Lord Sebastian's Secret (The Duke's Sons #3)(20)
“Is that the latest thing?” asked Hilda.
“Why do you never ask me?” said Georgina. “You must know that I’m much more familiar with fashion than Sebastian.”
“We want to know what the gentlemen like,” replied her youngest sister.
“Hilda!”
“It’s all very well for you,” the other girl retorted. “You had Great-Uncle George’s fortune, and so your future was settled like that.” She snapped her fingers. “Emma and I will have a much harder time of it.”
“When did you become so vulgar?” said Georgina, wondering what a son of the Duke of Langford could be thinking of this conversation.
“I’ve always been,” Hilda replied cheerfully. “If that’s what you call telling the truth. Mama says plain speaking is the only sensible course in life.”
She did say that, Georgina admitted silently, and do it, too. As a child, Georgina had accepted this frankness as simply the way of things, but since she’d been to London and suffered the consequences of a few gaffes, she wasn’t so sure. She did know that Sebastian had been trained to a high standard of civility. Anyone watching his mother navigate the shoals of society could only nod in admiration. And he certainly looked the soul of politeness now.
There was no sign that he found her sister’s statements unacceptable. Indeed, he’d shown very little reaction to any of her family’s behavior. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t having them. Georgina sighed. Life would be so much easier if one could read thoughts, or at least understand them clearly from facial expressions.
Sebastian was feeling uncomfortable. It wasn’t the plain speaking in itself. He didn’t mind bluntness. On the contrary, he often appreciated it. You knew where you were with people who said what they meant. It was the subject matter in this case—Georgina’s fortune, and the undeniable fact that he’d begun his pursuit of her because of it. He’d been determined to snag a rich wife. Life as a duke’s son was so much easier with a bit of money.
There was nothing wrong with that point of view, he told himself. All his brothers had the same concern. Well, except Nathaniel. He was the heir; all the ducal riches would be coming to him through the entail. It was the way of the world that the eldest son inherited. Sebastian understood that. You couldn’t be chopping up an estate among the offspring in every generation. Very soon there would be nothing left of a grand heritage. And Nathaniel was a good egg, always ready to help out. The rest of them were left to provide for themselves, however, if they wished for more than their bare allowances and their oldest brother’s charity.
James had a lump of prize money from his naval successes during the war. Sebastian didn’t know the exact sum, but he understood it was enough to make his brother comfortable for life. Unfortunately, such largesse wasn’t open to army officers. Their engagements yielded no conquered ships to tow back to friendly harbors and redeem. And Sebastian knew he was unlikely to rise further in rank. He would not be a colonel and command a regiment. His superiors liked him, but they’d taken the measure of his limits. Not that military pay was any great thing, no matter how high the level.
As for his other brothers, Alan had made money through some inventions that Sebastian didn’t understand, and he’d settled on a relatively frugal existence in Oxford as well. Robert had been left a bit by his godfather, but he led quite an expensive life among the haut ton. Randolph had his living and expected to advance in the church, but he certainly wouldn’t mind marrying money. It was no wonder, and no shame, that Sebastian had thanked his lucky stars when Georgina, with her fortune, accepted him.
As he came to know her better, though, he’d felt the urge to tell her that he valued the match for other reasons. More all the time, as a matter of fact. It was just deucedly difficult to begin such a conversation, and to go on without sounding like a coxcomb. It was the sort of thing a sneaking flatterer would say. And what if she asked whether he would’ve offered for her if she hadn’t had money?
Although he couldn’t now imagine marrying anyone else, he most likely wouldn’t have. Well, he wouldn’t have become well acquainted with her, would he? If not for the fortune waiting in the wings? She’d have been just another of the throng of debs vying for attention in a crowded season. He wouldn’t have known to single her out.
Sebastian suffered a sudden shiver of apprehension. In that case, he’d never have discovered Georgina’s sharp intelligence and quick kindness and delectable ardor. Which would have been a tragedy as great as any Sykes might want to portray in a theater. But then, he wouldn’t have realized he’d missed them, Sebastian thought. He’d have passed her, unheeding, in crowded ballrooms and at stuffy evening parties. They both would have gone on to other lives with other people. The prospect was dire, but it wouldn’t have been, because he would have been ignorant of her charms.
Feeling more than usually conscious of his dimness in this moment, his thoughts twisted into a damnable tangle, Sebastian gave up. He’d discovered long ago that it was better to remain silent than to flounder in a mire of words. Why demonstrate one’s failings for all to see? He wouldn’t get his point across, if he even knew what it was, and he’d be exposed as a dolt. He’d just have to find some other way to show Georgina that he valued her for herself, he decided. If only a bit of deft saber work or riding neck or nothing over rough country would convey the message, he’d be set.