Chapter Fourteen
Georgiana donned one of her favorite gowns, a vibrant Venetian blue wool trimmed in ivory white silk. She then allowed her maid to fashion her hair into a loose chignon at the nape of her neck with loose curls draped lightly at the sides of her forehead.
“You look lovely, m’lady,” the young girl said, casting her a smile and nodding her approval.
“Thank you, Mary. You have a talent for styling hair.” She grinned. “I couldn’t have done nearly as well.”
Mary blushed. “Oh, I’m sure ye would have done far better.” She handed Georgiana her hat, scarf, and gloves, and then fluffed out her fur muff. “It’ll be cold atop that phaeton,” she said with a tsk. “Make sure you’re bundled up.”
Georgiana laughed as she held up her accessories. “I shall be so bundled, I’ll hardly be able to move.”
She hurried downstairs when she heard voices at the front entry and recognized Oliver’s bark of laughter. But she paused on the last step, hesitant to come forward to greet him. This first meeting would be awkward.
He was standing beside the door that their butler had shut to keep out the cold wind and was talking to her father. “I shall take good care of her, Your Grace. You mustn’t worry. I will not tear through the streets of London with your precious cargo.”
Her father released the breath he’d been holding. “Good lad. Georgiana is all I have. I couldn’t bear to lose her again.” He patted Oliver’s shoulder. “You’re a good man, Linwood. I’m truly sorry it did not work out between you and my daughter. I hope you find the happiness you deserve.”
“I will, Your Grace. Rest assured.” There was a hint of bitterness behind his words, but Georgiana certainly understood the reason for it.
She may have been abducted, but she hadn’t been the only one to suffer. Oliver and her father had suffered worse, in truth. While she had found love during that time, they’d experienced nothing but fear and frustration.
They had no idea where she’d been taken or how she was being treated. They could do nothing to bring her back and must have felt quite helpless. The blow to Oliver was doubly hurtful, for she’d lost her heart to another during that time.
“Oliver,” she said with genuine affection, striding toward him. “I’m truly sorry for all that’s happened. I hope you are well.”
He nodded. “As well as can be expected.”
He showed no expression other than bland acceptance, but a chill shot up her spine nonetheless, for she sensed a bubbling anger. “How are your parents? I look forward to seeing them. These were a hard few months for all of us.”
“They are eager to see you.” He helped her on with her cloak and then took her arm and led her outside to his shining, dark blue phaeton that was waiting for them at the curb. His family crest was emblazoned on the door, a wild boar above which hung two crossed and bloodied daggers.
It was an ugly crest, she decided.
He helped her to climb up and waited for her to settle on the bench before he strode to the driver’s side and climbed on as well. He caught the reins in his hands and gave them a sharp snap. “Why won’t you marry me?” he wasted no time in asking.
Heat rose in her cheeks. “I had plenty of time to think about the course of my life while I was gone.”
It wasn’t a lie. But she wasn’t going to mention Lord Bloodaxe. Her heart beat faster at the mere thought of him. She wanted to be in his arms again.
“Obviously, you decided I wasn’t a suitable mate for you.”
She was surprised by his mention of the word ‘mate’ but she supposed it was mere coincidence. He could have said ‘husband’ or ‘bridegroom’ as well as any other descriptive words. “In your heart, you know that we aren’t suited for each other. We are friends and nothing more.”
“Friends?” He snorted.
She studied him as he wound the carriage through the fashionable Mayfair streets. “Oliver, you know that you don’t love me.”
He clenched his jaw and ground his teeth, then turned to her. “I never pretended I did. Nor did you. So, what has happened to change your opinion?”
“As I said, I had time to think of what was important to me. Both of us were marrying for reasons other than love. But I realized it was a mistake for me to do so.” She sighed, emitting a vapor trail that dangled in the cold air. “I need to marry for love.”
“Love.” He snorted in disdain once more, his lips curling in a sneer. “What will you do if you never find it?”
She shrugged. “Then I will never marry.”
He stared at her in frowning disbelief. “You say that now, but you shall change your tune when your father dies and you’re rattling about all alone in your elegant townhouse. Your father’s title is one of those rare grants that allows everything to pass through the female line if he has no male heirs. Will you waste that boon and allow your cousin to inherit it all?”
