“Just what in the Hades did you think you were doing having dinner with him?” he thundered as he rounded on her. “Do you have any idea how close you came to being raped?”

“Oh, don’t say thank you,” Georgiana snapped. “I just saved your life.”

“I saved you as well,” Will shouted. “Maybe I should have left you to him?”

“Maybe I should have left you to him too,” Georgiana countered.

“Get back into your room and stay there. I am going to fetch the manager,” Will ordered as he stepped around Simeon’s unconscious body and started to walk down the corridor.

Georgiana snapped. “I am not going to take orders from you.”

Will’s patience evaporated. Rather than going downstairs, he stopped before her and leaned forward until they were almost nose-to-nose.

“I warn you now that I am no mood for an argument with you. I have never known such foolhardy, selfish, and reckless behaviour in my entire life. I am ashamed to say that I was foolish to let you stay with Ruth. It is clear she has no idea what you get up to when her back is turned. Neither of you can be trusted,” Will snapped.

With each word she listened to Georgiana’s heart wept. The scorn on his face said it all. In fact, so strong was the affect it had on her that her head bent backward beneath the force of his words and the pain they brought her. Tears gathered in her eyes to the point that the world blurred. She stared at him blankly, unsure what to say that had not already been said to try to get him to see her as a woman. She was saved from having to reply when Simeon suddenly lunged to his feet and staggered toward her, his hand outstretched menacingly.

Will grabbed his arm before he reached her, and landed a solid punch on the man’s chin which was so fierce Simeon spun around in a circle and fell limply against the wall. This time he didn’t get up.

 “Touch her again and I will tear your black heart out,” Will said, his voice full of menace.

Georgiana barely saw this renewed altercation. She was still struggling with the way Will had looked her up and down so distastefully she knew her association with him was damaged beyond repair. The disgust in his gaze was something she had never seen before, and was so similar to Simeon’s disparaging glare that Georgiana began to doubt herself. In deference to her mild worry at being the recipient of Simeon’s scorn, Will’s disgust cut deep.

“I am sorry,” she whispered.

Deep inside she still wasn’t sure she should be apologising, but she did anyway.

Maybe she had been foolish, but her slight fall from grace didn’t warrant this kind of scorn, did it?

“You are sorry.” The derision in Will’s voice interrupted her thoughts and drew her attention back to him. “Do you have any idea what you have done tonight?”

“I didn’t do anything,” she whispered, now openly crying. “How can you be so unfair?”

“Unfair?” Will thundered. “He was practically crawling down your throat! You were kissing him, Georgiana!”

Unfortunately, because of Will’s shouting, several of the hotel’s guests had come out of their rooms to see what all the commotion was. Georgiana’s cheeks were aflame.

“We need to go somewhere a little more private,” she whispered.

“Don’t you think you have had enough men in your room for one night?” Will snapped.

“I didn’t ask either of you to enter my room. He forced his way in,” Georgiana shouted. She looked at Simeon in contempt before she turned her furious gaze on Will. “Neither of you are welcome. Neither of you should consider me interested in you. If you want to stand out here and behave like fighting cocks then get on with it, but don’t blame me for your stupidity.” She threw them both an exasperated glare. “If we have drawn the attention of the hotel’s guests it is purely because you are two oafs fighting like children!”

Now that she had started to rant the words flowed unchecked. She pierced Will with a glare that made him blink and take a wary step back.

“I have said all of this to you before until I am blue in the face. We are not betrothed, nor are we related. You are also not my guardian. So, you are in no position to tell me what to do! The only person who has poured scorn upon me is you. I am sorry if you consider me such a scandal. I am sorry if you consider everything I do unbecoming of a lady, but I cannot ever remember asking you for our opinion.” She snorted contemptuously and threw him a glare that was nothing short of scornful. “I may–and I repeat ‘may’–have made a foolish mistake tonight, but I did so out of innocence and not with any sense of purpose. I wasn’t asking anyone for anything or making offers either before you insult me further by daring to suggest it. In fact, you are the only one making a scandal out of nothing. You are the only one who has ruined my entire life! I am sorry, but I don’t see why I should apologise to you because I have done nothing to you.”

