Chapter 14

George remained on Sophie's mind for a long time after returning from the park. Just because she had spent the time walking and talking with Gregory, did not mean he had made an impression. The only thing that stuck out to Sophie was the fact that he did not seem to want to let her go. He did not want to leave her to speak with anyone else. It was very frustrating, especially when George was around.

But she honestly could not recall anything they had talked about. It had all been a blur.

Gregory was nice enough and he treated her well, but he did not spark anything like excitement within her. She could not help it, her heart simply did not feel a thing. She had spent all evening long after the picnic trying to work out why, but she could come up with nothing. Even if the rumors did turn out to be true, and George was not the man she assumed him to be, Sophie was still not sure if she would be able to see Gregory in that way.

But the rumors… she still could not switch off her gut feeling. She did not believe them.

Waking up in the morning had done nothing to change her mind. She did not feel any clearer at all.

"Lady Dashwood." She was suddenly interrupted from her thoughts by the house foot man, who dragged her eyes away from the window. "You have a visitor."

"I do?" She stiffened her spine a little. "Who is it?"

"Lord Harrington."

Oh my!

Would it be Gregory or George? Sophie had no idea and that made her whole body tremble with nerves. She was worried that it might be Gregory, because she honestly was not sure what else they would have to talk about. Of course, her anxiety that it might be George was for a completely different reason.

Her heart fluttered as she nodded. "Alright, thank you. Please send him in."

She clutched her hands together hard, trying to remain calm and in control on the surface, even if she was flapping like crazy underneath. She sucked in and held her breath while she waited for Lord Harrington revealed himself, until she learned which one it was.

"Good afternoon, Lady Dashwood."

Oh thank goodness.

It was George.

Sophie's heart leapt up into her throat. Relief absolutely flooded through her, and a smile spread across her face.

"Good afternoon, Lord Harrington, it is wonderful to see you."

She could say that and really mean it, which felt wonderful.

"I have brought a gift for you."

Surprise flickered across Sophie's face as she took the parcel from him. She was not expecting that, especially not a gift like this that was not flowers. She stared at George in shock when she held on to the parcel.

"What is this?" she gasped.

"Just something I thought you might like."

She dove her head inside the bag, and her heart raced as she saw what was inside.

"A book?" A smile spread across her face as she remembered the conversation that she had with George as they danced at the ball. "You remember that I adore reading."

"Of course I did. And it is a novel about traveling across the water, which I hope will remind you of our time together on the way to England."

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe.

Sophie's eyes brimmed with happy tears. This was the nicest thing that anyone had ever done for her. She did not even know what she could say. She did not know how to express herself properly. Her eyes met his once more and she hoped desperately that he could see how much this had touched her.

"Thank you, Lord Harrington. This is wonderful…"

Before George could respond to her, their conversation was interrupted by her grandfather who had entered the room without knowing what he was about to walk into.

"Oh, I am terribly sorry," he declared as he darted his eyes between Sophie and George. "I did not mean to interrupt. I just wanted to let you know, Sophie, that I have organized a private tour of the battleship that is currently in the Thames…"

"Oh my! That is certainly exciting," George jumped in animatedly. "I have heard it is quite the vessel."

Sophie watched her grandfather smile widely. It warmed her heart to see him this way, he always enjoyed it when someone was interested in the same things he was. "I am friends with the captain, and he has said that I am welcome to bring my family aboard. You should come with us, Lord Harrington. It should be quite the fitting outing since the pair of you first got acquainted on a ship."

Sophie looked at George to see how he would respond to this. It truly did sound like a lovely idea to her, and a real chanced for them to talk about anything and everything, but she did not want to make him do anything he was not in the mood for. He may be busy, and just here for a brief visit with his wonderful gift.

"If you do not mind me coming along with you, I should love to," George declared enthusiastically, much to Sophie's joy. "I am quite fascinated by boats myself, so I would love to be lucky enough to explore the vessel. A private tour from the captain himself is not a chance that comes along often."

Sophie's grandfather patted him on the shoulder happily. "Then you shall come. The whole family will be with us. A carriage will be here to take us there soon."

What a surprise!

