Page 69 of Sinful Persuasion of a Lady in the Making
“Yes, a surprise,” Luke said, his eyebrows raised. He looked more amused than unhappy and Jenny was pleased. It was progress, at least.
“This is Gulliver,” Sebastian said, hitching the dog higher in the air and moving his paw up and down as though in a wave. The dog yapped, and even Luke laughed.
“Adorable,” Luke said. “Perhaps one day we shall have a puppy of our own; I’ve always wanted one. But I have a lot of business to attend to. I shall make his acquaintance properly another time. Good day, Lord Hartwood.”
“Good day, Mr. Jones,” Sebastian said, but before Luke had fully turned away, he turned back.
“Try to keep the noise down, will you?” he asked. “And if you go for a walk, ensure you take a chaperone with you.”
“Of course,” Jenny said, shaking her head at him.
Does he think me that much of a fool?
Luke smiled warmly and closed the study door, then Jenny turned back to Sebastian and the puppy.
“As I said, his name is Gulliver,” Sebastian said, “and he’s for you.”
“For me?” she asked, eyes wide in surprise. “But—”
“You said you’ve always wanted a dog. Well, now you have one.”
“That is so incredibly sweet,” she said. She reached in to take the dog from him. She held him in the air, rubbing her nose against his. “Good afternoon, Gulliver.”
“Looks like you’re the best of friends already,” Sebastian grinned.
She tore her eyes away from her new love to look at her true love.
“Thank you, Sebastian. Really. This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me.”
“Anything to see that smile of yours,” he said. “Now, shall we take him for a walk?”
“Yes,” she said. “I suppose Gulliver ought to get used to the gardens. He’ll be spending a lot of time in them from now on.”
Jenny nodded over to Fanny, who followed obediently as they found their way through the house and to the gardens. Gulliver somehow knew, for the closer to the back doors that they got, the more excitable he became, and Jenny laughed loudly as she tried to control his wriggling.
As soon as they stood near the grass, the dog squirmed his way out of her arms and leaped to the ground. Jenny squealed, trying to catch him as he fell, but he landed safely on all four feet and promptly waddled over to a nearby bush. Sebastian laughed.
“Puppies are hardier than one may think. Don’t worry if he falls, he’ll pick himself up again with no trouble.”
“But he’s so small,” Jenny said, watching as Gulliver crouched down and burrowed under the bush.
“And feisty, too, by the look of things.”
“I think he likes it, though,” Jenny said with a chuckle, looking between Sebastian and Gulliver, not entirely sure which one was more of a feast to her eyes. They were both adorable, but Sebastian won out over the dog.
“How could he not like it?” Sebastian asked. “Tis a wonderful place to be.”
But when Jenny turned back to face him, he was gazing at her, not Gulliver. She opened her mouth to speak but he interrupted her.
“I want you to know that it was not said out of duty—the suggestion that we marry. I really do love you, Jenny. It’s becoming clearer to me by the day—by the second, even!”
She heard the blood rushing through her ears, her heart repeating those words over and over until she thought she would faint.
I really do love you, Jenny.
“How did you know I even suspected such a thing?” she asked when she recovered her senses.
“I know you well enough already, I suppose,” he said with a wink. “Besides, it was rather soon, and it would be a perfectly natural presumption for you to make.”
