Page 13 of The Notorious Lord Sin
"You look as if you're about to commit murder," Lord Lupton-Gage said, sitting beside him and glancing in the direction he watched.
"Ah, I see what has caught your eye." His friend's chuckle grated on Dominic's nerves, and he glared at him. "Have you had any success in winning her friendship back, if not anything else?" he asked him.
Dominic knew better than to disclose what he had arranged with Paris, but even so, he would have loved to reveal and debate what he could do to win her back.
Well, he supposed he could do the latter.
"She will be hard to win, I fear," he admitted. "I shall have my work cut out for me. That is a certainty. But also, it shall be well worth the wait when she is mine once more."
Lupton-Gage smiled at his wife, who strolled past on her way back to the ballroom with the Marchioness of Chilsten. "I find that when my wife is stubborn, I must seduce her to see my way of things."
Dominic snorted, certain that the Marchioness of Lupton-Gage was no pushover, just like the Countess of Hervey was not. "Do not give advice that you yourself cannot follow through on, Gage."
His friend chuckled. "Very well, your words may hold some truth, but what else do you have to select from?"
"Friendship, I suppose, even if the thought of only ever being friends with Lady Hervey makes my stomach churn. I regret the choice I made five years ago, and I wish I could take it back, but I cannot, and now I fear there is no future, as she says." Not to mention that he had lied to her and was hiding his financial predicament that he could only keep from others for so long. Eventually, it would become known that he was struggling to pay for everything his family required for the Season. Already he had a drawer full of unpaid accounts and promises to those suppliers.
"Well, if she does not want a husband, why not look elsewhere? You cannot force a woman to return to what she once was. In time people change," Gage mentioned, his eyes on his wife, who stood beside Paris and the Duchess of Romney.
"Lady Lupton-Gage's feelings did not seem to change no matter how long you were apart."
"No, they did not," he agreed. "But not everyone is the same, and from what I understand, Lady Hervey was happy in her marriage. Maybe you ought to look elsewhere, do as she states. From my position, it does not look like she wants you in that way."
His friend's words were hard to swallow, and he downed his wine, watching Paris as Lord Bankes escorted her onto the dance floor. She did appear happier than he expected. She did not seem to care at all that he was here while he had been watching from afar and all but pining for the woman.
Maybe Gage was right. Maybe he ought to court another and strive to marry for wealth. That did not mean he would not get affection from the union.
"I think you are right. I will look to pursue a woman who is agreeable to a union with myself." And if Lady Hervey so happens to want to enjoy bed sport with him in the interim, then all the better for it. But he would not chase her like some besotted fool who could not remove her from his mind.
He was no burr. He was a viscount, a lord of the realm, not some lovesick fool pining for a woman who did not want him.
Determined, he turned to Lord Lupton-Gage. “I’m off then. I see Lady Esme is standing beside her mama and is all alone. I shall go and speak to her, ask her to dance. It is time that I settled, and she will do well enough."
Gage raised his brow. "Do try at least to fall in love with your wife. It will make the union all the better for it, trust me," he said.
Dominic stood and made his way toward her. She caught sight of him and blushed prettily. He bowed before her and her mama. "Lady Esme, would you do me the honor of dancing with me?" he asked her.
She glanced at her mother before gifting him with a smile that lit up her face. She was a pretty woman with similar color hair as Lady Hervey, not to mention her eyes were blue as well. He swallowed. Surely the similarities were not knowingly done on his behalf. He was not such a fool to pick the one women in London who looked most like Paris.
"I would be honored, my lord," she said, taking his hand.
He led her onto the floor for a waltz and shook off the doubts that plagued him. Lady Esme was beautiful, wealthy, and perfectly suitable. It did not matter she was not Paris Smith.
Did not matter at all.
Paris did not know what was wrong with her, but the sight of Lord Astoridge dancing and playing the merry bachelor, the suave, charming lord toward Lady Esme, made her teeth ache. No doubt from the sweetness he seemed to be bestowing on the heiress.
Was he taking her up on her advice and courting another? She hoped he was. It was for the best since he was long overdue to marry and have an heir. She had already done all of those things, and happily so, she did not want to be beholden to another husband again.
Not even the handsome rouge Viscount Astoridge.
So why did the sight of his lordship dancing and chortling with the Lady Esme irritate her so? She was an heiress and would suit him perfectly in that sense, at least.
"You appear ruffled," Millie said at her side, passing her a glass of champagne. "I did not think you wanted anything to do with Lord Astoridge."
Paris shook her head and took a long sip of her wine. "I do not. That has not changed, but I suppose the fact that he has returned and is now courting an heiress aggravates me. I do not understand why some gentlemen think that is the most important factor in a marriage. Lord Hervey did not think so."
"The exemplary Lord Hervey, may his soul rest in peace, was a special kind of gentleman, and adored you."
