Page 37 of A Wicked Viscount's Stormy Affair
That wasnotsomething Gregory liked to do, so George wanted to give him some grace. Just in case.
But now it was time to accept the fact that there were no excuses. Gregory reallyhadbetrayed George, so there was no need to get himself another drink. He might as well leave the bar behind and head back to bed. Although that was not going to be easy either, with his mind all twisted up in knots about Sophie and Gregory.
Hehatedthe idea of them dancing together and having fun at the ball.
George knew for sure that this was not just because he wanted to protect Sophie any longer. This was about so much more than just protecting her heart and her family’s money from Gregory. It had also become so much bigger than simply saving his own family name any longer.
George’s heart hated it. He was jealous and it made him very sad. Just because he was not good enough for Sophie because he was a fallen lord, did not mean his emotions could understand that fact. His heart had started to beat just for Sophie, it was undeniable.
This was becoming a messier situation by the moment, and Gregory’s actions tonight only amplified that.
As George left theWarren’s Arms, his mind raced with possibilities, and worries about how this might end…
***
George found himself back on the battleship the moment his head hit the pillow and his eyes closed. Back in the captain’s library, examining the maps and books on offer there. The only time George had been alone with Sophie once they set foot in London, and the time healmostcaved to the feelings that had been threatening to consume him whole.
He had been so close to kissing her, and in that moment, he honestly wanted nothing more than to taste her lips.
How he had resisted, he was not sure. If put in that same position again, he did not believe that he would be able to be quite as strong.
With his eyes closed, there she was again, standing in front of him with intense desire dancing behind her eyes. She was just so lovely, and all George wanted to do was take her into his arms, to hold her close and to treat her right.
Just because he’d had the title taken away from him by his twin brother, did not mean he was unable to treat Sophie in the way that she so deserved.
“I do not want you to leave me,” she whispered in a sweetly seductive voice. “I would like you to be here with me forever.”
That statement left him thinking.
He had most certainly not considered moving to London, he had never wanted to return. This was all supposed to be for his father’s funeral. But the idea that he should already be back in Sweden troubled him. It was not what he wanted. Not right now. If Sophie asked him to stay, then he thought he might consider it.
He was certainly very eager to agree in his dream.
“I will stay with you,” he told her in a soft, keen voice. “But I worry that I will never meet the standards expected of me. You deserve more than a disgraced lord.”
“Disgraced?” All of a sudden, his blood ran ice cold as she took a step back from him. “But I thought you told me all the rumors about you were not true. Why are you disgraced?”
George hung his head low. Even if he rationally knew that none of this was real, it was painful to say aloud. “I have not told you everything. I have not been truly honest with you about what happened to me and why I left London.”
The anger flashing in her gaze was everything that he had been afraid of. “What are you talking about?”
“It is my brother who has the issue with gambling, who has ruined the family fortune. But he fought me and got hurt. He convinced our father that I was the one who had harmed him. My father chose to believe him, which is why I had the lordship taken from me. I left because I would inherit nothing, and it was not actually my fault.”
She stepped back once more, creating a chasm of distance between them. There was a horrified look on her face that embodied all of George’s worst fears.
“I do not understand what you are telling me,” she said with a tremor in her voice. “That does not make any sense. Men are not disinherited for no reason. It leaves me wondering if all the rumors about you are true after all.”
“No, please, Sophie…” He tried his best to reach out to her, but Sophie slipped away from him before he had the chance. “I know it is a ridiculous story, which is why I do not wish to tell many people. I also do not like to talk badly of my brother, because I still love him…”
“Well, he does not think twice about talking badly of you. He has said the most terrible things. Things that I am now starting to wonder about. Things that might be the truth. Perhaps that is why you are not keen to speak of Gregory in a negative way. Because it would all be lies.”
George’s chest tightened. Panic was starting to wash over him. What had started as a wonderful dream about him and Sophie, about the kiss that he was so desperate to have, had devolved into his worst nightmare. He did not like this at all, this was exactly why he was so worried about being honest with anyone about his past.
“Sophie, please,” he cried out, but it was too late. She had slipped through the nearest door and was running away from him. “Remember me, Sophie. Remember the man you met on the boat. The man who saved you…”
But she probably could not hear him anymore. Not with the wind whipping and howling around him.
The storm seemed to have come back for him, exactly the same as it was that night. The chill wrapped around him while he tried to seek out Sophie. All he wanted to do was lay his eyes on her, to make sure that she was alright.
