Page 37

Chapter Twenty-Three

Sebastian

S ebastian stood rooted to the spot long after Selina had disappeared down the corridor.

He had never known such bliss as kissing her—nor such defeat as her flight.

He shut his eyes, wanting to go after her but afraid he would only make things worse if he did.

This was a mistake .

That was what she had said.

It had certainly not felt like a mistake. At least, not to him. And she had certainly seemed willing.

For one moment, he had believed they might have a future together—not born of necessity or revenge but of something real. But in such a moment, she had only seen a mistake, and that hurt more than her hate ever had.

He stared at the place where she had disappeared, then sighed and slipped back into Felix’s room.

Felix was sound asleep, and while Sebastian tried to let his head fall back and follow suit, his thoughts were too insistent. He finally gave up when the edges of the curtains at the window began to glow with the light of dawn.

A quick touch to Felix’s forehead assured him that the fever had not returned. Rubbing at his eyes, he left the room quietly. His gaze flicked down the corridor to Selina’s bedchamber.

Was she awake, as he was? Or had she managed to find refuge in sleep? Perhaps her allowance of the kiss had been nothing but a fit of fatigue, a lapse in judgment.

A door opened behind him, and Sebastian turned.

Margaret, still in her dressing gown, peered from her room. When she saw Sebastian, she shut the door behind her and hurried to him. “How is he?”

“Better,” Sebastian replied. “The fever seems to have run its course.”

She let out a breath of relief. “Thank heaven.”

“May I leave him with you? I must return home for a time, but I shall come back.”

“Of course,” Margaret said. “I will sit with him.”

Sebastian thanked her and made his way quietly to the front door, for the servants were only just beginning to stir.

He barely paid any heed to the path home, his mind on the problems at hand. Heaven knew there were plenty of them. The most pressing was the approaching Chancery hearing, but his heart insisted it was Selina.

To hear her admit she did not hate him, and then to have her melt into his arms and return his kisses with such fervor…

How was he to think of anything else? Or to settle for anything less?

And yet, it was not his choice.

I want to hate you, she had said. Whatever she felt for him apart from hate, it was felt unwillingly. It was not what she wanted, much as her kiss had convinced him otherwise.

Once at home, he went straight to his bed and dropped onto it, not even bothering to remove his boots.

He woke some time later to a violent pounding sound. At first, he thought it was his own head, which throbbed as though he had drunk too much the night before. It became apparent, however, that someone was trying to batter down the front door .

Sebastian swung his legs over the bed, then winced as his head protested.

“I demand to see Drake!” a voice roared.

Sebastian shot to his feet, ignoring the throbbing, and hurried downstairs.

Edward Hollis seemed to have pushed his way inside, for he was in the entry hall.

“Hollis!” Sebastian called.

The man’s head came up, and his gaze fixed on Sebastian, narrowing. “Where are they?”

Sebastian nodded at the footman to dismiss him. “Who?”

“Do not play the idiot, Drake. You know who I mean.”

“It is the only part I am able to play, for I have no notion to whom you are referring.”

Hollis’s ruddy cheeks grew brighter. “The children!” he barked with unrestrained annoyance.

Sebastian’s brows went up. “The children? How would I know where they are? Is that not your responsibility? They are under your guardianship.”

“You took them! I know you did.”

“I did not,” Sebastian answered coolly. “But the fact that you have misplaced them says a great deal about your abilities as a guardian. I imagine the Court of Chancery would be interested to know it.”

Hollis sneered angrily and took a step toward Sebastian. He reeked of spirits. “Not as interested as they will be to know of your role in the affair! I know you know where they are, Drake, and I will find a way to prove your involvement. The Chancery will never agree to your petition.”

Sebastian’s smile was brittle. “Then, for your sake, I hope your ability to find them is better than your ability to keep them.”

“Then you won’t mind me taking a look around,” Hollis said.

Sebastian stopped him with a hand on his chest. “I most certainly do mind. You are not welcome here.”

