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his arm in a sort of embrace. A blush swept across her cheeks as she caught her breath. “I mean with us. With Aunt Adele and me.”
    “As am I,” he said, before he could utter a teasing response instead.
    ****
    Aunt Adele’s sister, a widow who had spent the last several years abroad, lived in an old chateau hardly deserving of the name. Mossy and overgrown, the gardens had seen better days, and Georgiana hid her disappointment as she stepped from the carriage. This was not the picturesque haven she’d envisioned. Her trepidation eased as Jack fussed over Aunt Adele, helping her from the carriage with the concern of a son.
    Their journey from the harbor to Bolbec seemed too short. Every passing mile brought the moment of Jack’s departure closer. As relieved as she was to reach their destination, she was reluctant to say goodbye. He, on the other hand, seemed eager to be off, to an estate a few miles away his grandfather kept for such visits.
    “We cannot thank you enough.” Aunt Adele took his hand and pulled him toward the house as her sister emerged. “I do not know what we would have done without you.” She turned to Lady Priscilla, who resembled her down to the wobbling chin and graying curls beneath her cap. “Sister, Mr. Waverley was a godsend. I don’t know how we would have borne the journey without him.”
    The two women fussed over him for a few moments, and Georgiana hid a smile at his discomfited expression. But he wiggled his eyebrows at her when the others weren’t looking.
    “It was my pleasure to have been of service to you and Miss Lockewood. I will call on you as soon as my work permits. If not, I will see you in three months, when we return to merry old England.”
    “You must have some tea and rest after your journey.” Lady Priscilla took his other arm.
    Georgiana stifled a laugh as they tugged his arms at the same time while he remained in place.
    “Alas, I have business that cannot wait.” He pulled free and swept into a courtly bow.
    Georgiana blocked his path to the carriage. “You are going to take me around, are you not? I do so wish to see some of the countryside. And Paris, too, of course.”
    She bit the inside of her cheek at the petulant whine in her voice but couldn’t help her peevishness. He was almost desperate in his attempt to be rid of them. She recalled Jonathan’s warning that Jack was a man with many diverse appetites, and would probably not wish to associate with her once they were in France. At the time, she hadn’t cared either way, until she realized the voyage and the carriage ride were all the time they’d have together. Three months without his wit and conversation would be an eternity.
    A blush seared her cheeks. Wit and conversation? Was that all she was going to miss?
    His steel gray eyes fastened on her, and she glanced away, embarrassed as if he’d caught her doing something naughty. He gave her a replica of his earlier bow. “I will call on you, Miss Lockewood, by this time next week. I thought two days in my company was enough to last you a lifetime.”
    “Oh, my goodness, no, Mr. Waverley!” Aunt Adele shook her head. “It is rare to find such a likeable young man. You must come again.”
    “I accept the invitation, dear ladies. I must be on my way now.”
    “Then we will say goodbye, sir. Please come and see us soon.” Aunt Adele kissed him on the cheek and walked inside with her sister.
    Georgiana met Jack’s expectant gaze. She’d never been at a loss for words in his presence, but her voice seemed frozen. Bidding him goodbye with a joke would sound immature. A formal adieu, too matronly. She stooped to pick a wilted rose from the tangled bushes lining the path.
    “You’re not going to behead all these roses, are you?”
    She straightened. “My brother and you have remarkable memories, sir, in that you recall my childhood exploits at every opportune moment.”
    “I remember your howls when your nurse scolded you after you