Page 57 of A Promising Little Scandal (Sensual Scandals)

Chapter Twenty

Sebastian heard the thump of the cane before his grandfather came into view. Instead of waiting, he turned the corner and grabbed the marquess by the lapels of his jacket and shoved him against the hedges. He put his face directly in his line of vision and shouted, “What have you done?”

“I’m saving you, boy!” he snapped in return, not backing down even though his feet were barely touching the ground.

“How can you say that? You’ve driven the only woman I’ve ever truly cared about as far from me as possible!”

“And that’s not a blessing?” the marquess spat. “My daughter married for advantage, and then she met a man whom she fancied herself in love with. It ended in tragedy. I want to spare you the same fate! You won’t be happy with this gel! She doesn’t know what love is! Her father was too busy getting married to offer her any sort of example on how to run a proper household. She would have tired of you as quickly as you would have tired of her.”

Sebastian released his grip. His grandfather stumbled on his feet before he steadied himself with his cane, but Seb wasn’t in the mood to care. “You’re a cynical fool if that’s what you think,” he grated out. “The only thing you’ve managed to do is ruin your own life, so you want to make sure everyone else is just as unhappy as you are.” He laughed humorlessly. “I used to believe that I owed you some sort of loyalty because you were my last blood relation, my grandfather, but family doesn’t treat someone the way you just have. That’s the actions of my enemies, and I don’t have room in my life for those.”

For the first time in his life, Sebastian thought he saw fear flash behind his grandfather’s eyes. Even his tone was more subdued than usual. “What are you saying?”

“I’m done feeling any sort of obligation to you when you can do something this underhanded. I know you were the one who sent Lady Abaline to seduce me tonight. Otherwise, how convenient that she would be there at the exact moment Calliope was supposed to arrive.” He shook his head with disgust. “My sole regret was that I was too foolish to figure it out before the damage was done. Now I may have lost her forever. At least I can take heart knowing that I won’t end up like you someday.”

He started to leave, but the marquess recovered his gruff tone. “You’ll regret this someday, boy!” Sebastian turned to see him shake his fist at him in warning. “I swear that I won’t leave you a single shilling in my will!”

Sebastian’s mouth lifted in the corner. “I don’t want anything from you but freedom.”

He stalked down the path, not even certain of his destination. Things were such a mess right now that he honestly didn’t know where to begin.

He shoved a hand through his hair. If only Grey were here, instead of on his blasted honeymoon, because he could use some much-needed advice on how to win Lady Calliope back. At this point, he was quite sure nothing could sway her sour opinion of him. His reputation had been too convincing in the past, and she wouldn’t believe anything he said.

He paused.

Unless, of course, he approached her with actions instead.

But even that might be next to impossible, because it wasn’t as though Calliope wasn’t without reinforcements. Her sister, Isadora, was an intimidating woman. To get to Calliope, he would likely have to sway her sister to his side first. But how in God’s name he might ever manage that was anyone’s guess.

But he couldn’t give up. Not now. Not ever.

Calliope was his.

Now he just had to convince her.

Calliope stared at the canopy above her bed the next morning for an indeterminate amount of time. She wasn’t sure if she blinked, or just stared at the tucked pattern that she had never really paid attention to before now. However, for some reason, she couldn’t seem to look away.

It wasn’t as if it was all that appealing. In truth, some might say the design was rather plain, but her emotions were so… empty, that she found it to be the most fascinating thing in her life at the moment. She sighed, trying to remember if she had cried over her father’s death as much as she had over Sebastian.

Sebastard was more like it.

She threw an arm over her forehead and continued to stare in a daze at the ivory satin above her. Her maid had entered a short time earlier with a silver tray laden with several of her favorite breakfast items, but Calliope had yet to touch a single thing. She just couldn’t stomach the thought of food. Or getting out of bed.

Perhaps if she laid there long enough she could convince herself that the time she had spent with Sebastian had been nothing more than a dream. Lyme Regis itself was already starting to feel like a distant memory and she hadn’t been back in London for more than a day.

Unfortunately, it was the hollow feeling inside of her chest that told her it had been all too real. Every time she’d closed her eyes, after returning home from that embarrassing debacle at Vauxhall, she could smell the salty scent of the sea, and recall the way it had felt to be in Sebastian’s arms. His kiss had sent her soaring into the clouds, and she regretted having to return to earth.

Although, now that she thought about it, she was starting to regret a lot of things.

Such as she couldn’t recall when she’d last had her courses.

So much had happened in the last few weeks that she hadn’t kept track to see if she was late, or had just not paid the proper attention. But considering she had been intimate with Sebastian more than once, the chances that something could have happened was a very real possibility that she had to consider. Accidents happened all the time, even if one was careful.

She swallowed hard. Since it wasn’t likely that Sebastian wanted anything further to do with her, she needed to start making preparations in case she found herself with child. She would not shame her sisters by being the one who bore a bastard, or the baby who would have to live with that title for the rest of his or her life.

Thus, Calliope tore her gaze away from the canopy and grabbed her robe from the edge of the bed. She wasn’t ready to get dressed yet. Maybe tomorrow.

She made her way downstairs to the study where she would have the best luck in finding Isadora. As suspected, her dark-haired sister was bent over a leather-bound book and was scribbling something inside of it.

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