“You were kissing him,” Will shouted, pointing at the now smirking man still leaning against the wall. “That bastard had his hands all over you.”

The memory of seeing her in another man’s arms was enough to make his blood boil. He physically trembled with rage. His temper wasn’t helped by the stunning realisation that he had come so close to losing everything that mattered to him.

She mattered to him. Georgiana was more important to him than anything else in his world. 

“Stop it,” she screeched. “Just stop it. I was there, remember? But I didn’t ask him. Do you think I enjoyed it? Do you? Do you think I wanted someone like that to kiss me?”

“Did you arrange an assignation with him?” Will demanded.

“No, I did not,” she replied swiping at the tears on her cheeks.

“Did you ask him to your room?”

“No, I did not,” she said honestly.

He heaved a sigh. She was telling the truth. Immediately, his anger began to wane. In its wake left a tense uncertainty neither of them understood. In spite of the curious onlookers, he hauled her against him and slammed his lips on hers. It was a kiss that spoke of possession rather than brutal force, and began to heal the hurt and worry in both of them.

Georgiana clung to him, too needy to resist the force of the raw desire that swept through her.

Oblivious to the startled gasps of the people in the hallway, Will continued to kiss her the way he had wanted to for a long time now. The kiss was a possession, a command to which he would accept nothing less than her total compliance. She belonged to him in just the same way that he belonged to her, and he wanted her to understand that. If he was honest, it had always been the case. He just hadn’t known it before now.

Neither of them had any idea how long they stood wrapped in each other’s arms. The rest of the world faded into insignificance while their mouths mated with rapturous abandon. It was only when the particularly loud slam of a door nearby rattled the walls that Will finally lifted his head. Rather than move away as propriety demanded, he rested his forehead against hers briefly while he willed her to understand.

“It’s going to be alright, Georgiana,” he assured her.

“It can’t be,” she cried miserably. “It can’t ever be alright again.”

Will leaned back to study her. “Let’s go inside,” he whispered as he nudged her into her room beside them.

There was no sign of Simeon now, but Will wasn’t prepared to lower his guard yet, and wanted to get Georgiana to safety before he reappeared.

Georgiana entered the room and waited until Will had closed the door and secured it. Once they were alone, she turned to face him.

“Did he hurt you?” he began.

Georgiana shook her head but made no objection when he caught one of her hands in his and studied the red finger-marks visible on her wrists.

“He hurt you,” he whispered.

“I didn’t invite him here. He followed me,” she re-iterated.

Will nodded. Now that he had calmed down a little, logic had resurfaced. He knew Georgiana. In spite of her recent behaviour with the brandy and skinny dipping, she wouldn’t be foolhardy enough to invite a new acquaintance to her room, especially a man.

“I am sorry I doubted you,” he said.

“I have been foolish,” she conceded.

She knew that in spite of his overbearing manner, Will only wanted what was best for her. Given Simeon’s behaviour tonight, Will had been right to caution her. She didn’t want to consider what might have happened had he not been around.

Will didn’t correct her. He still hadn’t completely forgiven her, mostly because he couldn’t quite get the image of her kissing Simeon out of his mind. Each time he relived the nightmare a jealous rage surged through him that eradicated every ounce of self-control he had ever possessed.

“Don’t do it again,” he warned. “I can’t stand you kissing another man.”

Georgiana revelled beneath the raw possession on his face he made no attempt to hide. Unfortunately, she then remembered that she was standing in the arms of a man who was engaged to someone else. Still, it was difficult to move away, especially when those arms were something she needed right now.

“We can’t do this,” she whispered as she reluctantly pushed out of his arms. “It’s wrong.”

“You are safe with me, Georgiana,” he assured her wondering if it was the memory of Simeon’s brutality that made her wary.

“I know,” she replied sadly. Once she had put several feet distance between them, she turned and studied him. “While I cannot thank you enough for your help tonight, you should leave now. We can’t keep doing this.”

“What?” Will interrupted.

