Your friend,
C. Littleton
Gavin caught himself letting out his breath. He’d forgotten there were now two Lady Littletons. He hadn’t planned on attending Mrs. Matthews’s entertainment, but for the dowager Lady Littleton—Good God, he’d better not call her dowager when he was around her—there was little he would not do. Accompanying her ladyship would also give him an opportunity to discover how long Georgie planned to remain at Littlewood. Straight after breakfast he’d write to Lady Littleton agreeing to accompany her.
By now everyone in the ton would know Georgie and her family had left Town and that might not bode well for him. Not that he thought he would be the cynosure of every unmarried lady’s attention, but he would feel as if he’d been thrown to the proverbial wolves. This would be the first time since last Season he would be without Georgie for protection. Although, he doubted she saw it that way. He knew that as long as he was with her, the other ladies and their mothers considered him lost to their wiles.
After consuming two more pots of tea, a nice cut of rare beef, another rack of toast, and two eggs, Gavin felt much more the thing. His head no longer hurt, his eyesight had returned to normal, and his hands weren’t shaking. He wrote the message and had it sent to her ladyship, then decided to apply himself to correspondence and other business he’d left unattended since Georgie had turned him down. No matter what happened, he was not going to think about her today.
Several minutes later he perused a letter from the steward of one of his estates asking for advice in dealing with a dispute between two tenants who had never liked each other. For the past several months, Georgie had given him advice. Even during the summer, he’d written to her father and asked him to relay a message to her. He just wasn’t good at making decisions when it involved the emotional side of things. Give him a boundary dispute, or a matter of right or wrong, and he was perfectly capable. That was one of the reasons he needed her as his wife. She always knew exactly the right thing to do. He set the note aside. Perhaps Lady Littleton would be able to help him.
Gavin worked through luncheon and by the time he was finally called to dress for dinner and the evening, he had managed to reduce the amount of paper on his desk. Leaning back, he wondered what he’d do if he could not convince Georgie to marry him. He glanced around the room and imagined that as his wife she would enter, chiding him about working too late. He would stand and go to her, pulling her into his arms. His member began to stiffen as if his thoughts were real, and Gavin looked at the decanter of brandy on the sideboard.
No.
He was not going to do that again. It hadn’t helped at all. He would also be careful how much wine he consumed this evening. He damn sure wasn’t going to indulge as his father had done.
Two hours later Gavin arrived to collect Lady Littleton from Littleton House.
A butler he didn’t know answered the door and bowed. “Her ladyship is waiting in the drawing room. If you would follow me?”
As if he hadn’t run tame in this house for years. But this new butler had no way of knowing that. He inclined his head. “Of course.”
Once he was announced, her ladyship came to him holding out her hands and searching his face. “Gavin, how are you?”
Suddenly he felt as if he was a small child who just wanted to be comforted. “I’ve been better.”
She led him to the sofa and indicated the chair next to where she sat. “I imagine so. Would you like to tell me about it? You know how discreet I am.”
“There is not much to tell. I proposed to Miss Featherton and she rejected me.” He had been dancing around the word “rejected,” but that was how he felt. She had not simply refused to marry him. She had run away from him. “I don’t know what to do.”
Her ladyship handed him a glass of claret and sipped her own before saying, “I already knew that you proposed, and that she refused you.”
He set his glass down untouched. “I have heard she is at Littlewood. Have you seen her? Is she well?” Bloody hellhounds. He sounded like a veritable popinjay. “I mean—”
“I believe I know what you mean.” Reaching out, Lady Littleton patted his hand. “Would it make you feel better if I told you that she is no happier than you are?”
Yes! Thank the Lord Lady Exeter had lied to her husband. That had to be it. Georgie would have no reason to fib to her friend. “I suppose not. I should not wish her to be miserable.” Except that he did.
Her ladyship gave him a pitying look. “And are you miserable?”
If ever there was a time to lie, it was now. His reputation as a rational man was at risk. Then again, he’d never in his life been good at lying to this woman. “I am not sure I would call it miserable, but I have not been sleeping well, and last night I-I got foxed.”
“Oh, my dear boy. You have not done that since you and Frits first came on the Town.” She took another sip of wine. “What do you intend to do about it?”
“I don’t know.” Gavin sipped his wine, resisting the urge to take a large gulp. “I have a feeling that she wants a love match, and I dare not . . . I cannot take the risk.”
“Hmm.” Her ladyship gazed in his direction but not at him. “That is a bit of a problem.” She glanced at the clock. “Look at the time. We must go if we are to be there before the music begins.”
He jumped to his feet when she rose, and held out his arm. “Please do not leave me alone to the young ladies tonight.”
Her smile was kind, motherly, and he knew he’d be safe with her. “I would not think of it. Naturally, you require time to sort out your thoughts.”
The butler was at the door with her cloak and his hat, and Gavin led her to his town coach. One of his footmen opened the door. “Who is the butler? I’ve never seen him before.”
“His name is Crothers. He was the under-butler at Littlewood, and I decided to filch him when I set up my own household. He was inadequately employed there, and I had need of a butler.” The coach lights were lit and Gavin could see her roll her eyes. He almost let out a whoop. She would have punished him if he’d done that. “I would not have dared take Creswell. Littleton would have objected to that.”
Lips twitching, Gavin could barely contain his laughter. “I’m sure you’re right.”
“Also, it would not have been fair to Adeline. Having an excellent butler in the country is even more important than having one in Town. So many of our neighbors truly believe they have an absolute right to visit one when they wish whether one wants them to or not.”
That had not been his experience, but, then again, he was a bachelor. What would happen when he brought a wife home? Georgie would know how to handle it, he was sure. Damn. There he went again. Should he at least see if there was an unmarried lady who did not want a love match? Yet, the thought of not waking to Georgie next to him every morning soured his stomach. “I can imagine.”
The coach pulled up and, before he thought about it, Gavin jumped down to help her ladyship descend. When he had visited Littlewood or been with Littleton in Town, it had always been a competition between Gavin and Littleton who could do it first. Gavin supposed if it had been his friend’s mother who had died, the shoe would be on the other foot. Lady Littleton’s presence had been the one thing that had saved him. She had stepped in after his mother’s death to provide a steady hand. His sister, Elizabeth, had had help from their aunt, but he’d always had her ladyship. But could Lady Littleton help him now? Could she help explain to Georgie that he could give her everything she wanted but love?