Page 86 of How to Wed a Courtesan

‘I assure you I haven’t had nearly enough.’ Kentworth curled his fingers more tightly around the glass, as though he was worried she might try to prise it from his grasp. ‘I came to see you about Westix.’

‘My husband?’

Kentworth gave a hard nod. ‘Yes. I want you to know that the man has spoken of no one but you for years.’

He exaggerated the last word. So much so that the liquor he’d added to his lemonade now emanated from his mouth in a hot wash of alcohol.

Lottie offered him a patient smile. ‘I’m pleased to hear it.’

Kentworth lifted a shoulder in a casual shrug. ‘Truly, I want to ensure you understand how much he loves you.’

Lottie gave a little laugh. ‘That is kind of you.’

‘I’ve never seen a man so willing to put aside so much scorn.’ Kentworth chortled, and tried to drink once more, frowning when he found his glass empty.

Lottie’s stomach rolled over on itself. ‘I beg your pardon?’

Kentworth scoffed. ‘Closed-minded snobs of the ton. You know how they can be.’

‘I’m afraid I’m not certain what you’re talking about,’ Lottie said slowly.

‘Westix was in a lucrative mining investment.’ Kentworth pulled a flask from his pocket and put a finger to his lips as he poured something clear into his glass beneath the cover of his jacket. ‘As soon as they found out he’d married you, they refused to do business with him.’

Lottie stiffened. Evander hadn’t mentioned anything of the matter.

Kentworth screwed the top back onto his flask and deposited it into his jacket pocket once more. ‘Apparently even his mother is learning not all of her friends are loyal.’ He took a large sip from the glass without so much as a wince. ‘They’ve begun to leave her side as well.’

Lottie’s heart crumpled in her chest. ‘I see,’ she said breathlessly, suddenly finding it hard to draw in air.

‘Do you, now?’ Kentworth nodded, as though he’d proven a point. ‘The man loves you more than any man has ever loved a woman. I thought you ought to know the extent of it.’

Lottie blinked at him, uncertain what to say. ‘Thank you,’ she said at last.

He beamed a smile at her. ‘Lady Westix, my dear, you are most welcome.’

With that, he staggered off, with the clear assumption he truly had done some good that night.

She remained where she was for a long moment, her mind spinning over what she had learned.

Evander and his mother had suffered because of their marriage.

They had accepted her, and loved her, and paid a hefty price.

Her throat felt too thick, the room too hot and suffocating.

How was it that even here, in a sea of friends, she still felt as though she was drowning?

Chapter Twenty-Six

Something was amiss. Evander had noted it in the way the light had dimmed in Lottie’s eyes the second half of the ball. Yes, she still smiled and laughed when she was supposed to, but there was a flatness to her joy, implying that it was false.

He’d tried to bring it up while they were still at Somersville Place, but she’d brushed him off. Knowing it was pointless to ask in the carriage on the way home, he’d held his tongue until now, when they were finally alone in the bedchamber they shared.

Once the door was closed, the smile fell from her lips, replaced with a wounded expression.

‘Was it Lord Finsby?’ Evander demanded.

After all, she had been perfectly fine while dancing with Evander. It wasn’t until they came together to dance a second time that he’d realised she was upset. During the space that had elapsed between the sets he had seen her speaking to the older Earl.