“And why not? Jacob Wethersby is a worthy heir. Besides, he’ll merely inherit the entailed properties–”
“A fortune by itself.”
She nodded. “And the title along with it. But I’ll inherit plenty on my own. I will not ever lack for anything.”
“Other than the heat of a man’s body against yours. Or the thrust of–”
“Oliver! You forget yourself!” She clutched the side of the phaeton as he took a sharp turn and headed away from his parents’ home. “What are you doing? You’re going in the wrong direction.”
“No, I’m taking you where you deserve to be. Do you think you can make a fool of me?” He snapped the reins again and raced his matched bays at a reckless pace down the busy street.
He was going too fast for her to jump off. She’d break her neck if she tried. “Stop! What’s wrong with you? Take me home at once. I’ll send apologies to your parents.”
His bitterness flowed freely in his laughter. “My parents never invited you. There’s no tea party. They’re not even aware you’ve been found and returned to your father.”
“What? Are you mad?” She fought to quell her rising anger. “What are you thinking? Dear heaven, what are you planning to do?”
He’d turned onto the mews behind his own townhouse, his bachelor quarters that would have become their home once they were married. “I just told you, sending you where you belong.”
He might have frightened her had he spoken to her in this fashion before her abduction, but she’d faced fire-breathing dragons and foul-smelling demons. She’d traveled through portals that defied the laws of space and time. She’d fallen into deep waters and been attacked by odd birds and creatures of myth.
And she now carried a dagger in her muff.
She wasn’t afraid of Oliver.
However, she wasn’t expecting the two accomplices he’d hired who now came out of the shadows and helped him to lead his horses and carriage into the barn. The barn door shut behind them, plunging them into darkness. She was about to draw out her dagger and stab it into Oliver’s hand, but in the next moment, one of the men lit a lantern and she saw that it would take more than that to successfully make her escape.
She might hurt Oliver, but the two men were big and mean. Dockside thieves, no doubt. They were blocking her means of exit. She’d never get out… unless. “What is he paying you? I’ll double it.”
“You bitch!” Oliver’s slap caught her by surprise and she chided herself for being unprepared for it. “We’ve been promised untold riches. Do you think your puny allowance will ever satisfy us?”
She rubbed her cheek to ease the sting of his slap. “Who would pay a fortune to have me?” But she knew the answer before the last words had slipped from her mouth. Brihann.
He had found the greedy mortals who would do his dirty business for him. She had nothing to lose now. She withdrew her dagger and plunged it into Oliver’s hand, then quickly drew it out and jumped down from the phaeton while he was distracted and howling in pain.
The barn door had not been latched shut, only slid closed. To escape, she merely had to elude these two big men and then run for her life around the corner and onto the busy street.
The horses were now between her and these men, for they’d rushed toward Oliver when he began to howl.
She slapped the rump of one of the bay geldings and screamed at the top of her lungs. The horses startled and began to rear up on their hind legs, jostling the carriage and flailing their front legs so that the two men had to jump back to avoid being struck in the head by those massive hooves.
Georgiana had at least two or three seconds lead on them. It was enough, for she was a fast runner. Anyway, she was running for her life. That was incentive enough to sprint like a deer out the door.
She grabbed the rough-hewn wooden door and shoved it open.
Instead of freedom, she ran solidly into a wall of demons. Ugh! They smelled foul enough to make her gag. But she had no time to dwell on them or their odor. She swung her hand in an arc and tried to fell as many of them as she could with her dagger. She used her muff as a shield to fend off their sharp talons, but it wasn’t much of a shield and was quickly ripped apart.
She only needed to drive a small path between them and run through it.
She kept swinging her dagger, darting forward and then feinting back, but couldn’t clear that path before Oliver and his dockside knaves came up behind her. She gave one of them a swift kick between his legs. He cursed her as he dropped to his knees in pain. Oliver put a handkerchief to her nose and pressed it hard against her nostrils.
He’d doused it with a sickly scent.
She tried to draw it off her nose, but that scent was already having an effect. Her legs buckled out from under her. She vaguely recalled managing to stab Oliver again.
Then everything fell dark.
*
“A portal has just opened up,” Dalgwynn said in a rush, finding Bloodaxe sparring with broadswords in the courtyard with Artemis. “My lord, King Brihann has unsealed the portal at the Razor Cliffs and allowed Python through. We tried to stop him, but he used his dark magic on us. We stopped most of Python’s demons though. Only a handful managed to get by us.”
