Agatha snorted. “I doubt that very much. You’ve seen him. He could have any woman he wanted.”
“Perhaps. But perhaps not. You are forgetting he is a bastard. One of the Notorious Bastards, no less. He has been judged and ridiculed for that his entire life.”
“My lord, you cannot simply barge in—” the butler called from out in the hall.
Then the parlor door swung open to reveal the Duke of Lancaster.
“Can I not leave town for a fortnight without learning that my betrothed has begun a relationship with one of my bastard sons?” he boomed.
“Oh, dear,” Violet said.
The duke entered the room and glared at Violet. “Privacy with my soon-to-be-bride, if you will.”
Violet didn’t move. “I will not. I don’t care who you are or what your title is, this is my home and I will occupy whatever room I wish. Furthermore, Agatha is not your betrothed and I don’t like the tone in which you’re speaking to her. So I believe I shall stay right where I am.” She crossed her arms over her chest for good measure.
“Insolent,” the duke muttered. Then he turned his ire back to Agatha. “I hope you realize that whatever promises he made to you mean nothing. He is doing this merely to annoy me. I do not publicly claim him and it’s always angered him. His brother doesn’t seem to care one way or another. But Sebastian,” he practically spat the name. “You would shame me in such a way?”
But Agatha couldn’t even bother to be embarrassed, she was still reeling from the news that this was Sebastian’s father. She felt sick. He’d used her and she’d fallen for him like a brainless twit.
“I will still marry you, but we need to secure a special license and marry immediately to salvage this situation.”
Agatha said nothing. Just sat feeling hollow and undone. She took a shaky breath, then came to her feet. “If you’re excuse me, my lord, I’m suddenly not feeling well. I believe I need to retire to my bedchamber and lie down.”
She left the duke sputtering about her audacity and climbed the stairs. Somehow she made it into her room, then went to stand next to the bed. She picked up the pillow where Sebastian had slept and brought it to her nose, inhaling deeply. The masculine scent of him lingered.
All this time she’d thought he agreed to tutor her out of the goodness of his heart, when in reality he’d been playing a game of revenge. She’d been nothing more than a pawn on his chessboard.
17
Sebastian sat on the settee in his study considering his options. He couldn’t look anywhere in this room or his bedchamber and not think of her. She was imprinted on every surface. She was imprinted on his very soul.
He sighed heavily. He needed to tell Agatha the truth. She needed to know his connection with her would-be suitor. The thought of her ending up in that arsehole’s bed made Sebastian want to burn all of London to the ground.
“You’re so glum, my darling, his mother said. Whatever is the matter with my beautiful boy?”
He stared up at his mother. She was a force, this woman. She’d found herself penniless and pregnant with twins, the father unwilling to marry her because she came from a merchant father and an actress mother. So she had done what she could to provide a life for her boys. She’d created a safe haven for women where they had access to food and shelter, but also medical care. Yes, she’d been a whore, probably still considered herself one, but all Sebastian saw when he looked at her was love. She haddone everything for him and Spencer. That was the true measure of her character.
“Oh dear,” his mother said, then she took a seat next to him on the settee. “You love her.”
He met his mother’s gaze, so similar to his own. “I believe I do. I don’t know how it happened.”
“You don’t need to know how. The reality is that you love her. Now what you going to do about it?”
“I need to talk to her. Tell her the truth about who my father is. Tell her how I feel. And let her decide. I know I’m not good enough for her, though.”
“Bollucks!” She smacked him on the back of his head. “You are just as deserving of love as she is.”
“Mr. St. Claire, I’m afraid you have a visitor,” the butler said.
“Send her in,” he said, then came to his feet and waited for Agatha to breach the doorway. Instead Violet entered the room.
“My apologies to visit you at your home, Sebastian, but something has happened and I thought you should know about it straight away.”
He led her to a chair. All the while his heart thundered in his chest. “Is she harmed in anyway? I can go to her.”
Violet shook her head. “The duke came to my house earlier today to visit her. He was angry about her…association with you. Claimed you were using her as some form of revenge.”
“Son of a bitch!” he swore.