Chapter 36
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Ian couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw a man dressed simply in a white shirt and trousers, enter the drawing room.
Is it Jack? He thought praying to the Gods for it to be someone else.
He hadn’t invited Jack to the party, but news of the engagement ball had been circulating all around London, and Jack must have heard.
Jack was the only person who knew why Ian had started courting Esther and even though Ian was no longer the same man and had no such intentions, Jack didn’t know that.
Ian hadn’t had a chance to speak to him recently because of everything going on.
Between his newly discovered feelings for Esther, the return of Adam and Lisa to London, the engagement, and his new duties, Ian hadn’t had a moment to breathe freely.
He kept looking as the man staggered around the hall, his back to Ian. His movements clearly indicated that he was drunk. Just then, the man turned around, and Ian cursed softly to himself. He no longer had any doubts about his identity.
“My Lord, shouldn’t we …” Esther’s soft voice reached his ears, but he couldn’t turn to look at her.
Jack’s presence at his engagement ball, especially when Esther was beside him, was cause for great distress to Ian.
He had no idea about how to handle the situation.
He knew that he needed to immediately escort Jack to a more private location and ask him to leave.
The man had been drinking and when he was drunk, he had no control over his tongue.
Ian was worried that he would end up saying something he shouldn’t in front of Esther and he never wanted a pure soul like her Esther’s to be hurt.
Ian never wished to cause her pain and did not want to become the cause of her grief.
“I will return shortly,” Ian said and turned around to walk towards Jack. He had seen the confused expression on Esther’s face, but he didn’t have the time to stop and explain. The only thing he knew right now was that Jack needed to be sent away. It was all that mattered.
He had only turned to look at Esther for a moment, and now Jack was out of his sight. Ian’s heartbeat was accelerating, simply thinking about everything that could go wrong if Esther somehow met him. Just then, he spotted Jack standing by the refreshment table.
Ian walked towards him quickly and held his elbow from behind. “Jack,” Ian hissed, trying to keep his voice as soft as he possibly could. Everyone in the crowd wanted to meet and congratulate him, and he needed privacy to deal with Jack.
“Ian, my friend,” Jack shouted excitedly as he turned around to look at Ian. Ian could smell the alcohol on his breath and immediately noticed the stutter in his voice. It was evident that he was foxed.
“Don’t say anything, just come with me,” Ian said, not wanting to attract any more attention.
Jack dramatically said ‘shh’ and placed a finger on his lips.
He started laughing loudly, and Ian walked towards the terrace, quickly holding Jack’s arm firmly in his grip.
As they inched away from the party, the crowd began to thin, and Ian sighed in relief.
He turned around to look and was glad that no one was following them.
Jack was not in the state to be allowed to meet his guests.
Ian was certain that he would end up revealing something unnecessary, and it would ruin everything. Esther was to never meet him.
Ian brought him to the terrace that overlooked his mother’s lavish rose garden.
“Jack, why are you here?” Ian said dropping Jack’s elbow and turning around to face him.
He watched as Jack staggered towards the railing of the terrace and stood there, supporting his weight on it.
His eyes were drooping dramatically as he was probably unable to keep them open because of the amount of alcohol in his system.
“I came to congratulate you, my friend,” Jack slurred, and Ian rolled his eyes.
“Thank you so much for the warm wishes, Jack. I will meet you at White’s tomorrow, and you can congratulate me further. Though for now, I need you to leave,” Ian said, his patience running thin. He had promised Esther he would be back in a moment.
“But Ian, I came here to tell you something very important,” Jack said, his voice growing mysterious.
“What is it?” Ian questioned impatiently, taking out his pocket watch to check the time. He noticed it was getting late, and Esther would be wondering about his whereabouts.
“I do not remember,” Jack replied and started laughing once again. When Ian didn’t join in the laughter, Jack tried to stand up straight instead. “I came to tell you that you have done very well, Ian. I am proud of you, my friend.”
Ian had no idea what to say. He knew what Jack meant but didn’t wish to acknowledge it. He was ashamed of himself for the reasons he had first courted Esther. He couldn’t believe that he had stooped so low because now he could never imagine doing anything of that sort to her or any other woman.
“You have managed to find yourself a perfect wife, Ian. A woman like her will be so happy you married her that she’ll let you have as many mistresses as you want.
Though you must wait till a son is born.
She is prettier than I thought she was, so it shouldn’t be too much of a trial getting her with child, eh?
” Jack tried to elbow Ian in the ribs at his jest but lost his balance and fell back against the railing.
“Once you have an heir, you can pack the chit away to rusticate in one of your country houses and then you can roam around London freely getting under any skirt you fancy. It will be just like old times, Ian,” Jack slurred, and Ian felt disgusted with both Jack and himself.
It was true that not so long ago Ian planned to do just that, but it sickened him now.
He had been terrible, but he was glad that he had changed.
Esther mattered to him so much now, and he wanted to have a happy and successful marriage with her.
