‘A son, all the same,’ Julian replied. ‘An heir would be nice. But there are those who would look down on her because of her birth, even though I’ve made it quite clear that she is acknowledged by the family. Still, the connection to the title should be worth something.’
‘You are very stuffy, now that you have decided to take your reputation seriously,’ Sebastian said. ‘I never thought I would hear you talking about matchmaking and social connections.’
‘Life was easier when I did not have a wife and sister to look out for,’ he said with a shrug. ‘A year ago, I did not expect to care as much as I do.’
‘Rutland is a bit of a prig,’ Sebastian could not help remarking.
‘A prig who danced with Cassandra twice, last night, after you left Almack’s,’ Julian said.
Damn.
‘Twice?’ he said, giving his friend a suspicious look. ‘That was flirting with propriety as much as my waltz was.’
‘Your infraction likely gave him the nerve to request a second dance from Lady Jersey. It was you who put her in a forgiving mood.’
Damn, again.
‘And it is better him than the alternative,’ Julian responded.
‘Who would that be?’
‘Someone like…us.’
The pause was significant. He had been about to sayyou, only to soften the remark at the last minute to include himself.
‘You have reformed your character,’ Sebastian reminded him.
‘Because of Portia.’
‘You were still a rogue when you married her,’ Sebastian reminded him.
‘I did so for the worst reasons,’ he said with a thoughtful smile. ‘I thought marriage would be a quick salve to my reputation and had no intention of remaining faithful.’
‘But that was not the way it turned out,’ Sebastian reminded him.
‘I am most satisfied with the result,’ Julian said, a little smugly. ‘But that is not to say I was a worthy husband in thosefirst weeks. I would not want to put Cassandra through the difficulties I forced on Portia.’
‘Far better to yoke her to someone as boring as Rutland,’ Sebastian said with a grimace.
‘It is up to Cassie to decide whether he is too dull to make a good husband,’ Septon said taking another sip. ‘And he is far from the only choice. There is Tobias Blake, as well. He is reading for the church.’
‘Another vicar?’ This was even worse.
‘Fisk thinks he would be a good choice for her.’
‘I imagine he would,’ Sebastian said, wincing.
‘It is what she knows,’ Julian added as if this explained everything. ‘It would be a stable life. I could guarantee the man a living on my estate.’
‘She could live just across the way from the great house,’ Sebastian said, spreading his hands as if setting the scene. ‘I see her in a modest little cottage, keeping house for her lord and master…’
‘You make it sound like indentured servitude,’ Julian snapped. ‘The wife of a clergyman is hardly as bad as that.’
‘Nor is it the life one would expect for the daughter of a duke,’ Sebastian countered.
‘Not the legitimate daughter, perhaps,’ Julian said with a sigh. ‘I want the best for her, of course.’
‘Of course,’ Sebastian said with a grimace.