“What is this?” Yorke came hurrying down the stairs, his brow knit and his eyes shifting back and forth between Sebastian and Hollis.

“Hollis has done us the honor of calling,” Sebastian said. “He seems to be under the impression that I am hiding my siblings from him here.”

“Shall I help you throw him out?” Yorke asked.

“Shall he?” Sebastian asked Hollis.

Hollis’s tight jaw shifted, his nostrils flaring as he stared at them. “I will be watching, Drake.” He took a small step back.

“It smells like you will be drinking,” Yorke muttered, his nose wrinkling. He walked over to the door and opened it. “Go on, then.”

Hollis did not move.

“Allow me to explain how things are done in polite households,” Yorke said.

“You are a guest, so I have kindly opened the door for you. You reciprocate this thoughtful gesture by leaving through it—and by waiting to be welcomed in the next time you pay us a call, which I would cordially discourage you from ever attempting. If you feel incapable of passing back over the threshold, my offer to throw you out stands.”

Hollis stared at Sebastian another moment, then turned and stalked out.

Yorke shut the door soundly behind him, then dusted off his hands and turned to Sebastian. “Charming fellow. Who is he?”

Sebastian drew in a large breath, then launched into a long-overdue explanation about Hollis, his siblings, and his situation.

Yorke stared at him for a moment once he had finished. “If you are refused guardianship in favor of that drunken fool, I will make it my mission to be elected to Parliament with the sole purpose of reforming the Court of Chancery.”

“Be careful what you promise, Yorke,” Sebastian said grimly. “I am unlikely to be granted the petition as things stand.”

“Surely, you are joking.”

“I wish I was. ”

“You are engaged to one of the wealthiest untitled widows in England. What further evidence could the Chancery want?”

Sebastian shook his head. “I am not.”

Yorke studied him. “Word of the engagement is all over the ton . I offered you congratulations myself. What do you mean by saying you are not engaged? What happened?”

Sebastian rubbed his eyes, his fatigue returning now that Hollis had been dispatched.

“I hardly know. She was told from the beginning that I sought her for her fortune—by Haskett. The entire courtship was her way of humiliating me. I finally discovered what she was about and determined to have my revenge. All of it culminated in our engagement.”

Yorke could not have looked more confused if he had been handed Montague the pigeon. “That makes no sense, Drake.”

“And yet, it is the truth. I have tried to apologize and assure her that my affection for her is genuine, and I had some hope that…” He grimaced. “Only time will tell, but our last interaction did not end well. I have been waiting upon her to spread word that the engagement is at an end.”

Yorke let out a low whistle. “What do you mean to do about the children?”

Sebastian lifted his shoulders. “What can I do? They are at Selina’s, but I cannot trespass upon her kindness indefinitely, particularly given our situation.

I am due to appear at the Chancery in six days, and I have nothing that will satisfy the court that my finances are in order or that I can support three children.

I am not in a position to take on their upkeep or education.

Neither is Hollis, of course, but my solicitor insists they will be reluctant to change the arrangement without convincing evidence to the contrary. ”

Yorke’s mouth turned down at the edges as he thought for a moment. “I am not particularly plump in the pocket, but?—”

Sebastian shook his head, cutting him off. “It is kind of you, but I have been assured the court will not view gifts of money as sufficient. They want proof that the children will not be left to the mercy of others.”

“And yet, they are happy to leave them to the mercy of that oaf?” He pointed at the door to indicate Hollis.

Sebastian pulled a wry face.

“It makes even less sense than the story of your engagement.”

“There is little sense or justice in life.”

“Not yet, perhaps,” Yorke said. “But I mean to change that.”

Sebastian gripped him by the shoulder. “You have my full support. Now, I must change my clothes and return to Felix. He took ill yesterday, and I was up with him all night.”

“While Hollis was getting brandy-faced.”

Sebastian chuckled and began to take the stairs with slow, listless steps. “You might safely append that same phrase onto the end of any sentence and be sure of its accuracy.”