First Comes Scandal (Rokesbys #4) - Julia Quinn Page 0,92
had. Same for her lips, and her hair, and every little thing about her, except …
She was new.
He was new.
They had just begun.
“I love you,” he said.
Her eyes went wide. “What?”
“I love you.” He brought her gloved hand to his lips. “I just thought you should know.”
She looked about, her eyes not quite panicked, but maybe a little discombobulated, as if she were expecting someone to jump out at any moment and yell, “Surprise!”
“I love you, silly girl,” he said.
Her lips parted. “Silly?”
“For not believing me.”
“I—I believe you.”
“Good.” He smiled, waiting patiently for her reply.
She began to blink, and her mouth moved, just a little. She looked quickly over her shoulder at her maid; Nicholas wasn’t sure why, perhaps it was a reflex. But then she turned back and said, “You love me.”
“I do.”
“Well.” She swallowed. “I love you too.”
“I’m very happy to hear it.”
Her mouth fell open. “That’s what you say in response?”
“You said, What?” he reminded her.
“I was surprised.”
He gave a little shrug. “I wasn’t.”
She gasped. “You—”
“Ah ah ah,” he said, with a little step back to avoid the swat she had been about to land on his upper arm. “You don’t want to do that. You love me.”
Her eyes narrowed. It only made him laugh.
“You do,” he said. “You can’t take it back.”
“I can’t believe you told me now,” she said.
He hopped up onto the carriage step, one hand grasping the edge of the roof for balance, the other wrapping around her waist.
“Nicholas?”
“I couldn’t wait,” he said.
She flushed, smiling, then whispered, “Are we making a scene?”
“Do you care?”
She shook her head. “Do you?”
“Not even a little bit.” He kissed her again. “But alas, I have to let you go. I don’t want you on the roads after nightfall.”
She nodded and he hopped down. “I’ll see you on Friday evening,” he said. “I’ll leave for Scotsby just as soon as my classes are over.”
Then he shut the carriage door, and watched it pull away. Damn, he was going to miss her.
Mr. McDiarmid had said they could occupy their new house at the end of next week.
Nicholas couldn’t wait.
Chapter 23
Two days later, Georgie was back in Edinburgh.
She wasn’t supposed to be there. Or rather, Nicholas wasn’t expecting her. The plan had been for him to ride to Scotsby that evening, but Georgie had received a message from Mr. McDiarmid that there were additional papers to sign regarding the lease of their new house. She supposed Nicholas could have just taken care of this the following week, but truthfully, she’d been looking for an excuse to go back to the city.
She had it all planned out: She would surprise him again outside of class, they could see Mr. McDiarmid so Nicholas could sign the papers, and then they would travel back to Scotsby together in the carriage. Surely that would be more comfortable for Nicholas than to ride the whole way.
Now that she knew her way around Edinburgh—at least enough to get herself to the lecture hall—she was able to convince Marian that she did not need her accompaniment. Jameson would be with her; the driver, too. Plus, Georgie was no longer an unmarried maiden. She did not need chaperon-age every time she left the house.
Not to mention that with Marian at Scotsby, Georgie and Nicholas would have the carriage all to themselves for the long ride home.
Georgie might be new to marriage, but she was not stupid.
But first there was the ride to the city. Georgie had never had difficulty reading in carriages, so she brought the medical textbook Nicholas had given her to help pass the time.
First Lines of the Practice of Physic by William Cullen, M.D. Thus far she’d only managed to get through the preface and the introduction. Fifty-two pages in all, though, so it wasn’t as if she was being a layabout. The material was fascinating, but she’d never read anything like it before, and it required far more of her attention and time than her usual reading choices.
She’d also discovered that Nicholas had given her only the first volume. Of four.
She’d be reading this for months.
Then she thought of all the other books he had on his shelf at the boardinghouse. Had he read them all? Was it even possible for a human being to do so?
She wondered if Dr. Simmons, the man who’d treated her asthma back in Kent, read books like First Lines of the Practice of Physic. According to her copy, the original publication date was 1777. Dr. Simmons was easily