Page 104 of Temptations of a Wallflower
“That subject isn’t fit for your wife’s ears,” Lord Hutton said censoriously.
“Anything that you and I discuss can be heard by Sarah,” Jeremy insisted. “We don’t keep secrets.”
His father looked annoyed, and Sarah was pale, but neither of them left the room or demanded that Jeremy wait or stop.
“Out with it, then,” the earl clipped.
Jeremy bristled at his father’s commanding tone, but that had never changed, regardless of Jeremy’s age. Some things might never alter. It was up tohimto change.
“Not that long ago,” Jeremy began, “you started me down a path. It wasn’t a path of my choosing. It was of your design and intent. Yours, and my uncle’s. He isn’t here, but I trust that everything I say to you now will be communicated to him.”
“I’m not your errand boy,” his father muttered. He glanced at Sarah with a fraction of unease, as though uncomfortable being gainsaid in front of her.
“And I am not yours, sir,” Jeremy returned. “As of now, this moment, I shall no longer hunt for the identity of the Lady of Dubious Quality.”
Sarah looked up sharply at him. “Truly?”
“The search is done,” he said to her gently but firmly. “I am finished with it.” He gazed at the earl, who reddened with anger. “I am not the boy you can command anymore, Father. I’m a man grown, with a wife—alifethat belongs to me alone.”
“You are familiar with the penalty should you not continue with this?” his father demanded.
Jeremy squared his shoulders. “I am. It doesn’t matter. My pride isn’t as easily wounded as it once was. I can accept the costs of my decision.”
Lord Hutton looked shocked. He curled his hands into fists and set them on the desk. “That trollop’s books are dangerous. They must be stopped. To hell with your pride.”
“Trollop?” Sarah repeated incredulously before Jeremy could speak. “A harsh word, Lord Hutton.”
The earl looked affronted at Sarah’s having the temerity to speak to him in that fashion. After gathering his composure, he retorted, “A deserved one.”
“You are wrong,” Jeremy said firmly. “She is a woman of skill and determination. I admire her. More than she will ever comprehend.”
Sarah stared up at him, her gaze brimming with emotion.
Jeremy continued, “Her books harm no one. In truth, Father, theyhelppeople.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a copy ofThe Highwayman’s Seduction.Setting the book on the desk, he said, “Read it.”
“I will never read such salacious garbage that contributes to the decline of morality.” The earl glared atJeremy. “You’re a man of God. You cannot support that . . . thatscribbler.”
“You cannot condemn what you willfully don’t understand,” Jeremy said determinedly.
The look of sheer amazement on his father’s face was one Jeremy would not ever forget. Perhaps in the whole of his life, this was the first time someone besides his own father had actually denied him.
At last the earl spoke. “And the reward I’d offered? You’ll cast that aside? You’ll take the loss of your allowance.”
“I will and I do,” Jeremy replied. “I have everything I need.”
He looked at Sarah as he spoke, squeezing her shoulder. She clasped his hand with hers, returning the squeeze.
Glancing at his father, Jeremy saw something he’d never anticipated. His father was staring at him as though staring at a stranger. Not a child, not his son. But aman.A man with his own opinions and resolve. Who would not bend to someone else’s will.
“The scandal nearly ruined me—it will do the same to both John and Mark if they take up the task. It is done now.”
“And what of you?” the earl pressed. “Can you face yourself, knowing you’ve failed?”
“You cannot understand,” Sarah answered. She looked at Jeremy. “He didn’t fail. He prevailed.”
Jeremy’s heart rose upward.
Lord Hutton fell into a baffled silence, staring at them.
