Page 24 of Indecent Desires of a Proper Lady
They walked along in silence, and Margaret thought on his words. Where did her heart lead? She could feel its desires slowly unfurl after years of lying dormant. Before, she had thought mostly of her life in terms of what it would mean if she was with Charles, having his children, following in his footsteps. Now, she could consider the whole wide world as a possibility. She wanted to paint, to write, to do anything that would take her outside of herself and what society told her to be.
* * *
An hour or so later, Philip was rubbing his hands together as he sat at a side table in the gentleman’s club. He could feel a nervous tingle all over him, and normally he would have taken himself to the fencing room, but as Leonard did not enjoy that, he would have to content himself with drinks in the main gentleman’s room.
Besides, they would need to sit to discuss Philip and Margaret’s future, if Leonard would allow it. He had never found himself in such a position before, wondering if he would be allowed something he so desperately wanted. He didn’t like the feeling, for he was not used to it. He preferred to approach life with a more confident air and claim things for his, but this was very different.
He saw Leonard appear at the doorway, and he waved to him. Leonard wandered in, eyeing the décor as he did so. He sat down, and in a moment, a waiter was at their side. They each selected their drinks before leaning back in their own comfort, looking at each other with a smile.
“You have been too long kept away from the world, old friend,” Philip said.
Leonard looked around again. “Ah, yes, is this the world? My, how thrilling,” he chuckled. “But you are right. Business was keeping me rather too home of late. Juliet accused me of becoming a fixture! Imagine it, one’s own wife wanting them to remove themselves from the house.”
Philip laughed. “How horrible that must be when Bartley Manor has far too many rooms to name, and she still wanted to eject you!”
Leonard tried to scowl, but his face broke into a smile anyway. The wine glasses arrived, and Philip took his gratefully, taking a sip. He knew this was what he wanted, and he would fight hard for it, but there was always a chance that his friend could reject his suit.
Leonard watched him over the brim of his own wine glass. “Go on then, Philip, tell me the real reason you would ask me to come and meet you at the club. Surely you could have done so many times over the past months, but you have not.” Leonard smiled. “Unless you would rather I guess the purpose of our meeting?”
Philip smiled. “Leonard, I have not asked you to meet me because you do not like to fence, nor do you attend the gaming hells anymore, and I knew that your mind was busy with wife and child as well as the passing of your father. Believe me, it was not for want of wishing to see you.”
Leonard nodded. “I see. I will accept that.”
“But you have discerned correctly, in that there is a matter I wish to discuss with you.”
Leonard narrowed his eyes. “So I was partially correct, then? Hmm…I will have to tell Juliet of this phenomenon.”
Philip laughed in response. “I should think she would wish to hear of such a rarity, but do not think that it will allow you continued entry in your house. I assume you will need to leave every so often, now that this has become a precedent.”
Leonard sighed and sipped at his wine. “I am certain you are correct.” He leaned back. “Well, no sense in avoiding it. Tell me what it is you wish to say. I am your servant.”
Philip took a breath, and then plunged into his speech. “I fear, friend, that you might think me mad, knowing what we both know, but I wish to request your permission to ask your sister Margaret to marry me.”
Chapter Eleven
Leonard looked at him for a moment, and then burst into such merry laughter that the rest of the club looked back at the two of them with annoyance.
Laughter is surely not a bad thing.
Philip waited patiently for his friend to calm his laughter. He watched Leonard with a smirk. “There are many reasons why my declaration might amuse you, but since there are so many, I cannot quite decide which one amuses you the most.”
Leonard chuckled. “Would you like to venture a guess?”
Philip nodded, and then looked off into the distance as if he was thinking hard. “I think that it surprises you most because you know how much your sister cares for Charles, and you think my suit hopeless.”
Leonard shook his head. “Any other guesses?”
Surprised, Philip tried again. “You think that perhaps she will not say yes to my suit because I am a friend of yours, and we have known each other for most of our lives?”
“Closer, but not quite. I do not think you will be able to find the exact reason why this situation makes me want to laugh and laugh, and so I shall tell you.”
“Good, for I was considering challenging you to a sort of duel in the fencing room if you were not going to stop laughing. Tell me then.”
Leonard crossed his arms and leaned back to make himself more comfortable. “We were just discussing you today, if you can believe it.”
“We?” Philip lifted an eyebrow, hoping to give off as calm an air as possible.
“The three of us: Juliet, Margaret, and I. We were discussing your merits, old friend. I told them that you were the best man of my acquaintance.”
