They searched the cavern for any other sign of James, but Prudence and Sebastian just found the ring. So they wander back upstairs. Hi, Mr. Worth. Oh, you don't know Sebastian either? Huh. Anyway, Mrs. Worth requests Prudence's presence in the state drawing room. Is that a room where states go to unleash their artistic creativity? Anyway, Prudence admits that she can't find her way there, so Sebastian escorts her there.
Sebastian complains about how Prudence kept him from eating today. Prudence is mid-complaint about all the sex they had when she sees Hugh.
Aw snap.
Phoebe, sick of not being the center of attention, ran away. Poor girl. I have no sympathy for her. Hugh didn't really notice when Phoebe left, nor did he look too hard for her, but he went to Prudence's house to let her know. Now he finds her here with this...this Ravenclaw? More on that later in the conversation. Anyway, Phoebe left a note, so clearly she wasn't kidnapped. Remember Mr. Darlington? She's going to marry him. ...if by “marry”, I mean be ravaged by. Hugh blathers on about this for a bit before he realizes the situation Prudence is in and possibly remembers her comment when she entered the room.
Damn it, Prudence. I want to marry you! That's pretty much what Hugh tells her. He's okay with taking...soiled goods. Egads, Hugh. Get over yourself. Prudence lets him down gently with some nonsense about life being what you make it and how she wants her life to have adventure in it. So, since he didn't get his way, Hugh disowns her and Phoebe.
Sebastian takes offense at this. Hugh asks if Sebastian is standing up for his mistress. Sebastian corrects him. That's 'future wife', not ho!
Wow. What drama. What will Prudence say? Is she okay with Sebastian declaring this without asking her? What will Hugh do? Meh. Let's check on Phoebe instead.
So, Mr. Darlington is a poo-face and Phoebe is poor and stranded and she's not sure where they are. Mr. Darlington and Prudence are both misnomers. He's not darling at all! You know, Mr. Darlington is almost as ridiculous as Ravenscar. I'm going call him Mr. Poo-Face instead.
All Phoebe knows is they're in some seedy bar. They've been riding in a carriage for two days, apparently. Phoebe managed to get Mr. Poo-Face to sleep in a different room the night before, but she's not sure that'll work again. How did she manage this? Sheer bloody-mindedness it looks like. There were some soldiers lounging near the site of their argument and this somehow kept Mr. Poo-Face from sneaking into Phoebe's room that night.
Anyway, some manly/godly guy just walked into the bar. His hair is sun-bleached, his shirt is open, and his pants are almost too tight to be decent. His face is pretty hot too, apparently. Phoebe drools over him a little. All right, a lot. Then she looks at Mr. Poo-Face and his fop-ishness seems silly now. Prudence is contagious!
Mr. Poo-Face has been drinking and he's sick of putting up with Phoebe. This time they're not getting separate rooms. He says something about how no one in this bar will help her. She's just got to go with it. Hey, wasn't that blonde guy familiar? By the way, Mr. Poo-Face's estate and promise of marriage were both shams. Phoebe screams out no to Mr. Poo-Face. He doesn't care. Then, someone picks up Mr. Poo-Face by his collar and punches him in the face. Yes! Thank you! Can someone do that to just about everyone in this book?
By the way, it was the blonde super-sexy guy who took care of Mr. Poo-Face. Super-sexy guy loots the body. Phoebe is a little uncomfortable with the theft happening in front of her, but she doesn't do anything about it. Super-sexy guy offers her the money he stole. Phoebe reluctantly takes it. Man, you know, it's like she's seen this guy before somewhere. This guy must be feeling it too, 'cause he takes a step closer and looks deep into her eyes...
James! Hey, man, how've you been? Too dramatic to write and tell your brother you're still alive? Oh yeah, that happens to all of us. By the way, Phoebe thought you were a pirate. Are you? That would kind of make this story better. Oh yeah, actual story. James picks up Phoebe and gives her a fierce, possessive kiss. Geeze, dude. She might have moved on in the seven or so months you've been playing corpse. Just sayin'. Oh, sorry, the last line is her saying his name. We might not have known otherwise, ya know? Especially since super-sexy guy knew her name.
So, remember when Prudence had that long shot that James was a pirate? Yeah. She was totally right. I'm leaning even more towards the “Mary Sue” end of the dial now. Also, Ravenclaw's bitter guilt is all for nothing since he didn't kill his brother.
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