You can probably imagine how I avoided her and could scarcely stand to look at her when I first returned to London. However, imagine my surprise when I discovered she is still Miss Montgomery.
How I discovered it is a long story, too long for this letter. In short, my mother and her aunt threw the two of us into conversation, clearly to try to lessen the tension between us, which was attracting unwanted attention.
She knows nothing of any engagement and has never been engaged to Mr. Rowley. Nor has she ever been anywhere near marrying him, or anyone else. In fact, she reaffirmed what I had told you, namely, he has never been anything more than a childhood friend to her.
As my confidante of the past few years, I am certain you can understand my guilt and regret at discovering this. Therefore, I must know who told you of the rumor.
I will not tell you more, or bother you with a longer letter, but I simply must know where or by whom my happiness was ruined. Any help you can give me in this matter will be forever appreciated.
Your affectionate cousin,
Walter
Once he was satisfied with the letter, Walter wasted no time in sealing it. Even though it was now late at night, he immediately took it to the post, so it would be sent first thing in the morning.
Part of him hoped his new suspicion was wrong, that it could not have been Rowley who had started the rumor. If he had, Georgiana would be utterly devastated when she found out.
At the same time, it was almost pleasant to picture Rowley as the culprit, if for no other reason than it would give him someone to punch.
Unfortunately, there was no doubt in his mind he would have to tell Georgiana should he discover Rowley had betrayed her. He simply couldn’t keep information like that to himself. If he truly was jealous before, there was nothing preventing him from behaving jealously again.
No, telling her was not in question. The only thing would be whether she believed him… Please, Felicia, write back soon…
Chapter 22
Georgiana hummed as she snipped the dead blossoms from the rose bushes. It was a lovely day and, with her mind more at ease than it had been in a long time, she was able to enjoy it.
Though they had a gardener who cared for Adelaide’s roses, both she and her aunt enjoyed helping every now and then. Just then, with all the roses in full bloom, poor Jacobs was having a hard time keeping up.
“Hey, Georgie,” she heard someone say behind her. Turning, she saw Ambrose with a picnic basket.
“Your aunt says you should stop and eat something, so I thought…”
“That sounds lovely,” she replied with a smile, realizing she was really quite hungry. She put her snips away, while Ambrose got their picnic ready.
“You are not overexerting yourself, are you?” he asked as they sat down.
“Not at all. I enjoy helping care for the roses. Perhaps you could help me when we have finished eating?”
He looked uncertain about it. “I don’t know. I think I would cut something I wasn’t supposed to…”
“It is not so hard, Ambrose. I am certain you can learn to do it.”
“Don’t those stems fall off the plants on their own if you just leave them? I would imagine a rosebush with a number of dead flowers on it would not look as nice. However, your aunt isn’t planning another garden party for at least a few more weeks, is she? So, what would it matter?”
“It does matter. The flowers that bloom will be much healthier, and the plant will be able to make more of them, if they are removed as soon as they wilt. We do want there to be plenty of fresh blooms for as long as possible, so they have to be trimmed.”
“Well, I will think about helping you for an hour or so, in that case, but only because I know how much you enjoy them,” he finally replied.
Just then, they heard another voice drawing closer to them. “Ah, I was hoping I would catch the two of you.”
Georgiana turned and saw Adelaide coming toward them. “Is there something you need us for, Aunt? I was going to continue trimming, but I don’t have to if you need me for something else.”
“No… it is nothing like that. I have just received an invitation for us all to attend a masquerade ball, and I want to know