Page 63 of Sinful Persuasion of a Lady in the Making
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Do you think he’ll come?” Jenny asked Alison.
She was fidgeting with the ribbon that was tied just below her bodice, chewing her lip. They were in the parlor, Jenny wanting to make sure everything was just right for Sebastian’s visit. The cook had prepared a cake with cream and jam, and Fanny would prepare the tea.
Luke, after a little persuasion from Alison, had invited Sebastian for afternoon tea.So that everyone can get to know one another, Alison had said, and Luke grudgingly agreed.
“What a silly thing to say,” Alison said with a tut, turning to look at Jenny. “Of course he is coming. He wouldn’t have offered to marry you if he had no intention of seeing you again.”
“I suppose,” Jenny said, looking down at her feet and shrugging uncertainly.
“What’s wrong?” Alison asked, rubbing her hand against Jenny’s upper arm. “You should be happy.”
“I am,” Jenny said, looking up at Alison and nodding. “I really am. It’s just… I—”
“What?” Alison demanded, her tone matronly and fierce.
“Well, I wonder if he only agreed to marry me thanks to the situation, rather than… you know, a desire to actually marry me.”
Alison laughed, throwing her head back in amusement.
“Really Jenny,” she said. “If you believe that, you have a lot to learn about the world of men.”
“What do you mean?” Jenny asked, letting herself fall into the hard-backed chair, her hands clasped in her lap.
Alison looked down at her and chuckled again, looking at Jenny’s flushing cheeks, her coy smile.
“If he did not want to marry you, he could have done any number of things. He could have pushed past Luke and run from the house. He could have called the whole thing off. Besides, he is far from obliged. He’s a Viscount, don’t forget. He certainly wouldn’t have suggested it himself if had not the desire to do so.”
“And perhaps now he has time to think about it, he will not arrive today, having decided he was a fool to even think of it. That it was an off-hand comment that now he regrets.”
“No,” Alison said, shaking her head determinedly, “that’s not possible.”
“And why not?” Jenny asked, looking urgently up at her sister-in-law. “What makes you so certain?”
“Because,” Alison said, a single eyebrow raised, “I saw how he looked at you.”
“And?” Jenny asked, confused.
“And he is clearly smitten,” she said with a laugh. “It rather reminded me of the way Luke looked at me, before we were married.”
“He doesn’t look at you like that now?” Jenny asked, a note of concern in her voice.
“It’s different, now,” Alison said. “Better, in many ways, but certainly different.”
“And you think—”
They were interrupted by a knock on the front door. Fanny, having already been primed to look after them all that day, leaped up to greet their guest.
Sebastian’s dulcet tones found their way through to the parlor, and just at the sound of his voice, Jenny’s heart leaped into her throat.
“He’s here,” she said, standing suddenly and brushing down the skirt of her gown. “Do I look all right?”
“You look beautiful,” Alison said, just as Fanny entered the room and announced Lord Hartwood.
“Fetch Mr. Jones, would you?” Alison said, once they had greeted Sebastian.
“Yes, M’Lady.”
