Page 87 of Sinful Persuasion of a Lady in the Making
Chapter Thirty-One
Aweek had passed since the dinner party Sebastian didn’t attend, and he was at the gaming hall. Again. In fact, he had barely left all week, and when he wasn’t there, he was at some other club or tavern, drowning in sorrow and self-pity.
“You’ve barely said a word all evening, Hartwood. What’s got into you?” William asked. He shuffled a pack of playing cards over and over, although they were yet to start a game. Sebastian grunted in reply.
“It’s not just tonight,” Blackmore muttered into his glass. “Man’s been lost to us for over a week.”
“Barely said a word,” Fitzroy said, looking at Sebastian and shaking his head sadly, as though they had lost a friend to some terrible illness.
“Lovesick, he is,” Blackmore added.
“Or maybe I’m just sick of you three droning on about the same old nonsense. Do none of you really have nothing interesting to say for yourselves?”
“Ah, there he is,” William said with a grin. “We’ve missed you, old friend, that’s all. I take it things with your new lady friend are not quite working out as you hoped?”
“Oh yes,” Sebastian said sarcastically. “Everything is absolutely wonderful. That’s why I’ve spent so much time here this week.”
“That’s what happens when you choose a lady of the night to become your lady of the day.”
“She’s not…” Sebastian began to defend her, but he quickly sighed and gave up, looking down at his hands with pursed lips. “Never mind. I could never expect you to understand.”
“No, I wouldn’t understand no matter how you explained it,” Fitzroy admitted. “It was easy for my wife and I. Grew up in neighboring estates. It was always known we’d marry, right from when we were children. I don’t think our fathers would have had it any other way.”
“Heavens, she’s known you that long and hasn’t killed you yet? I’m impressed,” Blackmore said.
“I tell you, there’s a very simple key to a happy marriage.”
“And what’s that?” William asked.
“Staying away from one another as much as humanly possible.”
William and Blackmore guffawed with laughter, but Sebastian glared at Fitzroy, feeling his anger increasing.
“Why on earth would you want to marry, if your only goal is to stay away from one another?”
“Ah, now the error in your reasoning is becoming clear,” Fitzroy said. He held a finger in the air, offering a lecture on a subject he was most knowledgeable in. “You think marriage is about love. It is not. Companionship, if you’re lucky, but mostly it is about status and propriety.”
“And something a little more physical,” Blackmore said with a snort of laughter.
“No,” Fitzroy said, shaking his head firmly. “Producing children, yes, but for the most… pleasurable of activities, we’ve got brothels.”
“Sometimes, Fitzroy, you disgust me,” Sebastian spat.
“Moi?” Fitzroy said with a grin. “I think you’ll find most all of the men in the world think the same way.”
“No, it’s only wastrels like you who think like that,” Sebastian said. “Don’t you ever wonder why you’re no longer welcome in polite society?”
Sebastian slid his chair noisily over the tiled floor as he stood up. He drained the rest of his brandy as his three companions stared up at him, open mouthed and in shock. Then he turned and walked away.
“Oh, come on, Hartwood,” Fitzroy called after him. “Have you lost your humor along with your love? Forget your woes with a little laughter, and don’t take everything so seriously.”
“He’s changed,” William muttered. “Leave him be.”
Sebastian didn’t turn back, instead merely shaking his head in distaste. As he slammed out of the swinging door, the cool night air hit him, making his head spin with brandy and misery. He had thought, when he heard Jenny utter those fateful words, that he would easily forget her.
But I cannot.
Despite the heartbreak and betrayal he felt, he knew he had to find a way to talk to Jenny, to clear the air one way or another. Either they would overcome their difficulties, or they would put an end to this silly love affair. He would find out the truth, even if it hurt.