“We should not kiss,” she replied bluntly. “Will, it isn’t right, or fair on your fiancé.”

“I need to speak with you about that.” Will ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

“Don’t,” Georgiana pleaded quietly. “I can’t do this right now.”

“Why? We need to discuss the wedding eventually,” Will said quietly but meant their wedding–his marriage to Georgiana-not his wedding to Penelope.

“Another time, alright?” she asked.

Bravely, she offered him a smile that shook alarmingly and quickly turned away before he saw how much it wobbled.

“Georgiana,” Will murmured, refusing to give in, but Georgiana was having none of it.

“I am tired,” she said. “I am sure that Simeon has gone now and won’t bother trying to come back.”

“You should not stay here alone now,” he said firmly.

“I will be fine, I am sure of it,” she assured him, desperate to avoid having to talk about anything right now.

“I will swap rooms with you,” he offered. “If he tries to get in, he will get the shock of his life when he finds me here.”

“But he knows where your room is as well,” she protested.

“Yes, but I am not a beautiful and very attractive young woman,” Will argued.

Georgiana opened her mouth to argue but snapped it closed again. She would rest properly somewhere else. The prospect of getting undressed and climbing between the sheets again in this particular room would not bring her any comfort.

“If you are sure then thank you,” she murmured. It was then that a something suddenly occurred to her. “Why are you here by the way?”

Will paused beside the door and looked at her. “I asked Ruth where you had gone.”

Georgiana’s brows lifted. She doubted that Ruth would tell him and Simeon where to find her–would she?

“I wonder if she told Simeon where to find me as well,” she murmured with a shiver. Even saying the man’s name gave her the creeps now.

“I have no idea but I fully intend to speak with her about it when I get back,” Will warned.

“Please don’t,” Georgiana replied. “I will speak with her. She is my aunt. If she has, I need to find out why, and what she wanted to come of it. It is something I should do, not you.”

Now that her initial fear had subsided she was starting to feel a little more like herself and suspected that if she wanted to get through this she needed to take a little more control. If Will started to take over, and spoke to Ruth on her behalf, she would find herself being ushered back to Cranbury before she drew breath.

Will reluctantly nodded. “I will go and fetch my things. You wait here. I will knock three times when I get back. Don’t answer the door to anybody while I am gone.”

He disappeared before she could reply.

Once alone in the room, Georgiana’s worry grew. In an attempt to keep her mind off just how vulnerable she was she placed her bag on the end of the bed and sat down beside it to wait for Will’s return.

Will closed the door to his room, his bag clutched tightly in his hand. He walked down the hallway toward Georgiana’s room, his thoughts locked on her and how he could get her to consider a future with him. He didn’t realise he was no longer alone until a figure emerged out of the darkest shadow in the hallway and lunged toward him. Will knew immediately who it was but, before he was able to duck, a heavy fist landed on his jaw. To his disgust, he was embroiled in a fight for the second time that night.

This time, though, he was a little more focused on what he was doing because he didn’t have Georgiana nearby to worry about. She was safely tucked away in her room leaving Will free to focus all of his attention on his enemy. 

“I will damned well kill you,” Simeon snarled. “I’ll teach you for stopping me from getting what I want.”

“She isn’t yours,” Will snapped as he successfully dodged the wild swing Simeon threw at his head.

“She isn’t yours either,” Simeon growled.

He landed several punches, waited until Simeon was winded, and hauled the man up by his collar.

“Stay away from her,” he snarled only to wince when a sharp stabbing pain pierced his side. He glanced down and watched Simeon take another wild stab at his side. The tell-tale warmth of rushing blood began to spread down to his hip. Aware that he had just been stabbed, he looked up and saw the small blade Simeon held in the palm of his hand.

Will immediately grabbed the hand holding the wicked looking blade and pushed hard against it to stop Simeon stabbing him again.

“Damn you,” Will snarled.

“I told you I won’t have you stand in my way,” Simeon looked almost gleeful as he lunged forward again. 

“Murder is illegal in this country,” Will growled as he dodged the flashing blade.

