Page 60 of A Raven Reborn

"I warned you," Patrick growled. He took three quick strides and smashed his fist into his brother's face. Blood burst from his bottom lip and ran down his chin.

"Still the same brute as ever, I see." Edward pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and shook it open before dabbing it against his lip.

"Don’t play the victim, Edward. You always gave as good as you got."

"I had to grow out of it, Patrick! But of course you didn't. Just like you didn’t have to grow out of anything else."

Something wasn't right.

“Why didn't you block me, or duck out of the way at least? Why did you just stand there and let me punch you?"

Edward shrugged and threw his soiled handkerchief onto the table next to his discarded drink.

"You wanted me to punch you. Didn't you?"

Edward chuckled cynically and shrugged again before slumping onto the sofa behind him. He rubbed his hands over his face and through his hair. "Perhaps I did," he said. He seemed pensive rather than angry.

Patrick wasn’t sure how to respond. He’d never seen his brother show even the slightest hint of vulnerability before. After a moment, he sat down on the edge of the sofa and awkwardly placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder. Not knowing what to say, he stayed silent.

After a time, Edward finally lifted his face out of his hands and turned his head toward Patrick. “I’m sorry, Patrick. I shouldn’t have called her that.”

“Did I just receive an apology from the great Marquess Epworth?” Patrick pressed a hand to his chest in feigned shock.

Edward shook his head. “Are you even capable of being serious?”

Patrick tipped his head to the side. “I was pretty serious when I punched you.”

“How could I have been so naive? I truly believed you’d one day leave all that nonsense behind and settle down with a lady of your own standing.”

“You’ll be pleased to know that she will soon be Lady Patrick Woodcombe. Then will she be good enough for you?”

Edward huffed another cynical laugh. “All you do is make jokes, Patrick. Do you really think this is easy?” He gestured at their surroundings. “I was born to be this title, and I will die as this title.” He got to his feet and paced across the room. “I don’t have the privilege to be able to hare off to London with my friends and abandon everyone else. Every decision I make is for the Marquessate. I wasn’t given the opportunity to choose my wife, or to fall in love. I was betrothed before I could even walk.”

“If you say something disparaging about Ariana, I will punch you again, Brother.”

Finally, the right side of Edward’s mouth lifted slightly in an attempt at a smile. “She’s the best thing in my life, Patrick. I don’t know how I would do this without her.”

Edward sat down in a chair, a look of earnestness on his face. “After Father died, I thought you’d eventually return to the flock, as it were. I could have used your support.”

Patrick blanched slightly. “Why in God’s name would I ever come back here? I only ever had any value if you died, and once Charlie was born, even that evaporated. That was always made clear to me.”

“That’s not true.”

“Isn’t it?” Patrick picked up his glass and stormed across the room to refill it. “Another?” he asked his brother, holding the bottle aloft. He decided now was probably not the time to make a joke about how he was capable of pouring. Edward shook his head.

“You’re my brother, Patrick. Of course you were welcome here.”

“Then you should have treated me like a brother. And he”—Patrick waved his glass towards the huge portrait that hung over the fireplace—“should have treated me like a son.”

“I know Father was…”

“Absent? Neglectful? Disparaging? Reproachful? Need I continue?”

“I was going to say demanding or difficult.” He inhaled deeply and seemed to be mulling something over. “I suppose our experiences with him may have been more different than I had realized.”

“He doted on you,” Patrick said, sitting back down on the sofa with his drink.

Edward stared out the window. “It may have looked that way to you. From my perspective, I always thought he let you get away with everything. I was jealous of the freedom you had. I always had to be perfect. Even as a child I had to be an earl. I could never be just a boy.”

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