Page 45 of Treating a Sinful Earl
I believe in you completely,
Catherine
That sentiment at the end was in response to what Selina had said in the garden. Yes, she did trust him completely.
Chapter 21
“Not another ball,” Jasper complained as his valet straightened his cravat.
“Abigail shall be there,” Felton informed him.
“Here is what I do not understand,” Jasper went on, banishing his valet. He turned to Felton and continued. “If you are intent upon being with Abigail, then why should you have to attend a ball to do so? Why can you not merely ask her to supper, or go for a stroll in the woods,” he added, recalling his own stroll with Catherine in the woods…and the kiss.
“Because this is how society works. I do not know why you cannot understand that. Balls are a prerequisite because they are where it is acceptable to encounter a lady. If I were to stroll in the woods with Abigail it would be a complete scandal.”
Jasper raised his brow. Yes, it would be a scandal indeed, just as his stroll with Catherine had been a scandal, but no one would ever know of it. Jasper intended to keep that secret to himself, so that he could delight in the memory and not be weighed down with others’ opinions. He found it so amusing that it would be a scandal to do something so natural. For truly, walking with Catherine by his side while they were entirely alone did feel as though it was the most natural prospect in the world. How is it that all of society did not understand that?
“I think that tonight shall be good fun,” Felton went on, coming to the mirror and inspecting himself. “In fact, I am sure of it. Tonight is the night when Abigail will give herself over to me.”
A devilish grin came to Jasper’s lips. “In what way shall she give herself over to you?”
Now, Felton shared in this grin. “I will win over her heart, you wicked man. Sometimes, I have to wonder if the rumours about you are true, except that I know everything there is to know about you so that could not be so.”
Jasper stopped to consider Felton’s words. What on earth was he referring to. “What everyone says about me?”
“Since you live under a rock, you are not familiar with your ill reputation, I take it.”
Time stood still as Jasper truly did not know what Felton was referring to. He had never heard of his ill reputation, and he most certainly hoped that Catherine had never heard of it. “You are going to need to explain further.”
Felton seemed annoyed by this, for he rolled his eyes and went on, “It is all lies, of course. But sometimes there is talk that you have taken liberty with the women that throw themselves before your feet.”
“What the devil? Never have I done such a thing. Who is making these remarks?”
“Only the most notorious gossips in town.” Felton placed a hand upon his shoulder. “Do not let it trouble you, my friend. There is nothing to fear. It is jealousy, and nothing more.”
“Jealousy for what? I am a sick, dying earl who keeps to himself most of the time. What is there to be jealous about?”
Felton paused. It seemed as though Jasper had been too pointed in his rebuttal, for his friend was stricken by it. No, it was not easy for anyone to hear him say that he was to die. And he hated to remind his friend of it, but there was no sense in lying any longer and he had the mind to write Catherine that very moment to tell her of the truth.
Felton put up a hand to pause him. “Jasper, sometimes I do not think that you see yourself clearly at all. You do not understand how others perceive you, and this is understandable, for most of us do not understand or see. But you are a very striking fellow, and this is noticed. What’s more, you do not care one jot for what others think of you and this means that they are prone to not like you because of it. What you do not comprehend about society is that everyone wants to feel important. You make no one around you feel important, and this makes them upset.”
“I never make you feel important?” Jasper asked, offended.
He smiled faintly. “You silly dunce, I am not referring to those close to you, of which there are only a few. I refer to those that are of high standing in society that you ignore. For instance, I have spoken with the Duke of Brighton, who seems to like you immensely, but he is upset that you have not sent correspondence.”
Jasper could not believe what he was hearing. “Correspondence? I went to the man’s bloody ball. What else am I supposed to do? Send flowers?”
“Ha! This is what I love about you, my dear friend. You do not play the game. There are certain unspoken rituals that you ignore completely, and that is why I want no other friend but you.”
Now, Jasper was the one to laugh, for he had to admit that it was humorous, how he truly did not understand anything about society and what he was supposed to do within it. Well, that was not entirely true. He did know some things but chose to ignore these, for there was no sense in trying. He was a dying man.”
The mood instantly lightened, and Felton walked over to pour two glasses of brandy. “Now, let us leave soon for this ball, so that I might encounter my lady and you might encounter yours.”
Hope coursed through him. Yes, there was a very good chance that Catherine would be there since Abigail was attending. There was no one in the world that he wished to see aside from Catherine…and Felton. She had bewitched him; that much was clear, for he thought of her constantly. All the energy that he conserved in ignoring society would be given to Catherine. There was no need in wasting oneself on those that did not matter one jot.
“I fear that I am a fallen man,” Jasper said, accepting the glass of brandy from Felton and running his hand through his hair.
“In what way?” He took a sip.
