The Seductress' Marriage Ploy

33. Deep Revelations

AS THE CARRIAGE WHEELS catered on the roads of London, bumping over the inequality on the road, heading all the way to Park lane where Cole's townhouse was located.

Sebastian tried to keep his mind from wandering far. He needed to be abreast of the whole situation.

The duke of Hanton looked out his carriage window and thought of how best to proceed. He had laid no claims to the chit which meant that he had nothing to complain about. Sebastian frowned. Surely there must be firm a way to go about this issue without causing any altercation.

The carriage rolled to a stop at Park lane, in front of Cole's townhouse. Sebastian hurried out and climbed the steps until he was at the front door. Then he picked up the knocker and knocked.

The front door did not immediately open like he thought it would, which only added to his growing frustration. Sebastian stared at the door and cursed profusely.

But then the door swung open, and the butler emerged.

Sebastian scowled. "Where is Cole?"  he bit out.

"Upstairs my lord. In his bedchamber." The butler's voice croaked out.

Sebastian nodded at the butler and stepped past him into the hallway. He climbed the stairs and headed for Cole's bedchamber.

On reaching there, the duke of Hanton pulled the door open and stepped inside.

Cole was sitting behind a desk, writing.
His hand was stained with ink. Sebastian noted. He must have been corresponding all day.

Cole turned his head and saw Sebastian. He couldn't help but notice his eyes were trained on his hand. Cole smiled. "Have you come to bid me good wishes on my impending marriage? yes?"

~~~~~~~~

"No, " Sebastian confessed.

Cole's brow puckered.  "If you are not here to bid me good wishes, then why are you here?"

Sebastian frowned, he thought about lying to Cole, he thought about introducing another topic, yet he knew the best way to disarm Cole would be to go for the truth so he walked to Cole's table and stared down at him. "Because I want you to resolve your engagement with Julia."

Cole's mouth dropped open and then a devious smile crept upon his face.

The duke of Hanton's eyes narrowed. why was Cole smiling like that? what did it mean? Sebastian's eyes narrowed further. He scanned Cole's face but found nothing.

Cole seems to have recovered from his obvious surprise. His attitude was one of nonchalance. He leaned back on his chair and stared at Sebastian. "Why?"

Why? the duke of Hanton speculated. He couldn't bring himself to answer that simple question immediately. So many reasons why he wanted the engagement to be resolved swarmed up in his head, begging for release, but he focused on one simple truth. "Because I love her." He said.

Sebastian had known Cole since when they were in leading-strings. In all those years, he had never had cause to lie to him, and he wasn't about to start now.

when Sebastian had made his confession, he had not been looking at Cole, but now that he was, he found that he was quite stunned by what he saw.

He had expected his dear friend to be shocked, perhaps even surprised, but what he did not expect was the sight of Cole struggling to keep himself from laughing. Eventually, he lost the struggle and dissolved into a fit of laughter.

Sebastian frowned and patiently waited for his friend to end his little charade. But his patience was slim. He didn't know how long he might last before he snapped at Cole.