God damnit.
God damnit.
The day was frigid, with smoke rising from every chimney in London and snow threatening to fall, but Sebastian accounted none of it as the carriage rolled toward Pinkton’s office. He had his swirling thoughts and many, many feelings to keep him warm.
When his carriage pulled up outside of the office and he hopped from it, he actually relished the sting of the air as he traipsed toward the building wherein his enemy resided. It took only a few meandering hallways before he came to the door with a name he recognized.
With a sharp knock, Sebastian made his presence known.
“Come in.”
He did not know what he’d expected Dr. Pinkton’s office to look like - perhaps black, like a cave for the troll. He didn’t expect the bright, modern room that he walked into, with Pinkton seated behind a fresh oak desk.
The man raised a brow at the sight of Sebastian. “Can I help you?”
Sebastian had only seen the man once before - upon his retreat from Sebastian’s townhome. He was a stocky man with dark wavy hair and a finely trimmed beard. Not terribly memorable in appearance, were it not for the fact that Sebastian had wanted to kill him at the time.
But Pinkton had never become acquainted with Sebastian. An introduction was in order.
“I am Lord Brightwater. Augusta’s husband.”
He said it pointedly, hoping for a bit of shock from the doctor. None arrived.
Instead, he got a cynical smile from Pinkton. “You’ve not come to kill me, have you? Because I assure you, there are many witnesses in the building.”
Sebastian ignored the mocking, albeit perhaps-slightly-funny statement. He came to stand in front of the desk and crossed his arms authoritatively.
“Why her?”
“Beg pardon?”
“Why Augusta? Why not some bluestocking chit? You knew exactly what would happen to her, and yet you encouraged it. Why her?”
“Oh God,” Pinkton sighed, rolling his eyes. Then, he gestured to a chair beside Sebastian. “Well, by all means, take a seat. The Brightwater family seems to believe all I do is sit in my office and await their company.”
Sebastian did sit, just as Pinkton’s last sentence struck him. “Shehasbeen here, then?”
Pinkton raised another eyebrow at him, that arsehole. “Of course she has. Did you truly expect her to perfectly drop everything and walk away?”
He had expected her to do exactly that, though now it felt supremely stupid to have done so.
Dr. Pinkton continued. “You are asking me why I took her on? It was actually she who approached me, after a lecture I gave. Isuppose she’d snuck out to see it. I admit that I did not think much of her right away. I often have people from thetonattend my forums, typically just to ogle over the more lurid cases I discuss. They then toddle back to their homes and forget all about it.
“I assumed Lady Brightwater would be the same, but she…well, she pushed far more than anyone else did. She had endless questions, and they seemed to come out of nowhere, like she had already done plenty of reading outside of the lecture. So, I invited her to another talk. And another. And eventually, everything else just sort of…happened, I suppose. Like it was inevitable, in a way.
“I knew from the visit with our very first patient that it was meant to be. Lady Brightwater wilts in a crowd. But as an alienist, listening to our patients, she is simply radiant.”
Ah, so there it was - the admission that Sebastian had expected from the man across the desk. “Radiant? Is that it, then? Are you in love with her? Upset that you could not have her hand, so now you send her out in front of the wolves?”
He’d expected, by all accounts, to be met with a look of jealousy or anger. Instead, Dr. Pinkton merely frowned at him. As though Sebastian were simply an annoyance.
“Has it ever crossed your mind that your wife is precisely what I have just said she is? Brilliant. Capable. All the things required of an alienist. She is all those things to me and nothing more, I assure you.” Looking down, his fingers drummed against his desktop in agitation. “I will tell you, for posterity, that Iamin love. But it is not with your wife. It never has been.”
Now, he leaned forward. “However, I shall give you some marital advice. Do not tell her that you came here and accused me of this. Go home to her, and pretend that you have believed in her as I have from the beginning. Tell her that everything she has tosay is of vital importance. When she goes against the crowd, she will need that belief.”
Feeling like the lowest creature on the planet, Sebastian looked down at his hand, which tapped in agitation against the seat of his chair. “What if I cannot support her in the way she wants?”
“Then support her in the way you can. I tell you, chap, I am no marriage expert. That little bit of wisdom I just gave is all I have - anything else will cost extra.”
