Page 65 of The Storybook Hero
The earl nudged the young valet and made a wordless sign for him to leave off any attempt at argument. Catching William’s eye as well, he motioned at the door. “Come, let us join Thomas and the lad up on the quarterdeck,” he said in a low murmur. “Perhaps later, when Alex has had a chance to recover from the shock of the news, he will be more willing to listen to reason.”
Squid nodded glumly, but the marquess’s features took on a stubborn set. “I abandoned Alex once before when he was in need. I’ll not do it again. This time, if he tells me to go to the devil, he will have to toss me into Hell with his own two hands.”
A faint smile softened Chittenden’s look of concern, but he refrained from any comment as he backed into the darkened passageway, drawing the valet along with him.
With a harried sigh, William turned toward his brother.
The violent outburst had left Alex utterly drained. He felt neither anger nor outrage, simply a yawing void within his breast. The spirits might fill it for a brief time, but he knew, with frightening certainty, that the emptiness would not be banished so easily. Oblivious to whether his rants and curses had beenpaid any heed, he leaned forward and buried his head in his hands.
“Alex,” said the marquess haltingly, not quite sure of how to begin.
A muffled groan was the only response.
He moved closer and, after a moment’s hesitation, lay a tentative hand on his brother’s shoulder, as if expecting it to be knocked away.
“Damnation, Alex,” he blurted out. “I should have realized that you would not wish to leave your … friends behind, not after all you had been through together.” A heavy sigh sounded. “It was not my intention to cause you any pain, but I see that I have. I’m—well, I’m sorry. Truly sorry. I was wrong to assume I, of all people, knew what was the right thing to do.”
Alex looked up slowly, an expression of disbelief replacing the remorse etched on his haggard face. Was he truly hallucinating now, or had his rigid martinet of a sibling just unbent enough to admit to an error in judgment?
“Good Lord, William. Don’t tell me that a Marquess of Wright actually thinks he might be capable of making a mistake.” His voice, though still sharp with irony, had lost a bit of its earlier razored edge.
“I suppose I deserve that.” The marquess crooked a grimace. “I have made more than few mistakes, Alex. The shame is not in being fallible, but in being too blind or too self-assured to recognize it. Or perhaps too afraid, thinking it a sign of weakness rather than of being merely human.”
A grimace. “The trouble is, we Leigh men had it drummed into us that mistakes were not allowed.” William squeezed his eyes shut for an instant. “How absurd. It was Father who made the biggest mistake of all, for which we have all paid very dearly.”
Alex felt his throat grow so tight that speech was impossible. What had it cost his brother to utter such sentiments aloud?Whatever the toll, the words were a priceless gift. He blinked several times, wondering if his own face betrayed the same poignant vulnerability that now shaded his brother’s lean features.
Slowly, still without a word, Alex leaned forward until his cheek came to rest on the marquess’s silk waistcoat.
The hand on his shoulder tightened its grip, and suddenly he was being held so hard up against his brother’s chest that it was difficult to breathe. A choked sob somehow escaped, but whether it came from his own lips or William’s was impossible to discern.
“D-do you remember the day Mama died, you found me hiding in a corner of the nursery?” he asked, once he had gained a modicum of control over his emotions. “I was afraid to let anyone know I had dared do something so unmanly as shed a tear.”
“Good Lord, you were seven years old,” murmured the marquess.
“You held me that day as well, William. And you never teased me about it or told anyone else.” A pause. “I—I have never thanked you for that.”
“That should not have been the only time I reached out to you, Alex.”
“The fault is more mine than yours. I did my damnedest to push you all away with my outrageous behavior. It is a wonder you didn’t wash your hands of me entirely.”
“Neither of us can change the past. But as to the future….” He paused to clear his throat. “For too long I have lived with the loss of two brothers. I should like to have one of them back from the dead.”
A wry expression pulled at Alex’s lips. “I think I am ready to come back, for I am tired of living in a Hell of my own making.But I am no saint, William. God knows, the climb will not be easy. No doubt I shall trip and stumble along the way.”
“Then reach out to me for help, instead of a bottle of brandy.” William managed a weak smile. “Only think of how much of your quarterly allowance you might save in the bargain—I am much cheaper than spirits, Alex. And I trust that I will leave you with less of a headache.”
A rumble of muffled laughter sounded against the slubbed silk. But as Alex sat up, the humor faded from his face. The mention of seeking solace in a bottle had brought back thoughts of his last encounter with Octavia. She must think him the worse sort of cravenly cad, and with good reason.
“The devil take it,” he mumbled. “I wish Squid would return with his promised elixir.” The throbbing at his temples had suddenly intensified with a vengeance. “Not that the brew will be able to assuage the real problem,” he added softly. “You may be willing to overlook my egregious sins, but I am afraid that there are others who may not be quite so … forgiving.”
His brother took a seat beside him. “Surely things are not quite so bleak. From what I have heard, er, most females find it hard to resist your charms.”
“Hah!” Alex’s mouth quirked in a rueful twist. “There is certainly one female who has no such trouble. Miss Hadley finds me odious, arrogant and overbearing. That is, of course, in addition to being a drunken scoundrel.”
“Is that all?” Wright repressed a twitch of a grin. “In that case, figuring out how to overcome such paltry obstacles should be child’s play.” He paused to clear his throat. “Er, is there a particular reason you wish the young lady to hold you in greater esteem?”
“I wish to … ensure that she is not left to fend for herself when she arrives back in England. Her family is a malicious pack of curs who have already thrown her to the wolves once. And shewill not have any references from her current employers as she has unmasked their ill-treatment of their ward.”
