Falling for the Forbidden Duke by Eva Shepherd

Author:Eva Shepherd
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2022-11-24T17:05:40+00:00

Chapter Eleven

It took a sleepless night, with endless tossing and turning, for Georgina to finally formulate the words she was going to say to her sister. Her conscience was never going to be eased until she made a full confession, and Olivia deserved nothing less than complete honesty.

In making her confession, she would ensure that Olivia knew the fault lay entirely with Georgina. Olivia might hate her for what she was about to tell her, but that was something she would have to accept with fortitude.

Whatever Olivia decided when she heard of their kiss, Georgina would live with it. She would let Olivia know the kiss meant nothing to either of them. If she still wanted to marry the Duke, Georgina would do nothing to dissuade her. She would also inform her of her intention never to see the Duke again. Once she had heard this shameful confession, if Olivia wished to have no further contact with Georgina, then it would be no less a punishment than she deserved.

With both determination and dread, she approached Olivia’s bed chamber and tried to prepare herself for what might be the hardest conversation she would ever have. Quite possibly, this would be the end of their friendship. She had betrayed the person in the world who meant everything to her. Georgina could still hardly believe that she had done such a thing, but now she needed to face the consequences of her actions.

Pausing outside the door, she braced herself with several deep breaths. She knocked. There was no answer. If Olivia was sleeping, she did not want to wake her, so she quietly opened the door a fraction and peeped in.

The bed was empty.

Georgina opened the door fully, stepped inside and stared at the neatly made bed. Was this a good sign? Had Olivia fully recovered? She hoped so. Maybe even now she was down in the breakfast room chatting happily with the Duke. Georgina bit the edge of her lip to stop herself from once again crying. They were tears of self-pity, and she would not allow them to fall.

This painful conversation would have to wait. Georgina had no stomach for food and had no intention of joining Olivia and the family in the breakfast room. Until she had made her confession she could not face Olivia, and her resolve to never see the Duke again had to start now.

How she was going to achieve that while still in his house Georgina was unsure, but at the very least she would make sure she was never alone in his company.

But she was anxious to know the state of Olivia’s health, so she sought out her lady’s maid and found her napping in a chair in the upper servants’ parlour.

She was reluctant to wake her. Servants worked long hours, and attending to an unwell mistress meant Molly’s workload had been increased over the last few days. But Georgina needed answers, so she gently shook the lady’s maid’s shoulder.

‘Miss Daglish,’ she said, rousing herself, quickly standing up and bobbing a curtsey.

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