Page 12 of Ironvine

Philippa slid her arm through Georgina’s. “Sir Reginald has always looked after us. Done right by John and his investments in Devonshire. He has been most kind, quite generous.”

“Am I to be repayment? Am I to be the gesture of goodwill between you?”

Mother pressed her lips together, and an eyebrow arched. She was frustrated. “We are uniting our families, forging a lasting bond.”

Forging a bond. Making a gesture.

A business transaction.

Georgina’s blood went cold, the music blaring around her.

Philippa’s fingers puffed up the fabric on the shoulder of Georgina’s pale blue silk dress. “He’s a good man, an intelligent man. Would we ever direct you falsely?”

“No, I don’t believe you would, but…”

“Of course not, my love.”

“I know you had hopes for a certain young gentleman,” said Mother. “But you have been hoping and waiting on him for almost two years now.” She directed her gaze at Matthew, who was dancing with a striking young woman not far from where they stood. “Gentlemen his age are never interested in marrying. Furthermore, he has not ever shown a serious interest in you, and I warrant he never will.”

Her mother was right about Matthew, wasn’t she? Cold hard truths she could no longer deny.

“Recently, you have shown very poor judgment when you put yourself in a terrible position with that Charles Montclare.” Mother’s voice practically seethed upon uttering his name. Obviously, Thomas had told Mother as well. “You must inspire goodness in a man, Georgina, not tartness.”

“Perhaps I shall find a man who enjoys my tartness.”

“Georgina!” Her sister bit her lip.

“So like your father.” The lines of their mother’s thin face tightened. “You could have been ruined. A disaster for all of us. You have a responsibility to your family.”

“It’s time for you to be sensible, sister.”

“Sensible?”

“Yes, sensible. You need a firm hand to guide you, and Sir Reginald is such a one.” Mother lifted her chin, daring her to object.

Georgina’s lips parted.A firm hand?

Her sister squeezed her arm. “You haven’t had a single suitor call on you in a long while.”

“I have been at your home, tending to you in your confinement. Not here in London enjoying the season, meeting new people.”

Her mother’s eyes narrowed. “Come now, you attended quite a number of social events in Devonshire and met many new people.”

Her sister slid an arm around her waist. “Darling, think of it. We would be neighbors. Sir Reginald’s stature in the county is most high. And you would be coming to London regularly as the wife of a respected politician. Uniting our families would be a huge boon for all of us. His income alone…” Her voice, although barely above a whisper, now flared with delight.

“Sir Reginald is not a peer of the realm and he comes from new money,” said Georgina, her tone crisp. “I would have thought you would find that highly objectionable, Mother.”

“He is a fine gentleman who has been honoured by the Crown with a knighthood. He owns his own estate which is one of the finest homes in the county. He is a success and is well-liked and admired both in Devonshire and London. And having been married before, he knows very well how to be a husband.”

“Only his wife could tell us that,” quipped Georgina.

Her mother’s eyes flared. “That tongue of yours…”

Her sister pulled her in close. “Mother makes a very good point. Having been bereft of companionship for so long, Sir Reginald is certain to cherish you.”

Georgina shuddered. She knew what her sister meant. They spoke of sexual congress often enough between them. Georgie always had a healthy curiosity about the intimacies, and Philippa was always eager to educate and inform from her experience.

How could her sister possibly think such a man would please her? Philippa knew better. Over the years, the two of them had often amused themselves by analyzing the positive and negative attributes of the available young gentlemen as possible husbands for Georgina as they’d once done for Philippa. They’d made it an entertaining game between them.

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