Now he sat at a table in the corner of the main room of the club with Austin. Lively conversation and music surrounded them, but Dominic did not feel like joining in. Everyone else must notice his foul mood, because they steered clear of the table where he sat with his friend.
They are still watching me, though.Every time he looked up, he saw people quickly look away from him, their faces either unusually pale or red. They might be avoiding his gaze, but they had no problem staring at him when he wasn’t looking.
Perhaps I should start drinking at home instead of in the club.
Austin, however, either didn’t notice his mood or didn’t care. He simply sipped his drink.
“I think the club has procured a new whiskey seller,” he said, raising his glass to better examine the amber liquid. “This one is different from its usual taste. It’s better.” He raised his eyebrows at his friend. “And if you do not tell me why you are scowling so deeply, then I’m afraid I will have to prattle on about the whiskey. For hours.”
Dominic took a sip of his own drink. He personally could not taste any difference in the alcohol from the last time he was here. However, he did not frequent the clubs as often as Austin did. “I am not scowling any more than usual. You forget that I do not walk around with a false smile pasted on my face like so many people in the ton.”
His friend smirked and held up his glass. “I think I taste a hint of oak in this brew?—”
Dominic pinched the bridge of his nose with two fingers. “All right. Please, stop.” He would go mad if he listened to Austin pretend to have a sensitive and sophisticated palate. However, he appreciated his friend at the same time.
The Velvet Duke had been a loyal friend for the past year, despite Dominic’s unpleasant demeanor. Austin was also rarely intimidated by the Duke of Greystone, and he was never scared off for long. Dominic knew he was lucky to call him a friend.
The Duke of Windermere grinned triumphantly. “Then please elaborate on why you suddenly invited me out drinking while you look like someone spat in your tea.”
Dominic sighed, knowing he would have to discuss it at some point, or he would simply go mad. “I think I made a mistake, marrying Selina,” he said. “Percy is not taking it well, and even though I tell myself I married her for Percy, I worry I did it for more selfish desires.”
He couldn’t stop thinking about the way her lips tasted when they were in the woods during the Duke Hunt. He had barely tasted them on their wedding day, and he wanted more. He could get addicted to the taste of her.
More than once, he had also thought of how she had looked in only a loose corset, tangled in his blanket, with his body on top of her. It was a tantalizing memory, one that sent blood rushing to his…
He took a quick sip of his drink, as if the burning sensation from the whiskey could somehow cool him down.
Austin watched him with a knowing smile on his face. “When you say selfish desires…”
Dominic glared at his friend. “You know precisely what I mean.”
Austin smiled broadly. “Of course I do. I’m well acquainted with those desires, but I hardly consider them selfish.”
“You do not have a son to think about.”
“Perhaps not.” Austin leaned forward. “You needed to marry her. She would have been ruined if you had refused, and helpless. There is no love between her and Lady Gillray, who would not hesitate to turn her out on the street if she had been compromised. Who knows what foul fate would have awaited her after that?”
Dominic did not like the thought of Selina being turned out on the street, especially for something that was not truly her fault. However, she would have certainly found a way to take care of herself. “I doubt there is anything that woman could not overcome,” he murmured. But even as he said it, he knew he was glad he had been able to spare her that hardship.
“She also saved Percy, did she not?”
Dominic grimaced. He could still vividly recall that horrifying scene of his son standing on the balcony ledge. It looked like something out of his nightmares. “She did,” he admitted. “I owe her a great deal for getting him down peacefully and without injury.”
“Then perhaps you should pay her back by giving her some slack,” he said.
“That is difficult to do when my son’s happiness is at stake,” Dominic said. “Marrying Selina could potentially make things with him worse than ever.”
His friend raised his eyebrow at him. “When was the last time you heard Percy speak?”
Dominic stayed quiet. He didn’t need to answer because Austin knew just as well as he did that Percy hadn’t uttered a single word since his mother died.
“It seems like things are already really bad with Percy. I do not think they can get that much worse. Not permanently, anyway.” Austin shrugged and took another sip of his drink. “If nothing has worked in the last year, then perhaps it is time to try a different approach. Perhaps Selina will be just what he needs to find his voice again.”
Dominic ran his fingers through his hair; he was skeptical. “He is not happy about me remarrying. He misbehaved yesterday, during dinner.”
“He needs time to get used to everything.”
“Selina thinks I should be more involved in his life. How am I supposed to do that when he is scared to be in the same room as me?”