Bloodaxe muttered an oath. “He’s been sent after Lady Georgiana. So much for his supposed call for truce. There’s no time to lose. Position your men around that portal and don’t allow any of his demons through. If Python returns, don’t allow him to seal the portal. Keep it open as long as you can to allow the Fae king and his armies in.”
He began to run to the parapet, still shouting orders to his captains. “Artemis, stay here and guard the fortress. Andronicus, add your forces to Dalgwynn’s, but leave Dalgwynn in charge of them. You’re to go to King Cadeyrn and tell him we need his help. Let him know the portal is open. Ask him to give us as many Fae as he can spare.”
“What will you do, my lord?” Artemis asked.
“Try to stop Python before he captures Lady Georgiana and hands her over to Brihann.” He grabbed his crossbow and quiver of arrows and called to his dogs. “Charon. Styx. Come.” It didn’t take him long to reach the Razor Cliffs, for the demon portals that were passageways within the Underworld alone still worked and he knew them all.
He’d gone through them often.
His dogs easily kept pace by his side. “Follow Georgiana’s scent.”
Their noses were far better than his and could pick up her wildflower scent anywhere in London. He knew she was there, hopefully reunited with her father.
He didn’t know what she had decided to do about her betrothed, the Marquis of Linwood. He’d abide by whatever decision she would make. No. Hell, no. She was his dragon mate. He’d be a fool to let her go again.
His dogs led him to a barn in one of the fashionable sections of London. Three men were just getting up off the ground, one of them clutching his bleeding hand and yelling at the others. “Fools! He won’t pay us now. All is lost because you couldn’t subdue one small girl on your own.”
His large companions shot daggers at him with their eyes. “Ye didn’t tell us she fought like a demon. Look what she did to ye, Lord Linwood. She almost plunged her dagger into m’heart as well.”
Bloodaxe pushed the men aside. “Linwood.” He grabbed the cur by the throat and held him in a stranglehold. “If Brihann harms a hair on her head, I’ll slice you into pieces and then feed you to my dogs for supper.”
Charon and Styx growled low in their throats as though to emphasize his point.
Even the dockside rogues shuddered. “That big man took ’er. Large, ’e was. Ugly creature. But ’e ain’t got more than a step or two head start.”
Bloodaxe dropped Linwood to the ground. “Harm any of her family and I’ll kill you all.”
He whirled back through the portal, desperate to find Python before he had the chance to call for reinforcements.
His dogs howled as they raced back through the portal alongside him. They must have caught the scent of Georgiana in the lingering wake. “Take me to her,” he commanded them.
In the next moment, they’d made it back to the Razor Cliffs. He saw Python just ahead of him. He was carrying Georgiana over his shoulder and screaming for Brihann and Necros to attack.
Georgiana was lying so still, she had to be unconscious. Then he heard her low moan and saw her trying to lift her head. She was coming around. Not in time though. She was still too listless to defend herself. Probably too nauseated from the drug she’d inhaled to do more than drop to her knees and heave the poison out of her system. He’d caught the foul scent of it as they’d passed through the portal.
He turned to face Brihann. “Don’t hurt her. This doesn’t have to turn to war between us.”
But he knew this was exactly what Brihann wanted, to stir him into a blind rage and turn him into the monster these other three Dragon Lords had long ago become. Brihann killing Georgiana would accomplish it.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Python still holding Georgiana. Necros was winging his way toward Python. Blast. He raised his crossbow and reached for an arrow out of his quiver, but Brihann used his magic to knock the weapon out of his hands. Knowing Brihann would never allow him to get off a decent shot, he left the crossbow on the ground and dropped his quiver of arrows beside it.
He had no choice but to shift into dragon form. It was his only chance to defeat this unholy threesome.
Python still held Georgiana and had no intention of releasing her to join in the dragon battle. He’d have to rely on Charon and Styx to keep that foul elf from disappearing into his castle with Georgiana… or worse, delivering her to Brihann’s castle lair.
How long could Charon and Styx delay him? A few seconds at best?
Bloodaxe shifted as fast as he could, but had no time to stretch his wings before Brihann and Necros descended on him. Brihann slammed into him while Necros lunged for his neck. He easily dodged Necros and soared up into the sky.
