Page 36 of A Wicked Viscount's Stormy Affair
“I suppose he has to keepworking,” Gregory continued with a laugh. A nasty sounding chuckle that made Sophie feel a little cold. “Seeing how he has been cut off from the family inheritance.”
Shock radiated through Sophie.
Was that why he worked so hard to make a success of himself in Sweden?
Why would he have been cut off? That sort of thing only happened in the most extreme of circumstances, as far as Sophie knew, which meant George had to have donesomethingto deserve it. If it was not gambling, then what was it? Was that why she had that strange feeling when talking to him? As if he was hiding something from her?
“But that work may well keep him too busy,” Gregory said, like he could not sense Sophie’s inner turmoil at all. Or maybe he could, and he was delighting in that a little. “Too busy to ever have a wife and a family. Too busy trying to earn enough money to keep them going, to actually give them any love. It is a real shame.”
Concern floated through Sophie once more.
It made her realize that everything George had said about Gregory was the truth. He was cold and calculating. Most certainly not her friend.
Sophie continued to dance with Gregory, grateful that she had the muscle memory to do the steps even when distracted, because her mind was all over the place. Her thoughts had been scattered all over her brain and she did not know how to pick them back up again. She did not know how to put herself back together again.
Maybe she would not be able to. Maybe the heart break was already creeping up through her, and there was nothing that she could do to stop it. The damage had already been done.
Chapter 16
Please meet me, brother, at the Warren’s Arms tonight at seven PM. We have a lot to discuss and much to sort out. I fear you will leave the country and we will still not have resolved our issues.
George read and reread the words that he had received that afternoon from Gregory. A promise, a chance that he could finally make things right with his brother before he left London entirely. That was all he wanted, really.
To have some connection with his last remaining family member in the world. Losing his father without any resolution had made it very clear to George that he did not want the same to happen again. If he ever wanted peace in his life, then he felt compelled to make things right.
Gregory knew that, and he had played on it.
As George glugged back the rest of his drink, he shook his head to himself in dismay. He never should have believed the words in this letter. He never should have trusted Gregory, when his brother had done nothing but try to make him look like a fool ever since he set foot in London. Gregory most certainly did not have the same intentions as George.
George was going to have to accept that Gregory was never going to care about their relationship. Not like he did. Gregory had gotten what he wanted, and that was all which troubled him. The money and the title, and soon the bride.
He did not seem to want George in his life at all.
To make things worse, George knew that he had missed a ball for tonight. Another chance for him to see Sophie and to maybe dance with her as well. That must have been a part of his brother’s plan, to keep him far away from Lady Dashwood, allowing him to sink his teeth deeper into her, manipulating her further.
I should have told Sophie the truth when I had the chance,he thought sadly to himself.
But he had not taken the time to tell Sophie that his brother was the one who had gambled the family fortune away. He had not been honest with her about the fight, and the fact that his father believed Gregory over him, which was why he had left for Sweden. He thought it best at the time to not say a word.
Sadly, that was because he still wanted to protect Gregory and his reputation. He still loved his brother and did not want his name to be sullied. So he let Sophie think that there was nothing wrong with him. But now she was likely in his arms once more, dancing with him and potentially believing what he said instead.
George had made a mistake, and he was not sure how to rectify that.
At this point, he was not sure that he could. It was starting to feel like Gregory was always going to outwit him at every single turn. Especially since George had not even been playing the game up until this point.
Although there was no telling what would happen next…
As George finished off his drink, he knew he should have listened to Sebastian. His best friend tried to warn George that this might happen. He thought it was very strange that Gregory would arrange this meeting for the night of the ball. Especially when Gregory was a very social person who liked to be seen at every event possible, especially a ball during the Season with all the ton there.
Sebastian had seen right through Gregory, despite George wanting to give him the benefit of the doubt.
If only George had listened, then maybe he would be with Sophie right now, having the night of his life.
But he also knew that he never would have been able to forgive himself if this meetinghadbeen real, and he had missed out on the chance to make things right with Gregory. If he had left Gregory sitting in the bar all by himself, then George would have regretted that also.
He really was caught between a rock and a hard place.
If he had realized a little sooner that Gregory was not going to join him in theWarren’s Arms,then he could have spent some time getting dressed. He still could have continued to go to the ball. Instead he’d wasted valuable time, making a million and one excuses for his brother, thinking that maybe he had gotten caught up with work, or maybe he was simply nervous about this meeting because they were going to have to dig deep into their feelings.
