‘We were never out of your sight.’Not this week, at least.‘Are you really so protective?’ Sebastian allowed himself a small, incredulous laugh to cover the sin of omission.
‘If I think it is warranted,’ Julian said. ‘You know as well as I do what scoundrels men can be.’ Though he spoke in generalities, the look he gave Sebastian was very specific.
‘She is in no danger from me,’ he said. It was true, in a sense. His intentions were honourable, though he doubted Julian would see them as such.
‘That is good to know.’ Julian gave him one last warning look before settling back in his chair and taking a sip of tea.
Sebastian sipped his own drink as well, his mind racing. If this conversation was any indication, there was no point in asking permission to pay court to her. Refusal was guaranteed. But that did not mean he could not gain something from it. ‘Out of curiosity, who are you hoping to match her with?’ He stared out into the room as he spoke, to prove that the answer mattered little to him.
Julian’s face relaxed into a smile. ‘Someone better than she was aspiring to, I should think. A decent fortune. Some land. A minor title.’
Sebastian laughed again. ‘Were you planning to attach a man to the list? Or is the estate sufficient?’
At this Julian looked exasperated. ‘It is up to her to choose the man. I exist only to vet his circumstances.’ He gave a half shrug. ‘I suppose the people who raised her would like to have some say in it, just as a courtesy.’
‘The Fisks,’ he said, hoping he did not look as sour as his friend.
‘The vicar and I are coming at the problem from different directions,’ Julian said.
‘You view this as a problem?’ Sebastian said, irritated on Cassie’s behalf.
‘She is twenty-six and unmarried,’ Julian said. ‘It is well past time for a decision to be made.’
‘By Cass…’ He stopped himself. ‘By Miss Fisk.’
Julian ignored his slip and continued. ‘Mr Fisk is less interested in finances and more in character. I suspect he would settle for a clerk or a grocer, as long as the man was honest.’
‘And you don’t mind a little tarnish on the family name?’ Sebastian said.
‘On the contrary. Only the most honourable man will do. But I do not think a life of denial is necessary to purify the spirit.’
‘You would rather see her marry rich?’
‘Yes.’
‘Someone with a title, as you said before.’
Julian nodded. ‘If such a man could be interested. Her situation is not ideal.’
Sebastian scoffed. ‘She is a lovely girl. The right man will be willing to overlook a past she had no part in making.’
‘But the right man is definitely not a rake,’ Julian added, giving Sebastian another speculative look.
‘Well, good luck to you all,’ Sebastian said, hoping that his sarcasm was not too obvious.
Julian smiled back as if he’d not noticed it at all. ‘Thank you for your well wishes. It is just the beginning of the Season. Far too early to make any decisions. But I suspect it will not be too long before she has an offer. She is really the sweetest girl.’
‘So she seems,’ he said. He had thought so when she had come to him last year. But now that she chose to deny him, he was not so sure. There was a tartness in her, like the undernotes in fine wine that intrigued the palate.
‘And in just this week, there are two promising candidates,’ Julian added, not noticing his friend’s silence.
Competition.
‘Respectable?’ Sebastian asked.
‘Very. Mr Andrew Rutland. The son of the Earl of Grisham.’
‘Second son,’ Sebastian reminded him, calling up what he knew of the fellow.
