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“Did you know,” Georgie said, stroking Blanche’s (black) fur, “that some plants – which are completely harmless to humans – are toxic to cats?”
Nicholas only glanced up from his book. It was hardly a novel; if only he had that sort of time. No; Georgie was distracting him from revising. But still… it was interesting. “Which plants?”
“Most of them, it seems,” Georgie said. She scratched Blanche behind the ears. “You’re quite finicky creatures, aren’t you?” she asked the cat, who only purred in response.
Watching this scene did something strange to Nicholas. Georgie was his friend. And flatmate, but that was only because she’d wanted to bring her cats for her second year at Edinburgh. That was it. They’d grown up together; his brother had married her sister – and his other brother had married her cousin. It was ridiculous.
But still, he couldn’t help but notice the way her hair caught the sunlight.
Georgie was right, of course. She often was.
It would have infuriated (and often did infuriate) a lesser man how much better she was at their courses than him, but Nicholas had no problem freely admitting that Georgie was absolutely brilliant.
While he’d taken a gap year, she’d aced every last one of her A-Levels and had gotten into every university she’d applied to. Of course, Nicholas had also done quite well on his A-Levels, and he’d also gotten into every university he’d applied to, but still. She hadn’t taken a gap year.
They’d started at Edinburgh at the same time, and they’d both lived in Pollock Halls – not in the same residence hall, exactly, but close enough to each other – and been in many of the same classes.
It had only been a natural conclusion to get a flat together after their second year. Georgie had missed her cats, and her parents would be much more understanding if she lived with someone they knew and trusted – and there was no one who fit that description better than Nicholas.
He hadn’t been overly excited to live with Georgie’s three cats, but beyond Cat-Head’s ungodly wailing on the way up (Georgie had sworn against sedating him, though by the time they’d reached Edinburgh, she’d sheepishly agreed that perhaps that would be best for next time), he hadn’t had much to complain about.
Sure, there was cat hair everywhere, no matter how much time both he and Georgie spent cleaning the flat. And they did tend to chase each other around at night. And Cat-Head did sometimes wail at four in the morning.
But, really, he liked living with Georgie. She was clever, and interesting, and really quite pretty.
No matter how Edmund might tease him. There was nothing more to it than friendship.
If Edmund were so concerned, he could always come up from London.
Nicholas saw them on his way back from class. Just to be safe, he double-checked the pamphlet Georgie had given him.
She’d been right, of course, so he bought them.
He didn’t think about it.
He took them home, set them on the coffee table, and gave both Cat-Head (who was dumb enough to eat them) and Judyth (who was smart enough to cause chaos at will) a stern look. “Don’t you dare,” he said.
He didn’t know when he’d become the sort of person to talk to cats. Georgie had rubbed off on him, he supposed. Besides, sometimes he thought they might understand. Not Cat-Head, usually, but the other two.
Right now, they only blinked at him. Nicholas decided that was good enough, and set about to revise.
He’d barely gotten two pages in when the door opened.
“I got flowers,” he blurted out, like some sort of idiot.
And then he turned around.
Edmund was standing next to Georgie. That was bad enough, but the smirk on his face was insufferable. Nicholas would never live this down. He’d be ninety, and Edmund would torment him over this very moment.
“Look who I found at the train station,” Georgie said, before walking over to see the flowers. “Sunflowers! Oh, they’re lovely, Nicholas!”
“Is there something I should know?” Edmund asked.
Georgie rolled her eyes. “Don’t be stupid, Edmund. Nicholas and I were simply talking the other day about plants that weren’t toxic to cats.”
“Yeah,” Nicholas agreed, though some part of him felt a bit uncomfortable. It wasn’t the way Edmund was looking at him – well, not just that – but it was what Georgie had said. And how she’d said it.
She was right; they were flatmates. Friends, too. And they had been talking about nontoxic plants for the cats.
But Georgie looked absolutely lovely next to the sunflowers, and when she scooped Cat-Head up to instruct him not to tempt the spirits of veterinary medicine by eating the plants, Nicholas felt something shift.
Because Georgie really was lovely.
He didn’t know how he hadn’t seen it earlier.
“What brings you here, Edmund?” Nicholas asked.
“Let’s get dinner.”
Nicholas exchanged a look with Georgie; surely Edmund knew how much free time they didn’t have.
“Can we order takeaway?” Georgie asked. “Nicholas and I have exams coming up.”
Edmund looked between the two of them again. “And you want to make sure Cat-Head doesn’t eat the flowers?”
Georgie blushed; Nicholas looked at Edmund, because he couldn’t look at Georgie when she was blushing like this. Of all times for something like this to happen.
“Shut up,” Georgie said. “At this rate, you’re not going to eat.”
Edmund held a hand to his chest. “I’m wounded. You’d really starve me?”
“You called my cat stupid!”
Cat-Head, for his part, seemed unconcerned about the question of his intelligence.
