Don't Look Back

Chapter 60

Georgiana was a puddle of confused emotions and strange needs. She was a woman, after all, and wanted all that a woman could have. However, not at the cost of her independence. Oh, why did she need to be attracted to such a man?

Looking up, she fiddled with the wrist of her sleeve. She grew bored of the spying and just wanted to move on with her evening now that it was growing late.

"This could take until morning," she said with a groan. "It is not seemly me in this carriage all night."

Her complaints echoed to the wall Sir Radmore leaned against.

"Shhh," he said as he still watched. "Honestly, it has only been an hour."

She looked to the building with a huff and frowned at a figure standing outside it. Her eyes squinted as she tried to see better.

Blinking, she opened the carriage.

"Georgiana, what are you doing?" Radmore asked.

Georgiana was taken by madness and or fancy and not paying attention to a carriage barrelling towards her.

Yanked back by her skirts, she shook and slapped at Sir Radmore, who had just saved her life.

"Have you lost your senses?" he said and raised his voice as he pulled her into his arms.

"You were almost killed!"

She looked around and now realized how very near she came.

"Oh," she whispered. "I thought," she looked back to the building and found the man was no longer there, and neither was Sir Radmore's carriage.

"We missed him." Radmore cursed but then looked back to her. "Are you alright?" he asked again, more concerned for her.

She shook her head.

"I am perfectly fine," she said and pushed back from him as she tried to come to terms with who she had thought she had seen.

"Why did you get out of the carriage and cross the street before you could even look both ways?" he demanded angrily.

She looked at him now, furious.

"How dare you shout at me!" she hollered back at him.

He cursed and reached for her as he crushed her to his mouth, pressing urgently against hers.

"Damn you!" he whispered.

She seemed to be still swimming in confusion, but her desire for him overwhelmed that, and she kissed him back.

Turning her, he backed Georgiana to the wall. He had been standing against it before the daft girl got out of the carriage, and he pushed her against it with passion.

"Damnit, Georgiana," he whispered.

She giggled but relished in his lips upon hers. The memory of the figure seen moments before and who they reminded her of evaporated.

Neither of them took note of their surroundings for a time as their driver tried to be polite and look in the other direction. Unfortunately, other passerby's did not.

"Oiy, if you need a room, just up the street, you can find accommodation or your carriage could do nicely enough," came one drunken reply from a group.

"If she be the coin collecting sort, I would not be opposed to waiting a turn." another voice cackled.

Radmore pulled from her and looked livid.

"This is a lady of the highest vintage. If she were for sale, none could afford her," he said and pulled his cane out, and with it the sword hidden within.

"Begone, this be wooing," he said menacingly.

The men laughed but still retreated.

"Not at this hour, my good sir!" they tipped their hat. "And to you, rare blackamore vintage."

Radmore seethed.

"Don't," she whispered as she felt him pull away. "Please."

He was struggling now. She could feel it.

"No." he pulled from her reluctantly. "Even I am not worthy." he scoffed.

Her lips swollen and her brow creased in confusion, she shook her head.

"I don't understand."

"Come, get back in the carriage," he said, now averting his eyes from hers. "We still need to wait for Mrs. Parker."

Georgiana blinked, confused but obliged, and took his hand as he assisted her inside, but he firmly shut the door, and she could tell he was not about to talk to her again.

Sleep soon overtook her, but the commotion on the street awoke her, as did the voice of Sir Radmore.

"Miss Lambe," he whispered.

She blinked and looked around, her neck aching and sore from the strange position held all night.

"It's morning? I did not think to be out all night," she questioned.

He nodded, but his face was grave. "I doubt Mrs. Parker intended to as well." he nodded in the direction of the building she had gone into the night before.

Blinking, she looked confused at the sheet-covered object that was crudely carried out.

"Is that?" she said suddenly.

Radmore nodded. "Word on the street already that a man that fits Sidney's description acquired the room for the night," he said. "I already spoke to the inspector."

"Did you also tell him that was impossible?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yes, I told him that we knew of a plot afoot and that we are witnesses." Sir Radmore said seriously. "I also told them that if she was dead, it was at the hands of her lover Lord Sellac."

"What did they say?" she asked.

He shrugged. "They said that they were aware Mr. Parker was not dead and had motive."

She looked livid. "But he is unable and recovering!"

Radmore sighed and nodded. "Mr. Parker has an alibi, and we are witnesses to the tryst coming here," he said. "It is better we were here than weren't."

Swallowing, Georgiana looked to the body of the woman who had tried to kill Sidney. The clumsy way she was being loaded in the cart without much respect because of the place her body had been found gave her pause. Georgiana found a perverse justice in the circumstance but a tragic sense of loss and fear that the viper could keep striking even from beyond the grave.

He climbed in. "Time to go tell Mr. Parker that he is now a widower but also a person of interest in the murder."

Georgiana could not think about the man she had seen the night before or the passionate kisses she and Sir Radmore shared. It was all she could do not to throw up thinking about the body of Eliza carried out and carelessly dumped.

It was justice, but it still turned her stomach.

"How could Lord Sellac have known that Sidney lived?" she asked.

Sir Radmore sighed. "Rumors have a habit of slipping eventually. Obviously, this one ran its course."

He hit the roof in haste to be on their way.