Compromised for Christmas (The Jennings Family #1)

6. Georgiana

6

Georgiana

G eorgiana’s cheeks ached from the strain of keeping the false smile she’d donned since she awoke that morning plastered on her face. But today was an especially hard day, and keeping up the facade of happiness while surrounded by Lady Bentley, Lady Felicity, and Mother in the Jennings family library was becoming an increasingly arduous task.

In general, Georgiana was a positive person. She always sought out the bright and shiny aspects of life. If she didn’t—well, that was a dire spiral to spin down. Even in the darkest, dirtiest depths of London, the sun broke through the coal-laden haze, and flowers found a way to push their way through the cobblestones. So, she chose to bask in the sunshine and pick the scraggly flowers.

But some days the melancholy got the better of Georgiana. She feared today was to be one of those days. She desperately wanted to curl up in bed with her Bernie. He had made everything brighter, bearable. The band around her chest tightened.

Her mother set down her teacup with a soft clatter on the tea tray laid out before them and turned to Lady Bentley, seated opposite on a matching settee. “With all this thrilling marriage news, I must inquire: Is Lord Bentley seeking a bride for himself?”

Georgiana fought an eye roll. Subtle, Mother.

Lady Bentley smiled politely. “Not at the moment. I am sure if the right person comes along my Felix will decide to settle down.”

Mother eased back, content as a cat who’d found the cream. Georgiana knew exactly what her mother was thinking. Opportunity. If Lord Bentley never took a wife, Mr. Jennings, who just so happened to be Georgiana’s betrothed, was next in line. Which meant Georgiana could one day become the next Lady Bentley and birth the heir to the earldom. Mother would gain everything she’d so ruthlessly sought, had always prioritized over her own daughter’s well-being. No wonder her mother had wasted no time insisting on a wedding.

Georgiana’s stare landed on Lady Felicity. The young woman, near in age to Georgiana, absently traced the beveled edges of one of the diamond-paned windows, staring out at her family’s snow-covered estate. She turned, her amber plait swinging over her shoulder, and their gazes collided.

Lady Felicity smiled warmly and beckoned Georgiana with a wave. “Miss Georgiana, would you join me?”

Georgiana smoothed her soft-blush skirts and stood, forcing her lips to tilt up. Perhaps getting to know her soon-to-be sister-in-law would be the perfect distraction from her glum mood. She usually would seek out some thrill, approach one of the young, eager dockworkers of her father’s, perhaps the strapping lad of the meat pie costermonger—and get herself the most delicious kidney pie in all of London while she was at it. Those distractions wouldn’t be an option for her now. And it didn’t appear as though she’d be receiving any distraction from Mr. Jennings since he didn’t want to waste any of his time with her.

“How are you fairing, Georgiana? You don’t mind if I call you Georgiana, do you? We are to be sisters, after all. You seemed a bit forlorn. I know all about fake smiles. I’m quite adept at them, and yours was not very convincing, I’m sorry to say. You can call me Felicity.”

Georgiana blinked. That had been quite a lot of words.

Lady Felicity laughed. “Apologies, I am just a bit overeager to have another woman in the family. Brothers .” She rolled her eyes and groaned, but her amber eyes twinkled. Her smile softened, and she tilted her head. Her fingers fiddled with the bottom of her plait, fluffing the hair. “I imagine it isn’t easy being thrown into a new family.”

“It has been…dizzying. But you all have been exceptionally kind. And I’m looking forward to getting to know you all.” If she was granted the opportunity at all with her husband. That seemed the most important of the lot—and the least likely.

Lady Felicity frowned. “There’s that forlorn look again. Is there anything I can do to help?”

“I apologize, Lady Fel—”

“Ahem. Felicity .” The young woman’s amber brows shot up expectantly, and she batted her eyelashes patiently at Georgiana.

“Felicity,” Georgiana amended with a faint twitch of her lips. “I assure you, your family has been nothing but gracious. The closeness between you all is…well, I only have an elder brother who has long since traveled to America, so, truly, I am excited to be a part of the Jennings fold. I have always wanted a family like that.” I have always wanted any semblance of family at all.

Felicity’s eyes sparkled, and she bounced once on her toes. “Oh, you will not be disappointed, I promise! We Jennings—we know how to have fun.” She turned to gaze out the window. “We run wild over this estate. Even now, grown as we are.” She glanced at Georgiana from the corner of her eye, cocking a brow. “As long as you enjoy a bit of wildness too, you’ll fit right in.”

Oh dear, if only the woman knew. Georgiana lived for reckless rivalry. It was her escape from her lonely existence. She had always known eventually she’d be granted an actual escape when she married—no longer a disappointment to her father and a pawn for her mother.

But she never fooled herself into thinking she’d be escaping into a better situation. Not with the sorry types her mother shoved her toward. The cloud of melancholy hovered over her, threatening to sink lower. Apparently, that hadn’t stopped her na?ve heart from hoping, from holding on to the fanciful notions of love and family and belonging.

There was no more dreaming, though. Because her future was now. And it depended on a stranger, a man she knew almost nothing about and who apparently had no desire to know anything about her.

“I do delight in a bit of devilry,” she said, summoning cheer from God only knew where. “I’d love to hear stories of your escapades.”

Felicity grinned, wide and impish. “Oh, do I have stories for you.”

And so, Georgiana and Felicity chatted, the young woman’s infectious exuberance gradually dispelling the gloom. They eventually joined Lady Jennings and Georgiana’s mother for a fresh pot of tea and biscuits, only to be treated with more tales. Georgiana sipped on steaming hot tea and soaked in the stories of a childhood so much different from her own. She thought she was going to very much like the Jennings.

Smoky amber eyes and freckled cheeks, nearly hidden beneath a deep blush, flitted through her mind.

Why did that still leave her hollow inside?