Nonetheless, he knew Jack would never believe him, even if he tried to explain it.
Esther tried her best to follow where Ian was heading too, but to no avail. The ballroom was crowded, and he walked so quickly that he disappeared from view within seconds. Despite that, she continued looking all around her, trying to find him.
Has he gone to meet Lady Lisa in secret?
She once again looked around the crowd but quickly spotted Lisa standing right beside Adam. They were busy in conversation with another couple. The sight provided Esther with some relief since she now knew that Ian had gone after someone else.
She had no idea what had caught his attention so quickly.
She kept going about the ballroom trying to look for Ian, but people kept stopping her, wishing to converse or congratulate her.
The once invisible Esther had suddenly stepped into the light, and she was disliked the attention immensely.
However, she was certain about one thing, and that was that Ian was nowhere in the ballroom, so she made her way out.
As she walked further into the mansion, the crowd disappeared, and she sighed at the solitude.
Gilendale Mansion was massive, and there were a plethora of places that Ian could be.
He could have been anywhere and finding him might be difficult, but Esther was determined to look for him.
The only reason she had been excited about the engagement ball was having the chance to interact with Ian.
The last week without him had felt so empty, and Esther wished for his company.
On top of that, she was now worried for him because he had disappeared right after she had seen a troubled expression appear on his face.
The staircase closest to the ballroom opened up on a terrace, and Esther climbed to reach the top of the stairs.
She knew she was going in the right direction when she heard voices.
The voices grew louder as she continued climbing and finally reached the top, where a door opened let to an expansive terraced that it overlooked a lovely rose garden.
Ian’s back was to her, and he was facing another man, who seemed about his age. He was dressed rather simply, and his eyes and face indicated that he was drunk. Esther had no idea who he was and didn’t even remember seeing him at any of the events of the ton.
She was just about to walk forward to reveal herself when the man started speaking loudly, and Esther stopped. She was standing just behind the door of the terrace and was not visible to either of them.
“You have managed to find yourself a perfect wife, Ian. A woman like her will be so happy you married her that she’ll let you have as many mistresses as you want.
Though you must wait till a son is born.
She is prettier than I thought she was, so it shouldn’t be too much of a trial getting her with child, eh?
Once you have an heir, you can pack the chit away to rusticate in one of your country houses and then you can roam around London freely getting under any skirt you fancy.
It will be just like old times, Ian,” the man said, and Esther stared at him with widened eyes.
For a few seconds, she felt as if the world around her had stopped revolving. She had no idea what the man was saying. How could he say something so crude about her and Ian? Daggers went through her heart at his words, and she couldn’t move.
“I am not the same man any longer, Jack, and Esther is not simply a means of keeping my allowance. All that is in the past. In the time that I have known Esther, I have come to understand how perfect she is. I have come to care for her, Jack. She means so much to me. I will not allow you to talk about her this way,” Ian said.
Esther had no idea what to believe or what not to believe.
His words seemed honest although his words clearly indicated that it was a feeling that had changed over time.
That earlier, his motives towards Esther had been different.
Her breathing increased with every second that passed, making her feel as if she would swoon.
It was simply too much for her heart to handle.
To Esther’s utter horror, Jack started laughing loudly at Ian’s words.
The man was highly intoxicated but still seemed to be in his senses as everything he said made perfect sense.
Esther strained her ears to listen to what Jack had to say.
The conversation was unfolding in front of her like a pandora's box of revelations.
“Who are you lying to, Ian? Me or yourself? You are only saying that so you can convince your conscience that you are not a bad man. But the truth is that you are just as bad as everyone else out there. You might be dressed in expensive clothes and live in this pretentious mansion and be the heir to a dukedom. However, inside here, you are still just a man like us all,” Jack said tapping on his chest as he continued speaking.
Esther felt as if she had stopped breathing entirely. Her world was toppling upside down, and she had no idea how to prevent the damage from happening.
“Every single man is driven by power and money, and no matter what you say, we both know why you are marrying that meek little wallflower. You might try to satisfy yourself by claiming that you care for her, but it is not true. You are only marrying her because your father commanded you to. If it weren’t for that, you would still be out there somewhere dallying with any number of willing women.
It’s who you are, man. Embrace it!” Jack said and started laughing manically once again.
Esther felt tears escape her eyes as Jack continued speaking.
She gasped loudly and she knew that the sound was loud enough that both men heard her, but she did not care any longer.
All she wanted was to get home as soon as possible.
She knew that Ian had turned around and spotted her and was moving towards her.
She distantly heard him calling her name and saying how he wished for her to stop so he could explain everything.
He said that she was misinterpreting things and whatever she heard was not the complete truth.
Though her brain didn’t register anything.
She kept running when she felt someone hold her hand tightly but in her state of frenzy she snatched her hand away.
Her balance was lost, and she had no idea what happened next because the last thing she remembered was falling down before darkness engulfed her entirely.