The pair chased after him.
He turned and slammed into Necros with the full force of his body, momentarily stunning the yellow beast.
Brihann roared in anger.
Bloodaxe dropped low and then pulled up fast, hitting him squarely in his soft, black underbelly. Brihann floundered and began to fall.
All too soon, he recovered. “Fools!” Brihann shrieked. “We are three against one, but he flies at us as though we are weak, old women!”
Incredibly, Python threw Georgiana to the ground and shifted into his dragon form in order to join in the fight. She’d have a nasty bruise on her head, hopefully nothing worse. Charon and Styx had already taken up positions on either side of her to prevent any of Brihann’s minions from getting close.
Then Andronicus and his men protectively surrounded her and he completely lost sight of her, not even able to catch a glimpse of her golden hair. Brihann’s minions were swarming along the Razor Cliffs toward them, but his own soldiers were already in place to battle them.
He had to trust his men to protect Georgiana, but his soldiers were battling three demon armies. How long could they hold out?
Fae reinforcements would be welcome.
He knew the Fae king would come to his aid, it was just a matter of time. Precious time. The three Dragon Lords were now regrouping and preparing to come after him. He turned to face them, quickly sorting through his options. Necros was the weakest link, best to get him out of the way first.
Then Python.
Brihann would be a formidable opponent, for he was twice as large as any of them and no longer merely playing at fighting. This time, Brihann would kill him if he didn’t give in and pledge fealty to the High King in the war against mankind.
The three dragons flew at him together, and Bloodaxe found it easy to parry this first assault by flying into Necros and knocking him into Brihann just as Brihann opened his jaws. Instead of clamping onto Bloodaxe’s neck, he snapped them into empty air.
Since that assault had been a failure, they came at him from separate directions next. He twisted out of the way so that Python and Necros collided, but Brihann landed a powerful blow that sent him reeling. They went on like this, dragons jousting in the red sky, as battle continued to wage on the ground below. Time seemed to slow and the scent of death filled the air even though they were soaring to heights where the air was thin. Dragons rarely flew this high up, for dragon fire required their lungs to fill with air. At this height, they had little air and would only wind up with a burst of pain across the chest.
He’d lost count of how many passes they’d made against each other. Twenty? Perhaps more. He scanned the ground below, searching for Georgiana to make certain she was unharmed amid the chaos, but could not find her. Andronicus and his men were still standing in a circle while battling Brihann’s demons. Georgiana had to be in the center of that circle.
Was she safe?
Brihann slammed into him, cracking a bone in his wing.
Damn.
His fault. He’d taken his attention off the dragons. A searing pain shot up his wing as he tried to move it. He’d done the same to Necros and Python, for the most part rendering them useless. But Brihann was unscathed.
This wasn’t good.
Brihann came at him again and he narrowly missed being crushed in his jaws. Just darting out of the way caused him dizzying pain.
Brihann slammed into him again, tossing him against Necros and Python. They were exhausted, but he’d fallen into their clutches and it took nothing for them to tilt their heads and snap their jaws. They missed his neck, but managed to bite his wings. He bit back and shook them off, but not before they’d caused more damage.
He wasn’t going to win this fight.
Georgiana.
He had to get her safely into Fae hands before he died. Where was the Fae king and his armies? Why hadn’t they come through yet? Had the portal somehow closed?
He dove for the Razor Cliffs.
His men were outnumbered, and more demons were still climbing up the cliffs. Then he saw the problem. They’d pushed back his men and sealed the portal. He dove toward it and with the last of his strength, shot his dragon fire to clear the opening to the portal. Brihann’s demons scrambled away to avoid the flames.
Bloodaxe shoved open the portal with all his might and then tumbled off the cliff.
The Fae came through.
He searched for Cadeyrn, knowing he was likely to be in the vanguard. Save Georgiana.
He needed to distract Brihann while Cadeyrn got her to safety. He ignored the jolts of pain now coursing through his body and flew upward to engage the three dragons once again. They pummeled him, but he didn’t care. In this moment, they’d forgotten Georgiana.
Brihann clamped his massive jaws around his neck.
This was it, the killing blow.
I love you, Georgie.
Could she hear him?
His wing was crippled. He had no breath left in his lungs to blow more dragon fire. He felt Brihann’s teeth begin to sink into the soft flesh beneath his scales. But the killing bite never came. Brihann suddenly howled in pain and released him.
