“You should know.” Mr. Ramsay put the manuscript down on his lap. “You are an expert liar, after all.”
Sebastian winced, but to that accusation, he had no response.
“As to the other thing,” Mr. Ramsay continued merrily. “Concerning your wife and her writing. I take it that she has agreed? I am not going to open the paper one day and see a story written by a Henry Monroe, am I?”
“She has agreed,” Sebastian said with a grimace.
“Nor will she write under any other name,” Mr. Ramsay pressed. “I know her writing. I know what to look for. If I have even aninkling that she is still writing…” He clicked his tongue. “I hate to think that you would betray me like that.”
“I told you that she has agreed, didn’t I?” Sebastian snapped. “And I do not appreciate my word being questioned by the likes of you.”
He had not spoken to Helena about such things, of course. Nor would he. Sebastian planned to simply keep an eye on her while she stayed with him, ensuring that she did not write anything new to send to the papers. That would give him time to pass his bills, by which point nothing Mr. Ramsay said would make a difference.
And once he found out that she was still writing, if Mr. Ramsay decided to expose her, Sebastian would take the blame and fall on his sword. His reputation might be ruined as a result, but Helena’s he could save.
“Well…” Mr. Ramsay exhaled and looked around. “This was rather productive. A success, as I see it.”
“We are done?” Sebastian asked. “You have what you wanted. So, I can safely assume I will not be hearing from you again.”
“Of course.” Mr. Ramsay pretended to look offended. “I am a man of my word, and I will not go back on what was promised. And if your promises hold, chances are we will never see each other again.”
“I pray for it.”
Mr. Ramsay chuckled as he stood, making sure to take the manuscript. “Oh, and give my best to your wife, will you? And make sure to thank her.” He chuckled further and then hurried out of the tavern.
Sebastian did not leave once he was alone.
He found the bartender and asked for a drink. And then another, and a third after that. He tried to tell himself that he had done as he had to. He tried to justify it because there was no other way. But at the end of the day, nothing said would make him feel better.
And worse than that, because of what had happened, he and Helena were finished. She hated him, as he needed. She was already doing her best to avoid him, as was the plan. And come another month, she would move out, and he would never see her again.
Of all the tragedies that had befallen Sebastian lately, that was the hardest to reckon with.
He would never know happiness. He would never know love. He would die as he lived—alone. And not a soul in this world would care.
CHAPTER 31
“Where is His Grace?” Daniel asked softly. He looked around the warehouse as if expecting to see him. “He has not come here in so long.”
“Oh…” Helena’s chest tightened. “He is… he has been busy.”
“He has not come to see us in days,” Daniel pouted. “Does he not care about us anymore?”
“What? No—why would you think that?”
Daniel shrugged. “That’s how it usually is. Every time someone meets us, they promise to help. But they eventually get bored or sad, and before long, they forget about us. I think His Grace has forgotten about us.”
“That is not…” Helena took Daniel by the shoulders and forced him to look at her. “Listen to me, Daniel. That is not at all the case, understand? His Grace cares for you—he loves you. Eachand every single one of you. He has just been busy these last few days, and it is nothing to worry about. I promise that he will come and visit as soon as he can.”
Daniel did not look convinced. “If you say so…”
Helena meant her words, and she spoke them like the truth that they were. Sebastian cared for the children beyond reason, and she knew that he would do anything he could for them. They were his everything, and nothing would change that.
Only…
Is that still the case? How can I defend a man I hardly know? A proven liar and one who acts only in his self-interest?
She did not know Sebastian nearly as well as she liked to pretend. And what she did know about him brought her little hope. Deep down, she believed that Sebastian still cared for the children and that wouldn’t change. But she also knew that he was not to be trusted, and that anything he had told her was a lie.
