Page 60 of The Duke's Bride in Disguise
"Rumour reaches me," she had begun to read aloud, disturbing Raff's own reading of the goings on at Tattersall's, "That the D of K and Lady E are no more. Could it be that this season's greatest match has come to an end?"
Georgiana had set the paper down upon the table and looked at him with horror; "Is it true?"
Raff, now that he thought back on it, rather wished that he had taken a more affirmative note with his niece. Instead he had murmured vaguely about the marriage not being completely set in stone, not willing to compromise his pride by confirming he and Lady Emily would wed, only to have himself proved wrong.
Dash pride, he thought angrily, as he recalled his stupid actions. Georgiana was so fond of Emily, and had been so excited by the idea of a new addition to the family—after a year of such sorrow—that the news the engagement was not as firm as she had believed must have caused her great upset.
"Stay here," Raff commanded Laura sternly, "In case she returns. I will engage the Runners and go look for her myself."
"Raff," Laura hesitated, a frown upon her face, "Be..."
"Discreet?" Raff nodded; if rumours were to circulate that Georgiana had spent any amount of time wandering London unescorted, it could ruin her reputation. Not that Raff gave a fig for society's wicked whispers; but his niece was not as resilient as he against gossip and rumours.
Raff hurried from St James' Square to Bow Street, where he met with the captain of the Bow Street Runners. Having been assured that his men would use the utmost discretion, Raff then left for Grosvenor Square. Lady Emily was the last person that Georgiana had spoken to before she had disappeared and Raff hoped that she might be able to shed some light on where his young niece had run off to.
"Lady Emily is not at home," Graves said, as he answered the door. "She has gone shopping with her maid; perhaps His Grace might find her on Oxford Street? She did mention that she wished to visit a perfumers'."
Raff scowled; he did not have time to go traipsing down Oxford Street, searching the hundreds of shops for Lady Emily.
"My thanks," he said curtly to Graves, before dashing away.
Where might his niece be, Raff wondered, as he drove his Phaeton—so quickly that other drivers cursed him loudly as he passed—through the streets of London. In his mind, he ran through a list of places that he knew Georgiana enjoyed visiting, until at last he remembered Mr Hobbs' Circulating Library.
After what felt like eons, but was actually only a quarter of an hour, Raff arrived at Mr Hobbs'. The library was blessedly quiet when he entered, with only the young assistant at the counter.
"Did you happen to see my niece at all?" Raff asked the young man.
"Not today, Your Grace," the assistant replied, leaping to attention at the sight of the duke.
Fiddlesticks.
"What about the other assistant?" he asked, remembering the girl with the green eyes, "Would she have seen her, do you think?"
"No, Your Grace," the assistant shook his head, "Ava does not work here anymore—'twas only me here all day, and I have not seen Lady Georgiana, I swear it."
So, Ava was the girl's name. Just a few weeks before Raff had spent many an evening dreaming about the green eyed young woman, but then another green eyed girl had taken up residence in his fantasies. Something niggled at the back of his mind, but Raff shrugged the thought aside; he didn't have time for this, he had to focus on finding his niece.
"Thank you," he said to the young lad, who was watching him nervously, "If she does come in, will you send someone to Kilbride House to let them know she's here?"
"Yes, Your Grace. Of Course, Your Grace," the assistant parroted, looking visibly relieved that the duke was leaving.
Raff left Mr Hobbs' thinking to go down toward the Strand, in case Georgiana had made her way to Ackerman's to view the illustrated plates in the window. If she was not there, Raff gave a shiver, then he was all out of ideas. Dread began to fill him, as the reality of the situation set in; his niece was just fourteen years old and trusting and naive. Anything could happen to her, and he did not know how he would cope if it did.
He had just reached his Phaeton when the sound of two familiar voices caused him to turn; Lady Emily and Mary.
The pair were strolling together, arms linked, going in the direction of Mr Hobbs'.
"I just want to look in the window," Raff heard Emily say to Mary, who was wearing a fetching new bonnet, "That's all."
"Oh, I don't know..."
What Mary didn't know was not to be revealed, for Raff gave a shout to attract their attention.
"Lady Emily," he called, rushing forward, "How glad I am to see you."
He hastily explained the situation to both women and finished by telling Emily that she was the last person to have spoken properly to Georgiana.
"What did she say?" he asked her, "Did she seem upset?"