What had just happened?
Brihann began to dance oddly in the air.
Then he saw the reason.
A crossbow arrow shot through his tail.
His crossbow arrow.
As Necros and Python hurried to pull it out of Brihann with their teeth, Bloodaxe searched the ground for the soldier who had shot it. Amid the circle of his men stood Georgiana, her gold hair tumbling about her shoulders as she struggled to reload the crossbow and shoot another arrow.
Although it pained him, he burst out laughing, the sound emanating from his dragon snout as an odd, high pitched roar.
Georgiana looked up.
Their gazes met.
I love you, my lord. I’m not leaving you.
Blast the stubborn girl.
He frowned at her. Get out of here.
She shot another arrow that whizzed past him and would have struck Python had he not seen it in time and dodged it.
She reloaded.
Bloodaxe wanted to pick her up by his teeth and shove her through the Fae portal, but not even he could get near her. Cadeyrn and his finest Fae soldiers had added another circle of protection around her and he knew Cadeyrn would take her to safety if that circle began to collapse.
He heard the shriek of angry dragons behind him.
The three crazed Dragon Lords were coming after him once more.
He meant to fight back, but his wing was too badly broken to allow him to dart and weave as he needed to elude them. They easily surrounded him and began to attack him from all sides. They were like vultures descending on their prey.
They were too close to him for Georgiana to shoot her arrows.
He’d taken too many punishing blows. His wings gave out and he began to hurtle toward the ground.
Suddenly, an angry roar filled the air and he was caught in the wingspan of a black dragon and lifted upward once again. There was only one other such dragon, but it couldn’t be. Saron would never fly to his rescue. Would he?
Need some help, my brother?
If dragons could grin, he’d be grinning at Saron right now. He didn’t know what to think. His heart was bursting with joy. His little brother was here. How was it possible? Georgiana, of course. No, I have them on the run.
Saron snapped his dragon tail. Right, and pigs fly.
Bloodaxe regained his wings and attempted to get in front of Saron to shield him from Brihann’s rage. Brihann and his toadies would indeed have to kill him before he allowed that Fae maggot to harm his little brother.
Saron turned to him, his dragon eyes bright. Let me do this, Arik. You’ve protected me long enough.
He was no longer Arik, but allowed himself a wrenching moment to fall back to a time when he was that boy and could run beside his younger brother in the sunshine filled Draloch meadows. He was too far gone to weep, but he felt the sweet pang of his heart beating against his chest. Saron was beside him. His little brother. I’ll always protect you, to my dying breath.
Saron nodded and gave an angry whip of his dragon tail when Necros dared to come too close. As I should have done for you. I’m sorry. I’m here now.
It was enough.
He gazed with pride upon Saron, for they were the two black dragons of prophecy. Their blue underbellies glistened in the light of the Underworld moons.
Brihann realized it at that same moment and rent the air with his anguished roar. This is not over, sons of Draloch! I shall hunt you both and destroy you. I shall–
Another arrow whizzed past his head just then and flew up Brihann’s nostril. Brihann shrieked in obvious pain and retreated to his castle lair. His toadies, Necros and Python, followed him.
Bloodaxe winced. That had to hurt as badly as a dragon sneeze.
Saron emitted a dragon roar that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. Remember the time we stole Father’s snuff box?
I recall. You couldn’t stop sneezing for a week. Bloodaxe’s tension eased and he laughed along with his brother, not caring that pain shot through his body with every little movement.
But it felt good to laugh.
He’d been burdened and miserable for so long.
Brihann’s demons retreated after their furious and raging king. Within an instant, the battle ended and an eerie calm surrounded the Razor Cliffs. Indeed, all was calm except…
Bloodaxe looked down and saw Georgiana still shaking her fist at Brihann’s retreating minions. “And don’t come back you deranged cowards,” she was shouting as his dogs leaped up and down beside her, barking to emphasize her point.
Bloodaxe did not know what would come next, but this prophecy had been fulfilled.
Two black dragons shall reign supreme.
Two black dragons shall unite the worlds of demon and man.
