Page 66 of Sinful Persuasion of a Lady in the Making
Chapter Twenty-Three
Sebastian knocked on Diana’s chamber door and although she invited him in, she kept her face turned away from him, her lips in an exaggerated pout. He had prepared himself for this reaction.
“Say, Diana, would you like to take a walk in the gardens?” Sebastian asked. He acted as though this was a spur of the moment decision but in truth, he had been thinking of it for hours. They needed to resolve their differences if they were to move forward, and he dearly wanted her to attend the dinner with him.
She ignored him, continuing to pointedly stare at the wall from her seat.
“Diana,” he said again, his voice softer. He took a step toward her back and she harrumphed loudly. “Please,” he urged, “talk to me.”
“I am devastated,” she said, suddenly turning to face him. “Not only are you intending to marry before me, but you are intending to marry that… that—” she trailed off, not finishing her sentence.
He crouched down to her level and looked into her eyes. “I know you are upset,” he said. “But please, can we talk about this? I really do hate it when there is tension between us.”
Diana looked at him with such sad eyes that he wanted to pull her into an embrace, to make everything better.Isn’t that part of what I promised, after all?
She nodded, her lips still pulled into a frown, and he nodded too, a gentle smile coaxing her up and out of her seat.
“All right, we’ll talk.”
They made their way down to the French doors at the back of the house and out into the garden. The sun was strong, almost too bright, and he saw his sister squint. Sebastian inhaled deeply, breathing in the scent of summer, taking slow, deep breaths to calm himself for the conversation they were about to have. Whatever he did, he did not want to cause more upset, and he certainly didn’t want to argue with her further.
“This is really happening, isn’t it?” she asked, not making eye contact with him. Their steps were slow and meandering, neither having a purpose in their walk other than to talk and share.
“Yes,” he said. “It’s really happening, and I am happy. I wish you could see that.”
“I can see it,” Diana said. “It’s blatantly obvious. But that doesn’t mean I have to agree with it.”
“No, it doesn’t,” he admitted. “But I’d like you to. I honestly believe this will, ultimately, be a good thing. I am making steps in the right direction, to becoming a better man.”
“That is something, I suppose,” she agreed.
“The Jones’ are throwing a dinner party on the weekend to celebrate.”
“Of coursetheyare celebrating. They have yet further infiltrated the ranks of the nobility.”
“I would be thrilled if you would be willing to join us,” he said, choosing to ignore the insult.
They took a few paces in silence, the only noise the crunching of the gravel beneath their feet.
“You are a fool,” she whispered, shaking her head.
Sebastian stopped walking and stared at her, breathing hard and trying, really trying, not to snap.
Why is she making this so difficult?
“I am in love,” he said. “If that makes me a fool, then so be it. I will accept that burden.”
“You don’t understand,” Diana said over her shoulder. She didn’t stop, she carried on walking, forcing Sebastian to jog a few steps to catch up.
“Then explain it to me,” he urged. “Explain what the problem is. I might be able to… I don’t know, ease some of your concerns, maybe.”
“Why can’t you see it?” Diana urged, turning now to face him. Her voice rose, getting higher and louder. “This is what she has wanted from the very beginning!”
“In truth,” he said, “I think I have wanted this all along, too. I had always thought love at first sight to be something of a fairy tale, but—”
“No,” she spat, spinning around now and blocking his path. “You are an idiot sometimes, Sebastian! That is not what I meant. You have fallen victim to that woman’s web—something no other man is foolish enough to do. She wants money and status, that is all.”
Sebastian took a step back, glowering at his sister with an open mouth and a furrowed brow.
