man to drink.

When a knock sounded at the front door, Ashton almost tripped in his haste to get there, the heels of his shoes actually skidding on the polished floor as he hurried out of the parlor and down the narrow hallway to the tiny entrance hall.

He yanked the door open. “Yes?”

A figure almost entirely concealed in a voluminous and rather shabby brown cloak turned around and winked at him, then asked in a broad and decidedly terrible Cockney accent: “Any room at this inn for a waif, sir?”

After looking left and right down the street to ensure no one was watching them, Ashton took Georgiana’s wrist, tugged her inside, and shut the door firmly behind her.