Chapter 6 #2
“I’m not accusing her, blast it. I’m simply saying that he is a man and we understand, as men ourselves, exactly what his motivations might be,” Adrian insisted.
“Not every man who calls himself a gentleman is one. She’s too vulnerable, too trusting.
And he’s unknown to us all. Why, until this season, he’s never shown his face in society! ”
“He was in the military and out of the country. I am not so lax in caring for my sister that I didn’t ask a few questions about the man!”
There was no intelligent response to that, so Adrian resorted to just stubborn refusal. “I do not want him courting her.”
Julien raised an eyebrow at “That isn’t up to you.
It isn’t even really up to me. Eleanor is eight and twenty now.
She is more than capable of making those choices for herself and I haven’t the gall to attempt to stop her from doing so when she’s more sense than almost anyone I’ever known,” Julien countered evenly, his confidence in Eleanor’s discernment unwavering.
But then his eyes narrowed, curiosity and suspicion suddenly settling over his features.
“Why are you so dead set against Lord Marklynne as a potential match for my sister? Do you know something about him that I should be made aware of?”
“I know only that he is not right for her. He is unworthy of her,” Adrian insisted, implacable.
“What man is?” Julien asked with a shrug. “If women only entertained men who were worthy of them then the human race would have died out long ago.”
“I agree that no man is worthy of her. But she should be courted by a man who recognizes how exceptional she is and strives to deserve her regard… and I want to be that man,” Adrian admitted.
The weight of that heavy truth was only apparent after he’d uttered, after the relief that suffused him left him shaken.
Julien went stock still, his glass halfway to his lips when he froze, his stillness rendering his true reaction inscrutable.
Was it anger? Shock? After shaking off the stupor, he downed the brandy in one swallow and hissed out a breath at the instant burn.
“That requires expounding upon. Why now? Why this sudden change of heart?”
“It isn’t a sudden change of heart. For the last ten years, every woman I have met has been compared to her—not consciously—but unfailingly.
And every other woman has been wanting for some quality that she possesses that they do not.
They are not as kind as her. They are not witty or as pretty as she is.
They are not as sensible or intelligent as she is.
And ultimately, at the end of it all, the only thing that really matters is that they are not her.
But I’ve never considered courting Eleanor because I feared what might happen.
I didn’t want anything to change. I didn’t want to risk her friendship or yours by making such an admission,” Adrian confessed.
“And now, because someone else has shown interest, you feel compelled to act?” Julien asked incredulously.
Adrian sighed and tipped his head back. “Marklynne’s presence and his interest in her may have forced my hand but they did not give rise to the feelings I have for her.
If I do not act upon these feelings that I have harbored for far longer than I care to admit it, I will lose her anyway.
And I simply can’t bear the thought of it.
He would not make her happy. They’d bore one another into early graves!
” She deserved someone who would appreciate her for all that she was.
Someone for whom she was the only choice and not just the most suitable choice.
“So do something about it,” Julien challenged him. “Something other than just waiting around or talking. If you truly have such depth of feeling for her, take action.”
“How can I court her if she is already being courted by him? How the bloody hell am I supposed to pay a call on her when I practically reside in your house anyway? I need your help, Julien… If I am to have any hope in this endeavor, I need your help.”
Julien threw up his hands. “Oh no. Absolutely not. For this, my friend, you are entirely on your own. I make it a point never to truck with moneylenders or matchmakers… both can ruin you. And I will not be either one,” he added wryly.
“And if she refuses me outright?” It was a possibility that he could not stop thinking of. It left him feeling hollow.
Julien laughed at that. Harder than he should have.
Certainly with greater mirth than Adrian felt was warranted.
“Oh, she will. She absolutely will. You’ll not simply say some pretty words and have her come running.
Not after this long. That’s not her way.
You’ll have to woo her and win her against her better judgement and her wounded pride.
The risk is yours but the reward might well be too, if you act…
and I said I would’t help you. Not actively.
I won’t speak to her on your behalf, but I can tell you that Marklynne is not in attendance tonight.
And if you wish an opportunity to test the waters, then tonight might be your best chance.
You may flirt with her until she becomes tired of you and sends you off.
” Julien stopped then, but he stepped closer and in a tone that was not typically used between friends he added, “We’ve been friends for a very long time.
But, if you hurt my sister, that will not save you. ”
“I’ve no intention of hurting her. I’d die first. But how, in the name of God, do I flirt with a woman I’ve known practically since the cradle?”
Julien shrugged even as he stepped back to once again refill his glass.
“The same way you’d flirt with any other woman, I daresay.
Just because you’ve known her forever, doesn’t mean you know everything about her.
Find the things you don’t know and make them important.
Make them matter… and now, that’s it. That’s all the aid I’ll give you and it’s more than I ought to have already. ”
“What would you do if the woman you cared for was set to marry another?” Adrian asked, the fear that he’d waited too late to make her his was unshakeable.
Julien frowned into his glass and then once more drained the contents. And without looking at his friend, he refilled his glass for a third time and murmured with a pained certainty, “I’d drink. Heavily… Care for another?”