Page 75 of His Wild Duchess
He glanced over to see Fred, a tall and obnoxious top hat tucked beneath his elbow. He stifled his laugh at it. “Fred,” he quickly greeted, giving him a nod. “If you’ll excuse me -”
“Not so fast,” he grumbled, taking wide strides to stand in front of him. “This is quite the shindig. You know, the Bellamys back home ain’t gonna believe me when I say that -”
“Freddie,” George interjected with a sharp tone. “As much as I’d love to hear the rest of that sentence, I need to find Penelope.”
“Ah,” Fred said with a knowing smirk. “I saw her run off.”
“Did you?”
Fred nodded. “Looked rather windswept, if you ask me.” He narrowed his eyes. “I thought you had told her, right out on the floor.”
“What?”
“Didn’ tell her yet, did ‘ya?”
George glanced over at him with narrowed eyes. “Tell herwhat?”
“‘Bout the letter, ‘course.”
“How could you possibly know about that?”
“We Americans ain’t all thick-headed, you know,” Fred snapped, giving him a pointed look before a smirk crept along his face. “Aw, who am I kiddin’? Winnie snooped through your desk.”
George sighed. “I figured as much.”
“You gon’ tell ‘er?”
“I-I don’t know, Freddie.”
Fred clicked his teeth together. “She didn’ look too good after your Waltz.”
“What do you mean? She seemed right as rain beforehand!”
“You two,” he murmured with a disappointed shake of his head, “Blind as bats, I’ll tell you what.”
“Speak plainly, Fred. Are you certain she was upset?”
“As upset as you look, I take it,” Fred replied.
George straightened, raising his chin up ever so slightly. “There isn’t a thing wrong with me,” he lied, suddenly growing more worried at the minute as to what could be plaguing Penelope. “I ought to track her down, if she looked as you say.”
“I ‘spose you oughta.”
George paused, giving his friend a look. “You seem as though there’s something else you wish to say, Fred.”
“Do I, now?”
“Speak up, Freddie. What is it?”
Taking a long sip of his drink, Fred shook his head as though he was unsure of himself. It was a rare thing to see. People like Fred and Winnie held a pride within themselves that was rather admirable. Perhaps if George had that sort of willpower, he’d been more than aware of his feelings sooner rather than later. Perhaps he wouldn’t be fretting over the letter, then, if he had the confidence to tell Penelope what it was that he wanted forthrightly. He’d learned bravery in America. But not that simple courage of the heart.
Finally, after what felt like ages, Fred lifted his head, the sparkling wine glass now empty. “Before you spend too much time thinkin’, Georgie, maybe you should remember what lies in there.”
“Where?”
Fred huffed before reaching, thrusting a thick finger in the center of George’s chest. “Your heart, Georgie. Use your heart for once in your life.” Glancing over his shoulder, his gaze landed heavily on on Winnie, who sauntered up to them with two glasses in hand. “Like I have,” Fred murmured. “Every day of my life.”
Despite being surrounded by strangers, Fred took his wife in his arms, leaning down to press a firm kiss over her lips. She giggled against him, handing the full glass over to replace his empty one. The nearby Ton members watched them with wide eyes, whispering to each other with distasteful looks. Perhapsany other man would’ve felt shame to be standing beside a couple like Fred and Winnie, when they so boldly showed their admiration for each other, no matter who happened to be watching. But in that moment, George could only simmer with jealousy. He glanced around, hoping that Penelope was still lingering around within the crowd rather than somewhere else he didn’t know.
