Sebastian narrowed his eyes. “Whose side are you on, Whitmore?”
“That’s just it,” Whitmore replied with a long sigh. “I’m on no one’s side. Or both sides, if you prefer.”
“That’s utterly useless of you,” Sebastian declared with a reluctant grin.
“I haven’t changed my stance on this in the past two years, Edgefield. Despite the fact that my own sister has nearly disowned me for not taking her side.”
Sebastian shrugged. “Yes, well, she’s unreasonable. That’s hardly your fault.”
Whitmore braced a hip against the table. “Perhaps. But you must recall my first inkling of your little drama was when Veronica came to visit me the next morning—woke me up from a sound slumber, I might add—to ask me if I had, in fact, been at the club with you the night before.”
Sebastian rubbed the back of his neck. “Yes, and you said you were.”
“Yes, but then she asked if I knew whether you’d gone elsewhere before the club.”
“She had no right to ask you that,” Sebastian insisted.
“Regardless, I said I was not at liberty to share my closest friend’s secrets with anyone, even my sister.”
“And she’s been angry with you ever since,” Sebastian replied, bending to take his next shot. “See? Unreasonable.”
“Perhaps.” Whitmore shrugged.
“And now we’re here—she and I—pretending we can stand the sight of each other, for your grandfather’s sake,” Sebastian added.
Whitmore chuckled. “Yes, well. Unfortunately, my sister inherited our grandfather’s stubbornness. It won’t be easy to convince her to see reason.”
“Precisely why I’ve stopped trying,” Sebastian replied before pulling out his timepiece and consulting it. “I suppose we should go to dinner. We can finish this game later. I believe we are tied.”
“Yes, to both,” Whitmore replied, setting his cue against the wall. “Let’s go. I cannot wait to watch Veronica pretend to be nice to you.”
Chapter Nine
Veronica was seated between Sebastian and her brother at the dinner table. Mama was at the end of the long expanse, while Grandmama sat on her right and Grandpapa on the left. Elizabeth and Jessica sat next to Grandpapa, while Veronica and the two men sat next to Grandmama. Veronica and her brother had exchanged a strained greeting and Jessica had been chattering nonstop since they’d all taken their seats.
“Tell me again what it’s like at the queen’s court for the debut ceremony,” Jessica insisted, her eyes fixed on Veronica.
“I’ve told you a dozen times,” Veronica said with a laugh. “It’s all quite formal and nerve-inducing, but thankfully, it’s over rather quickly.”
“I’ve been practicing all my dances,” Jessica replied, a dreamy look in her dark eyes. “The waltz is my favorite. Isn’t it, Grandpapa?” she asked, turning to him.
“Yes, darling, and your waltz is lovely,” Grandpapa said, raising his glass in a silent toast to his granddaughter.
Veronica shot a worried glance at her mother. Surely, Grandpapa shouldn’t be dancing with Jessica in his condition. But knowing her grandfather, he’d no doubt insisted. The old man was stubborn to a fault. Mama’s answer was merely a shrug.
“What about you, Elizabeth?” Veronica asked next, turning toward her second sister. “What is your favorite dance?” She was quite enjoying talking to her younger sisters, partly because she hadn’t seen them in several months and she missed them, and partly because Jessica’s chatter was keeping her from having to exchange any awkward conversation with Sebastian for Grandpapa’s sake.
“None of them,” Elizabeth replied in her characteristic monotone. Poor Elizabeth. She’d rather be reading in the library than dancing, and they all knew it.
“How can you say that?” Jessica said to her twin with a sorrowful look on her face. “Dancing is one of the most amusing things we’ve learned so far. And we’ll get to do so with handsome gentlemen next spring. I cannot wait.” She pressed her hands together near her cheek. “Though we can only hope there is a gentleman for each of us as eligible and handsome as our dear Sebastian,” she added with a laugh.
Sebastian’s brows rose, and he inclined his head in a gracious nod before lifting his glass toward Jessica. “A most exquisite compliment, Lady Jessica,” he replied. “If only your sister thought as much of me,” he added under his breath, but Veronica did not miss it.
“What was that?” she shot at him, watching him from the corners of her eyes.
“Nothing, dearest,” he replied with a wide smile, taking a sip from his wine glass.
“Yes, well, I, for one, would like to hear from the newlyweds,” Justin interjected, just as the first course of turtle soup was being served.
