Chapter 16

Please meet me, brother, at the Warren's Arms tonight at seven PM. We have a lot to discuss and much to sort out. I fear you will leave the country and we will still not have resolved our issues.

George read and reread the words that he had received that afternoon from Gregory. A promise, a chance that he could finally make things right with his brother before he left London entirely. That was all he wanted, really.

To have some connection with his last remaining family member in the world. Losing his father without any resolution had made it very clear to George that he did not want the same to happen again. If he ever wanted peace in his life, then he felt compelled to make things right.

Gregory knew that, and he had played on it.

As George glugged back the rest of his drink, he shook his head to himself in dismay. He never should have believed the words in this letter. He never should have trusted Gregory, when his brother had done nothing but try to make him look like a fool ever since he set foot in London. Gregory most certainly did not have the same intentions as George.

George was going to have to accept that Gregory was never going to care about their relationship. Not like he did. Gregory had gotten what he wanted, and that was all which troubled him. The money and the title, and soon the bride.

He did not seem to want George in his life at all.

To make things worse, George knew that he had missed a ball for tonight. Another chance for him to see Sophie and to maybe dance with her as well. That must have been a part of his brother's plan, to keep him far away from Lady Dashwood, allowing him to sink his teeth deeper into her, manipulating her further.

I should have told Sophie the truth when I had the chance, he thought sadly to himself.

But he had not taken the time to tell Sophie that his brother was the one who had gambled the family fortune away. He had not been honest with her about the fight, and the fact that his father believed Gregory over him, which was why he had left for Sweden. He thought it best at the time to not say a word.

Sadly, that was because he still wanted to protect Gregory and his reputation. He still loved his brother and did not want his name to be sullied. So he let Sophie think that there was nothing wrong with him. But now she was likely in his arms once more, dancing with him and potentially believing what he said instead.

George had made a mistake, and he was not sure how to rectify that.

At this point, he was not sure that he could. It was starting to feel like Gregory was always going to outwit him at every single turn. Especially since George had not even been playing the game up until this point.

Although there was no telling what would happen next…

As George finished off his drink, he knew he should have listened to Sebastian. His best friend tried to warn George that this might happen. He thought it was very strange that Gregory would arrange this meeting for the night of the ball. Especially when Gregory was a very social person who liked to be seen at every event possible, especially a ball during the Season with all the ton there.

Sebastian had seen right through Gregory, despite George wanting to give him the benefit of the doubt.

If only George had listened, then maybe he would be with Sophie right now, having the night of his life.

But he also knew that he never would have been able to forgive himself if this meeting had been real, and he had missed out on the chance to make things right with Gregory. If he had left Gregory sitting in the bar all by himself, then George would have regretted that also.

He really was caught between a rock and a hard place.

If he had realized a little sooner that Gregory was not going to join him in the Warren's Arms, then he could have spent some time getting dressed. He still could have continued to go to the ball. Instead he'd wasted valuable time, making a million and one excuses for his brother, thinking that maybe he had gotten caught up with work, or maybe he was simply nervous about this meeting because they were going to have to dig deep into their feelings.

That was not something 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 really had betrayed 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.

He hated the 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 the Warren'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 he almost caved 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.

But he could not see.

The wind was blocking his vision, the rain practically pouring into his eyes. The more he turned around, the less he could see…

But then she was there.

A beacon of heat in the iciness of the world surrounding him.

She was in his arms, lifting up on to her tip toes to finally give him the kiss that he so desperately needed.

The dream was conflicting and confusing. He did not know what it meant, and what he was supposed to do, but the sensation of Sophie in his arms was so glorious it gave him a strange sort of clarity. He knew that he should not want her, and that he did not have the right to really pursue her, but it was going to be incredibly challenging for him to let her go.

All he really wanted to do was cling to her forever more.