“All right,” Reeves allowed. “But to hear you tell it, it doesn’t sound as if you’ve sacrificed any freedom at all. Didn’t I just hear you say that you aren’t going to be getting married?”
“That’s right,” Norman said. “But not for lack of everyone around me trying to force the issue. Tell me, why is it that a gentleman can’t be judged on his own merits, instead of for the company he keeps? When I was a commoner, I never had this problem. People might have judged me unfairly at times?—”
“They most certainly did,” Reeves said. “How many members of society did you count among your friends in those days? As I recall, I was the only one.”
“You were,” Norman said. “But you were very genuinely my friend. That’s my point. You would never have required me to prove anything about my quality to you by marriage or by any other means.”
“And that’s what you feel others are doing? Forcing your hand?”
“It’s impossible to see it any other way. Oh, nobody has actually confronted me and told me that Imustmarry if I want the trust of theton. But I am an outsider, and the quickest and surest way to convince everyone that I am one of them—one ofyou—is to marry a lady.”
“And yet, you don’t intend to.”
“I don’t. I don’t have any intention of shackling myself to another person just to make a point. No, the whole thing is artifice, Reeves. It’s all been for show.”
Reeves’ eyes widened. “And what about the young lady?” he asked. “Lady Susan? What will she say when she realizes you’ve led her on?”
“I’ve done no such thing. She’s been in on it the whole time.”
“Oh, now I know you’re jesting. A lady willing to damage her own prospects with a broken engagement?”
“It makes little difference to her,” Norman said, his voice suddenly tight. “She doesn’t wish to marry at all, so she isn’t worried about her prospects.”
“At all?” Reeves shook his head. “You must mean she doesn’t want to marryyou.”
“That’s what I thought the first time she said it,” Norman said. “I assumed she was just trying to be cordial, and toavoid the awkwardness of telling me outright that she didn’t want a marriage to me. But she reinforced it later. She really doesn’t want to marry, so she doesn’t care how this affects her reputation.”
“Well, that’s very strange,” Reeves mused.”
“I thought so too!” Norman sat forward. “What kind of lady is so cavalier about the idea of marriage? Doesn’t she understand how important her reputation is? Doesn’t she care?”
“What difference does that make to you?” Reeves asked. “If you aren’t going to marry her, then she’ll be out of your life very soon, so why does it matter what her reputation is?”
It was a question Norman had been asking himself, to be honest. “I just don’t like the idea of people being unwise,” he said. “I don’t like to see bad judgment.”
“Well, if you’re going to be a part of London society, bad judgment is a thing you’ll have to get used to,” Reeves laughed. “But tell me honestly, Norman—is it such a terrible thing to have a lady who doesn’t want to marry in your life? You don’t want to marry her either, so I would have thought you would like that about her. I would have thought that would make everything easier for you.”
“Yes, well…” Norman trailed off, unsure of what he wanted to say.
“She’s really gotten under your skin, hasn't she?” Reeves asked.
Norman bristled. “I don’t know what you mean by that.”
“Why should it bother you what she wants to do with her life? It has nothing to do with you if the two of you aren’t going to marry—and yet, you’re sitting here, allowing it to bother you. I don’t know. She’s taking up a lot of room in your thoughts, that’s all. And if I were in your shoes, I don’t think I would allow myself to fixate on a lady who was going to be out of my life very soon. I would simply turn my thoughts in a different direction.”
“It’s not always that easy to put things from your mind,” Norman said. “Sometimes they capture your attention.”
“Sometimes, yes. A particularly attractive young lady can easily capture a man’s focus, for instance… and Lady Susanislovely.”
“Oh, stop,” Norman groaned.
“What? You disagree?”
“She’s perfectly decent to look at,” Norman said. “That’s not what I’m talking about.”
“Because I did see you looking at her, you know, at the Sutherland Ball,” Reeves said, a broad smile spreading across his face. He was obviously teasing now, and Norman was beginning to grow frustrated with his friend’s antics.
So he was relieved when the door opened, and Mr. Billings came in with a letter in his hand.