More important, two brothers torn apart by lies and intrigue were now reunited. His soulless, demon heart soared even as his dragon wings gave out and could no longer support his flight. He held them out long enough to glide to the ground and then he shifted back into himself. That his soldiers saw him naked did not trouble him, for they’d seen him shift before. But he’d never been injured as he was now. He did not like that they saw how badly he’d been hurt.
Saron alit beside him but retained his dragon form. Do you need help?
No, nothing that a Fae healer cannot cure.
Good, then meet me at the Fae king’s court in a week’s time. The Prince Regent will want my report and there are a few loose ends to take care of, a few loose demons to toss back into the Underworld. He lifted off the ground and started toward the Fae portal. Remember, one week. I will bring Georgiana’s father, for they’ll have much to discuss. I’ll also properly introduce you to my Anabelle.
As Saron disappeared into the portal, Thomas, his ever-efficient steward, appeared out of nowhere with clothes. With his capable help, Bloodaxe donned his trousers and boots. He was about to put on his shirt when Georgiana reached his side. “Do not put it on.”
He arched an eyebrow and grinned. “Very well. I know how you enjoy seeing me shirtless.”
She tried to appear stern, but he could see the joy and relief in her eyes. “I only mean to inspect your injuries.”
He opened his arms to her. “So you say. But I know how you like to see me undressed.”
She rushed into his embrace with a sob. “I thought he was going to kill you.”
“What’s this? No tears, my beauty. Today has been a good day.”
“I missed you so much.” She wiped a stray tear from the corner of her eye. “I’m sorry I almost shot you.”
He began to laugh in earnest. Blast, that hurt. But it also felt so good to have her in his arms once more. “You did well, Georgie. I could not ask for a better dragon mate.”
“Right, you–” She gasped. “Are you asking me to marry you?”
“I’d fall on bended knee, but I fear I won’t ever get up again if I do. Yes, I’m asking you to marry me.”
She cast him a smile as bright as sunshine. “Why, my lord? Why do you wish to marry me?”
“Must I say it? Can you not see how my heart beats only for you?” He bent his head and kissed her with a desperation that could leave no doubt about his feelings for her. “But I will say it because you’ve won the day and changed the course of destiny. You’ve united the house of Draloch and changed the balance of power. Brihann is now hiding in his lair, every dragon scale on his thick hide quaking.” He kissed her again, feeling at peace as he’d never felt before in all his days. “I love you, my beauty. I’ve loved you from the moment our lips first touched.”
She gave a merry trill of laughter. “I was but a toothless and drooling babe in my cradle.”
“But you looked at me with your soft, green eyes and I knew in that moment that ours would be a love match.”
She leaned her head against his chest and gave him a careful hug. “One for the ages, my lord.”
He nodded. “Throughout the years, through all my changes, I never stopped loving you.”
She was pensive a moment. “Nor did I ever stop loving you. My heart was searching for yours all this time. I’m glad you never forgot me.”
His arm was broken and he suspected several of his ribs were cracked as well. He wasn’t certain what other injuries he’d sustained. Georgiana must have felt him suddenly begin to weaken. “Sit a moment. Let me fetch King Cadeyrn to heal your wounds.”
“No, my beauty. I don’t need him when I have you beside me.”
She looked up at him, her brow furrowed. “I have no magical powers.”
He took her hands and placed them palms down on his injuries. “Give it a try.”
He closed his eyes and inhaled her wildflower scent. Her hands felt so good against his skin, better than any mage’s potion. Better than any Fae magic.
“My fingers are tingling,” she said in wonder. He opened his eyes and gazed at her. “Ooh, my entire body is now tingling. Do you feel anything, my lord?”
He nodded and smiled at her. “Aye, but it has nothing to do with mending broken bones. It was worth a try, my beauty. You had better summon King Cadeyrn.”
She sighed. “I’ve failed.”
“You healed my heart. You saved my damaged soul. I’d say you’ve done a fine day’s work.” After his bones had properly knitted under the power of the Fae healing spell, he took Georgiana back into the circle of his arms. “Do not fret, the skill to mend bones will come to you in time.” He arched an eyebrow. “So, I made you tingle?”
“Yes, my lord.” He loved the light blush on her cheeks. “You know how I enjoy your body.”
“As much as I enjoy yours, I hope.”
She laughed once more. “I don’t know. Perhaps. The matter needs more thorough exploration.”
“Indeed, my beauty.” He took Georgiana back to his tower chamber, prepared to do just that.