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“Oh, don’t Your Grace me, you bastard. We’re well past that. My life’s taken a few unexpected twists since I saw you last. Found an American heiress to marry and then she tossed me over for one of her countrymen.”
“You don’t sound too broken up about it,” Jax commented. “You’ll be after another heiress then?”
“Regrettably.”
Jax took the seat next to him and gave Gus a look that sent the barkeep to the far side of the bar. “Look, Westbury, I’m glad to hear that you’re reforming. I’ve been worried about you lately.”
West groaned. “Not you, too. Can’t a man enjoy his watered ale in peace?”
“The last time you were here you seemed different. You had this empty look in your eyes and you started that fight with Gus. It wasn’t like you. It was like... well, I’ve seen it before in the eyes of the orphans I worked with in the factory during my boyhood. A hopelessness. Almost a wish for death.”
West sipped his ale, wishing it was something stronger. “I had a bad night, that’s all. It won’t happen again.”
“If I can rise from the streets to make a goodliving for myself and become the owner of a fashionable establishment, then you, who were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, can turn things around and make something of your life.”
“I’ve made a mess of my life, just as my father, may he rot in hell, predicted.”
“At least you know your parentage. The matrons at the orphanage knew nothing of my father and could only tell me that my mother wasn’t from England. My guess is that she hailed from some place with a tropical climate. I hate the cold and damp here as though it was an aversion I learned in the womb. I’d like to think that my mother, whoever she was, wherever she was from, would be proud of me now. The orphaned street urchin is now the elegant, powerful, handsome devil you see before you.”
“I’m sure she would be. You’ve done well for yourself, Jax.” West clapped him on the back. “The Devil’s Staircase is nearly reputable now.”
“I serve sparkling wine and cater to duchesses from time to time.”
“Hope you still have a barstool for reprobates like me.”
“Always.”
“My mother, may she rest in more peace than she had in this world, would not be proud of me.”
“Then make her proud. Change your life.”
“Easier said than done.”
“It’s never too late to turn things around. Take my friend, Ash Prince, for example. I’ve never seen a man more besotted by his bride. Once they decided they loved each other instead ofhated each other, all bets were off. I never thought I’d say this, but that kind of wedded bliss looks rather delightful.”
West nearly spilled his ale. “You believe in that true love nonsense? You sound like my sisters’ music teacher, Miss Beaton.”
“I didn’t until I witnessed it with my own eyes. Ash is a different man now. A better one. This Miss Beaton, I think I’ve met her,” Jax remarked. “Petite little thing? Friends with Lady Henrietta Prince, Ash’s wife?”
“She may be pint-sized, but she’s got an indomitable will, that one. She marched into my bedchamber at an ungodly hour this morning, ripped open my curtains, and ordered me about in no uncertain terms.”
“Sure you didn’t like it?”
“She did look rather devastating in the morning light. All flushed cheeks, dancing green eyes, and adorable dimples.”
“Did you just say ‘adorable dimples’?” Jax scoffed. “Maybe there’s another reason you’re not sad about losing that wealthy American fiancée.”
“I can’t afford a love match, Jax.” Not that he was in love. Or would ever fall in love.
West pulled a crumpled handful of the bills that Bowditch had presented him with out of his coat pocket and piled them on the scarred wooden bar top. “My financial state is more desperate than I’d imagined.”
“How bad is it?”
“Dismally bad.”
“Sell off some more antiquities and stave off ruination bad?”
“Worse than that.” The news Bowditch had given him had staggered him. He’d been allowing himself to think that maybe, just maybe, he wouldn’t have to commit to a marriage of convenience.
