True Gentlemen, Tome 3 : Will's True Wish

** Exttrait offert par Grace Burrowes (VO)

Meeting Will and Georgette

This scene is a 700-word snippet from Worth: Lord of Reckoning, and it’s where I first met Will Dorning—and Georgette. Will and another of Jacaranda’s brothers, Grey (the earl) are discussing her situation, while Georgette’s behavior mirrors the topic under discussion. Will stuck with me, and so did Georgette…

“What is Francine up to?” Grey hated having to ask his brother, but their step-mama’s correspondence had reached flood stage.

Will tossed a stick dutifully dropped at his feet by a brindle mastiff larger than some of the ponies used in the mines.

“I am not in Step-Mama’s confidence, Grey, for which I give daily thanks to my Creator. I did see her casting spells over the teapot with Mrs. Dankle.”

The dog waited at Will’s feet, adoring gaze turned on its owner. When Will gave some signal visible only to the beast, it bounded off across the green between the gardens and the home wood.

“Francine is ever imposing on Dankle’s good nature,” Grey said. “You need Ash to invent you a machine for pitching sticks into the next county, lest you tire your arm.”

The dog was back in a half-dozen happy, ear-flapping bounds, the stick deposited at Will’s feet as the hound dropped to its haunches.

“Step-Mama wants to spend the rest of the summer in Bath,” Will said, petting the dog’s great head. “If not Bath, then Lyme Regis. The older set likes to congregate where they have fond memories and to leave the house parties to us.”

Where were Will’s fond memories? He was a handsome fellow in the tall, dark-haired, violet-eyed cast of his siblings and had read law with the same ease some people read the Society pages of the London Gazette.

“I cannot afford to send Francine to Bath, and I’ve told her as much on several occasions.” Painful occasions, for them both.

“I know that. Good dog, George.”

“You name the largest dog in the realm after our sovereign?”

“I named the largest bitch in the realm after our sovereign. Her full name is Georgette. You should ask Daisy what her dear mama is up to. If Francine burdens anybody with her schemes, it’s her own daughter.”

At the mention of her name, the dog’s ears swiveled, for she, like most females, was apparently eager to do Will’s bidding.

“I’d be nervous, were I you, Will.”

“She won’t eat me, will you, Georgie dearest? She eats only meddling older brothers who won’t send Step-Mama away for a few weeks so we can all enjoy some peace and quiet.”

“Which is why I’d be worried,” Grey said, letting the dog sniff at his hand. She was surprisingly delicate about it, for her size. “I fear Francine’s scheming again to get one of us matched with an heiress. I’ve the title to protect me, because Francine won’t presume to choose our next countess. You’re the next oldest, the best looking, and too kind to the ladies to tell Step-Mama to mind her own business.”

Will tossed the stick again, sending it clear into the home wood. “You’re saying if you deny Step-Mama a house on the Crescent in Bath, she’ll seek revenge by flinging heiresses at me?”

The dog disappeared after the stick, her path marked by rustling bushes.

“I don’t know what exactly Step-mama’s about. Francine is a woman who’s been discontent with her station for some time, and I haven’t the knack of divining her plots. She was after me to bodily fetch Jacaranda home, claiming that this time Mrs. Dankle truly will leave us for the charms of her son’s small holding.”

“Dankle has earned her rest, and four grandchildren is rather a temptation.”

Three grandchildren had done nothing to improve the lure of home for Francine. With each of Daisy’s babies, her ladyship seemed to grow more desperate to distance herself from her children.

“Be careful, Will. If you’ve a notion to attend some house parties, I won’t stop you.”

Will gave him an odd look. “I thought you hated house parties.”

“I most assuredly do. They are the delight of the miserably married and the downfall of many a happy bachelor. You’d best see what’s keeping that puppy of yours. Mr. Springboth’s hound occasionally gets loose, and as far as he’s concerned, your Georgie would make a prime bit of sport.”

“I’ll be careful, and I’ll keep an eye on Step-Mama. See that you do likewise. You’re not bad looking, you have the title, and for some women, that’s enough.”

Will loped off, his expression promising severe consequences for any presuming hound who trifled with his Georgette.