Sophie did not even know that she would be touring the battleship today, and now she was going to do so with George as well. Being back on a boat with the man who had saved her from the water sounded like the perfect afternoon for her…

***

The battleship was fascinating. Utterly wonderful. Sophie was truly enjoying herself as she walked around the boat with her family. The library aboard filled her with the most joy. The captain had an extensive collection of books and maps which she wanted to examine them all.

Unfortunately, it seemed like she was not going to have time to do so, because her father and grandfather were very keen to climb on deck to see the cannons.

"Come on, Sophie," her father called back to her. "I have so many questions to ask."

"I will catch up with you," she replied. "I just want to take a look at this map here."

Her family were far too distracted to really pay too much attention, which allowed Sophie a moment to stay with the map. To really take a look at the contours on each piece of land. She ran her fingers lightly along the outline of Africa, wondering what it would be like to visit such a place. She had only read about these other countries before, so they only took place in her imagination…

"The captain really does read well!"

Sophie jumped as George spoke out. She thought that she was down here alone.

"Oh yes, the books look wonderful," she replied with a smile. "He must have had a lot of adventures on this boat. A little like the adventures I am about to read about in the book you have given me."

Their eyes locked in for a moment, and they shared a sweet smile. In that moment, Sophie became acutely aware that they had been left alone for just a moment. If she was ever going to ask all the questions that she had floating in her mind, it was now. He would likely be far more honest with her if it was just the pair of them.

"I would like to ask you something." She edged a little closer to him in the hope that she could speak in a hushed enough tone that they would not be overheard. "About the rumors I have heard about you."

Immediately George's face fell, and disappointment danced over his eyes. "Rumors?"

"About gambling debts and family ruin. Is that why you left for Sweden in the first place?"

She hated asking this. It did not make her feel good at all, but she needed to be certain. She had to know one way or another, even if it was a little terrifying to even state this.

"The rumors that have been spread about me are utterly false," he declared with such sincerity that she immediately felt terrible for even seeming like she did not trust him. "I am not sure why they have been spread about me and why my brother started it all. I learned from a very young age that once the ton have decided something about you, they will not let it go, and so did he. Which is why I am unsure of his motives to always make me look bad. I did not leave because of debts. I left for adventure and for a new life in a country."

"I see." She nodded slowly. "Well, I might not have the same experience as you with English culture, because I did not grow up in it, but I can see what you mean. Reputation is everything in London, and once it is ruined it does not seem easy to regain it. I can see why you might have wanted to escape that."

George stepped a little closer to her.

She could almost feel the heat and intense energy burning off him in waves. It sent a trickle of desire down her spine, one that she wanted to embrace because it felt wonderful.

"Lady Dashwood, you are my only friend in London, aside from Sebastian."

His breaths seemed as labored as hers.

Sophie's head began to spin with a heady dizzy lust.

"You do recall that I offered you anything in exchange for saving my life. Why did you not ask for more?"

George did not say a word.

Instead, he stepped closer to her and lightly brushed her cheek with his fingers. Her whole face seemed to light up, tingling with a thrill that she could hardly fathom. As their eyes locked in on one another again, everything seemed to stop for Sophie. The world stopped spinning and everyone else vanished into nothingness. It was only herself and him in this wonderful, exciting moment.

He cocked his head to one side, and Sophie became utterly convinced that he was about to kiss her.

Her eyes hooded, she rose up on to her tip toes, more than willing for this man to claim her mouth with his own.

It honestly felt like it was almost going to happen, that this was inevitable, and she could not wait.

She wanted to taste him, to feel his mouth, to know how far this intense desire could go.

But before their lips could actually connect, the air whipped out of her lungs. A coldness overcame her as George vanished. One second, he was close to her, about to kiss her, and the next he had stepped back.

Gone, and she had no idea why.

As her eyes snapped open fully and she spotted George, she could see that he was shrouded by guilt. He knew what was about to happen, and he liked it too, she could tell. But he halted it. For reasons she could not understand, he had put an end to it.

"I think we should go up on deck," he said, sounding a little detached now. "See your family before they wonder why we are missing."

"Yes, of course." She swallowed hard and nodded. "Yes, I think you are right."

What on earth had just happened?

What was going to happen now?

Did George really like her or was friendship all that he truly wanted? Was there something that George was keeping from her? If not the rumors, then what was it? Why, after a moment that should have clarified everything, was she left feeling more confused than ever?