First Comes Scandal (Rokesbys #4) - Julia Quinn Page 0,43
It will be easier for him to hire transport to London.”
Georgie nodded. “If you take the cart, though, how will I …” She looked over at Nicholas.
“I will see you home,” he said. “Wheelock can ride with us, if it makes you more comfortable.”
“It will make me more comfortable,” Thamesly said.
“For heaven’s sake, Thamesly,” Georgie said. “Are you worried for me or for my reputation? Because if it’s for me, surely you know that Mr. Rokesby is as honorable a man as you will ever meet. And if it is for my reputation, my God, what is left to ruin?”
Thamesly regarded her for a long moment, then stepped on Freddie’s leg again.
“Bloody hell! I didn’t say a word!”
“That one,” Thamesly said, “was just for fun.”
Chapter 11
“A word, Mr. Wheelock?” Georgie placed her hand on the butler’s arm before he could go to help Nicholas and Thamesly load Freddie Oakes onto the cart.
“Of course, Miss Bridgerton. What is it?”
She gave her head a little tick, motioning to the side. “In private, if you don’t mind.” She didn’t think that Nicholas could hear her, but better to be safe than sorry.
Wheelock nodded his assent, and they moved a few steps away.
“Ehrm …” How to start? What to say? She settled on: “I have an unusual request.”
Wheelock said nothing, but his brows rose, signaling that she should continue.
Georgie cleared her throat. This was far more difficult than it should have been. Or maybe it was exactly as difficult as it should be. She’d made a big mistake this afternoon, and no one had ever said that fixing one’s mistakes was supposed to be easy.
“You might be aware that Mr. Rokesby has asked me to marry him,” she said.
“I was not aware,” Wheelock replied, his face betraying no emotion, “but I am not surprised.”
“Right, well …” She cleared her throat again, trying to decide how best to continue. She couldn’t very well tell Wheelock that she had rejected the proposal. He loved Nicholas like a son. In fact, she’d always suspected that the youngest Rokesby was his favorite of the brood.
“I didn’t give him an answer,” she fibbed. Not the correct answer, at least.
Again, Wheelock’s brows rose. This time, Georgie thought, because he judged her to be either insane or a fool for not having accepted Nicholas immediately.
“I should like to have the opportunity to speak with him about it this evening,” she said.
“It cannot wait until morning?”
She shook her head, hoping he would not press for further clarification.
“May I assume that you do not plan to disappoint him?”
“You may,” Georgie said quietly.
Wheelock gave a slow, considering nod. “It would be difficult for you to find the right moment if I accompany you to Aubrey Hall.”
“That was my thought.”
“But you don’t want Mr. Thamesly to be aware of the lapse of propriety.”
“That was also my thought.”
Wheelock’s lips pursed. “I try to live by a certain set of rules and standards, and this, Miss Bridgerton, goes against almost all of them.”
“Only almost?” she said hopefully.
“Indeed,” he said, quite clearly against his better judgment. He sighed, but it was overdramatized and obviously for her benefit. “I shall devise some sort of nonsense once Mr. Thamesly has departed with the cart. You shall have your moment alone with Mr. Rokesby.”
“Thank you, Mr. Wheelock.”
He stared down his nose at her. “Do not make me regret my decision, Miss Bridgerton.”
“I would never,” Georgie vowed.
True to his word, once Thamesly rolled away with a disgruntled Freddie Oakes sitting next to him in the seat of the cart, Wheelock “noticed” that his mount was favoring his right foreleg.
Nicholas looked over from where he was checking his own mount’s saddle. “Are you certain? She seemed unhampered on the way over.”
“I thought I—” Wheelock pointed. “There. Did you see that?”
Georgie didn’t see a thing, and she was quite certain Nicholas didn’t either, but Wheelock gave them no opportunity to contribute further to the conversation. “I will have to walk her back,” he said. “We risk injury, otherwise. I don’t think she can take my weight.”
“No, of course not,” Nicholas murmured. But he looked slightly conflicted since the original plan was for all three of them to ride to Aubrey Hall to drop off Georgie. “I suppose we can all walk to Aubrey Hall, but …”
“We don’t have time,” Wheelock said with a shake of his head. “It’s already too close to sunrise. The servants will be rising soon.”
“I trust you,” Georgie said to Nicholas. It seemed like the right time to chime in.