“Should I order food,” Nicholas asked Georgie, “or are we starving him?”
Georgie hummed. “We can order food. Only because I’m hungry.”
Edmund rolled his eyes. Fortunately, Nicholas wasn’t nearly as bothered by sibling bickering as he was by the sudden realisation that Georgie Bridgerton was absolutely lovely, so he went to the kitchen to get the takeaway menus.
Hopefully this was some strange blip.
He tried not to stare at her as she picked out her favourite place to order from and wrote her order down on the notepad. He couldn’t fight back a smile when she handed the menu right back to him, giving Edmund a dirty look. He handed the menu and notepad right back over to Edmund.
At Georgie’s dirty look, he said, “I’m going to be the one picking it up.”
She heaved a sigh. “Fine. I suppose.”
Edmund came with him.
Nicholas didn’t know why he’d expected differently. It wasn’t the first time Edmund had come to visit in Edinburgh, but it was strange for him to come without so much as a phone call.
“I assume you’re spending the night?” Nicholas asked.
“Probably – if you and Georgie don’t mind. Haven’t actually booked my return ticket yet, actually, but I don’t think I’m up for the return trip tonight.”
“Of course we don’t mind,” Nicholas said. “Well. I don’t mind. I don’t speak for Georgie, but I don’t think she will – at least if you apologise to Cat-Head.”
“Who even named the cat Cat-Head?”
“We did, apparently,” Nicholas said, and told Edmund the story Georgie had told him on the drive up from Kent.
Edmund laughed. “I don’t remember that at all.”
“Neither do I,” Nicholas confessed.
“I’m glad she’s with you. I mean.” He waved his hand. “Whatever. The two of you are alarmingly similar. I think she’d drive anyone else mad.”
“I don’t think Georgie would, but… Cat-Head might.”
“You grew up with her. You’re different.”
“You grew up with her.”
“Ah, but she’s my sister. She’s not yours.”
No, she wasn’t.
Edmund waited until they’d finished eating to get to the point of his visit.
“Violet’s pregnant.”
So, yes, his waiting had been a good idea. Edmund and Violet had been together for a while; it wasn’t so shocking that it had happened. It was, however, a bit shocking that a girl of Violet Ledger’s social class (that is to say: of their social class) was evidently not getting an abortion upon finding herself pregnant so young.
“Oh,” Georgie said.
“Yeah,” Edmund said. “We haven’t told our parents yet – but we’re getting married. I’d have married her anyway, but… well, Georgie, you know how our parents can be.”
Georgie nodded. “When?”
“That depends on our parents – ours and Violet’s – but I’ll insist on waiting until the end of your term. And Nicholas.”
“Yes?”
“I’d like you to be my best man.”
As if that were even a question. “Of course!”
Edmund smiled. “Thanks. I know you’re busy, so I’ll make everyone else do all the work.”
“I appreciate it,” Nicholas said dryly. He didn’t know how he’d be able to do the work from Edinburgh, anyway. “Are you all right, though? That’s quite the news.”
“I can’t say it wasn’t shocking, but… the way I see it, it just means that our future together properly starts a few years earlier than I’d thought. Once I met Violet, there was no question for me.”
“How do you know something like that?” Georgie asked.
“I just did,” Edmund said.
“That’s exactly what Billie said. As if she hasn’t known George our entire lives.”
“Sometimes things change. Things shift, and you realise the person you’re meant to be with was under your nose the whole time,” Edmund said.
Although he was ostensibly talking about Billie and George, Nicholas couldn’t help but think that Edmund was talking about his younger sister and the youngest Rokesby.
“I don’t mind if you do date Georgie, you know,” Edmund said later that night while Georgie was in the shower.
Georgie in the shower. Well, that was something Nicholas didn’t need to think about.
“I appreciate it, but I’m not dating Georgie. We’re friends.”
Edmund shook his head. “I see the way you look at her.”
Nicholas shot him a look.
Edmund raised his hands in surrender. “I’m not going to go all-out when she’s just in the other room, but… the two of you are eerily similar. And, of course, I know you’d treat her well. So if I’m any of the reason why you’re not… I’m telling you that I don’t mind. Actually… I think you’d be good together.”
“Can’t we simply be flatmates?”
“You can. If that’s what you both want.”
Was it what he wanted? Nicholas wasn’t sure.
“Just because I think she’d drive any other man completely mad doesn’t mean that I think every other man will be too blind to see how great she is.” Edmund reached over to pet Blanche. “And I’m staying out of it.”
“Understood,” Nicholas said.
Truthfully, he didn’t think Georgie had any interest in dating while in school; any free time was a luxury, and even maintaining an existing relationship took time, to say nothing of starting a new one.
Really, Nicholas was fairly certain this was just some silly blip. Even as his gaze drifted to the sunflowers on the table. Georgie was Georgie. That was all.