What Happens in London Read Free Page A

had suggested, with all the sensitivity and tact of a nineteen-year-old boy.
    But then again, it was difficult to offend Sebastian, especially when it concerned his uncle. Or his uncle’s only son, the heir to Newbury. “My cousin’s even worse,” Sebastian replied. “Tried to give me the cut direct in London.”
    Harry felt his brows rise with shock. It was one thing to abhor a family member; it was quite another to attempt public humiliation. “What did you do?”
    Sebastian’s lips curled into a slow smile. “Seduced the girl he wanted to marry.”
    Harry gave him a look that said he did not believe him for a second.
    “Oh, very well,” Sebastian relented, “but I did seduce the girl at the pub he had his eye on.”
    “And the girl he wants to marry?”
    “Doesn’t want to marry him any longer!” Sebastian chortled.
    “Good Lord, Seb, what did you do?”
    “Oh, nothing permanent. Even I’m not foolish enough to tamper with the daughter of an earl. I just…turned her head, that’s all.”
    But as his mother had pointed out, Sebastian wouldn’t have much opportunity for any sort of amorous efforts, not with a life in the army awaiting him. Harry had tried not to think about his departure; Seb was the only person in the world he trusted, completely and absolutely.
    He was the only person who had never let Harry down.
    It all made sense, really. Sebastian wasn’t stupid—quite the opposite, actually—but he wasn’t suited to academic life. The army was a much better choice for him. But still, as Harry sat there in the drawing room, uncomfortable in the too-small Egyptian chair, he couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry for himself. And selfish. He’d rather Sebastian went to university with him, even if it wasn’t the best thing for Sebastian.
    “What color shall your uniform be?” Katarina asked.
    “Dark blue, I should think,” Sebastian answered politely.
    “Oh, you shall look smashing in blue. Don’t you think so, Anna?”
    Anna nodded, and Katarina added, “As would you, Harry. Perhaps we should buy you a commission as well.”
    Harry blinked in surprise. The army had never been discussed as a part of his future. He was the eldest,due to inherit the house, the baronetcy, and whatever monies his father didn’t drink before his death. He was not supposed to be put in harm’s way.
    And besides that, he was one of the few boys at Hesslewhite who actually liked studying. He’d been dubbed “the professor” and hadn’t minded. What was his mother thinking? Did she even know him? Was she suggesting he join the army to improve his sense of fashion ?
    “Eh, Harry couldn’t be a soldier,” Sebastian said wickedly. “He can’t hit a target at close range.”
    “That is not true,” Harry shot back. “I’m not as good as he ,” he said with a jerk of his head toward Seb, “but I’m better than everyone else.”
    “Are you a good shot, then, Sebastian?” Katarina asked.
    “The best.”
    “He’s also exceptionally modest,” Harry muttered. But it was true. Sebastian was a freakishly outstanding shot, and the army would be thrilled to have him, so long as they managed to keep him from seducing the whole of Portugal.
    The half of Portugal, that was. The female half.
    “Why don’t you take a commission?” Katarina asked.
    Harry turned to his mother, trying to read her face, trying to read her . She was always so maddeningly blank, as if the years had slowly washed away everything that had given her character, that had allowed her to feel . She had no opinions, his mother. She let life swirl around her, and she sat through it all, seemingly uninterested in any of it.
    “I think you would like the army,” she said quietly,and he thought— Had she ever made such a pronouncement? Had she ever offered an opinion as to his future, his well-being?
    Had she only been waiting for the right time?
    She smiled the way she always did—with a tiny sigh, as if the effort was almost too much.