Simeon merely lunged forward again, this time horrifyingly close to Will’s side again. Will grabbed the hand holding the knife again, but struggled to push it away and fight Simeon’s fury. There was something in Simeon’s eyes that warned Will the man wasn’t in full possession of his faculties now and was incredibly strong because of it.

“Just what the Hell is wrong with you?” Will grunted. “Are you drunk or just stupid?”

He didn’t give Simeon the opportunity to answer before he landed several punches that put the man on the floor. While his opponent was temporarily winded, Will removed the weapon from his hand by stomping hard on his fingers. Simeon’s howl of rage was almost pitiful, but was quickly followed by a snarl of contempt which resulted in him lunging awkwardly to his feet and surging forward once more.

Will held the weapon and used it to force Simeon to keep his distance.

“Get away from here or I swear to God I will shout for help. I don’t care if I rouse all the guests out of their beds. I will have you arrested for this,” Will growled through clenched teeth.

“You won’t steal her away from me. I am going to show you that you can’t. How dare you challenge me?” Simeon snarled. “Don’t you have any idea who I am?”

“You are an attempted murderer,” Will snapped in disgust. “I don’t care who the Hell you are, you are a criminal.”

“Go to Hell,” Simeon snarled. “Dead men don’t speak.”

With that he launched into a wild frenzy of kicks and punches that were difficult to follow.

Eventually, Will realised that they would continue to fight like this all night because neither of them were prepared to back down. Still, he fought until his back was to the corridor he had just left, and continued to back away until he was level with Georgiana’s door. Keeping his gaze firmly fixed on his attacker; Will thumped three times on the door, and silently prayed for Georgiana to be quick about opening it. Before she did, Simeon was upon him again.

Georgiana yanked the door open, wondering what the strange noises were outside. She had little doubt it was Will who had knocked, but was stunned at the scene that greeted her when she yanked the door open.

“Will?” she cried in alarm when she saw the blood soaking his shirt. Her eyes widened when Simeon appeared and began to kick wildly at Will.

“Get your bag,” Will ordered as he fought him off.

Georgiana lifted her bag to show him she already had it, and found herself promptly yanked out of the room. She gasped when she saw that Simeon was right behind them and hurriedly stepped out of the way as the men traded blows.

“Go!” Will ordered her once Simeon was busy trying to climb to his feet. “Don’t stop. I will catch you up.”

Georgiana hurried to the stairs. When she realised that Will wasn’t behind her, she hesitated and looked back in time to witness Simeon kick Will in the stomach. Will barely flinched, and instead kicked Simeon’s knee hard from the side. The loud cracking of the joint made Simeon scream and clutch the appendage protectively as he fell to the floor again.

“Quickly.” Will ushered Georgiana down the stairs toward the main reception desk. “Let’s get out of here.”

Half way down the stairs he realised he had left his bag behind.

“Wait a minute,” he said, and left her briefly to fetch his belongings.

Whatever had gone wrong with Simeon’s mind had left him rocking on the floor of the hallway, mumbling incoherently beneath his breath and sweating profusely. Will wondered if he had taken an opiate, or was genuinely insane. Whichever, it was down to the magistrate and the doctors to sort the man out. His priority right now was getting Georgiana to safety.

“What is it?” She demanded when he returned to her.

Will lifted his bag to show her and escorted her hurriedly down the stairs.

Once at the reception desk he informed the manager what had happened, and gave the man instructions for the magistrate, along with his direction before he swept Georgiana out of the door. Within minutes, they found themselves safely within the confines of a carriage on their way back to Mecklemerry.

“We need to pad that with something,” she said softly.

“Leave it,” Will ordered dismissively. “It is not deep.”

Georgiana, who had been leaning toward him, froze. She looked at the closed expression on his face and saw that he was coldly furious. Even in the darkness of the carriage, the tension in him warned her that he was not in any mood to talk.

“You need to see a doctor.”

“It’s fine,” he said more sharply this time.

Without causing another argument, Georgiana had to accept that he didn’t need help, and so settled back against the seat.