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Will’s eyebrows raised higher.
“Good to know. I’ll send my butler out to flog him.”
I glared at him. Uncharacteristically, he didn’t laugh at his own joke. Instead, his face remained stoic, and his eyes shifted back to the wall behind me once again.
I felt my patience beginning to give out.
He was such a prick, was he not?
I had come in here, putting aside my own annoyances, to tell him what I had seenout of concern for him. And now, he was treating me like a ridiculous schoolgirl. He was blowing me off! And he was certainly not going to try to apologize or make amends for what had happened the night before.
“You’re not funny, Lord Marsden.” I said, a hint of anger glinting in my voice.
He flinched at the use of his title, and I saw his hand reach reflexively for his flask.
Without thinking, I spoke.
“Go ahead, get even more drunk. That’s all you’re good for, isn’t it?”
The words were like a whip. Once they had left my mouth, I immediately wished that I could take them back. But I couldn’t.
I watched Will flinch even harder and saw – with a sinking feeling – a crushed look in his eyes. It remained for the briefest moment, before disappearing into an unreadable expression.
“Maybe.”
He responded softly, with none of his characteristic wit or sarcasm.
My first reflex was to go back on what I had said. To comfort him, and to remind him of all the truly good qualities that he had. But then I remembered the events of the past few weeks… how he had constantly teased me, brought me to the brink of desire and affection, and then thrown it all away.
I remembered how foolish I had been to ever expect that it would be different. To expect that he would ever change.
And that made me mad again.
“Aren’t you going to apologize?”
I said, the hint of a challenge on my lips.
“Apologize? Y-yes…” He said, swallowing and suddenly standing up. He looked uneasy on his feet.
Silence extended between us, and I felt my anger rise.
“That’s it? That’s your apology?”
He took a sudden swig of the bottle, and then looked at me with a pained expression.
“I’m sorry. Really.”
“It doesn’t change the fact that it happened.”
“What?” He said back, his expression shifting from vulnerability to confusion.
I remembered what Genevieve had told me… and all of the stories and gossip I’d heard about Will before…
“Never mind. I don’t know why I thought I would be different.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I don’t know why I thought you actually cared about me! That’s what I’m talking about. I was so stupid! And you… you…” I felt tears welling up in my eyes.
