Page 67 of The Scholar's Key
“Where are you going?”
He looked up to see his brother standing in the doorway, and a sense of guilt filled his chest. “I’m sorry, Eric. I know you just arrived, but I am going to return to London.”
“Already?”
“Yes.”
“Why?” Eric asked, bewildered. “I thought you were here for another week, at least.”
“Circumstances have changed,” he said, “and I am looking forward to actually doing something with my life.”
“You have done a great deal already.”
“Like what?” Noah asked with a snort. “I do not think I am of much value to anyone.”
“I am not sure how you could say that. I could not ask for a better friend, let alone a brother. You are a dutiful son, you strive to do right by others, you are loyal to a fault.”
“I appreciate all of that, Eric, truly I do, but please understand, I need to leave.”
“Is this about Lady Percy?” Eric asked, and when Noah fixed his stare on him, his brother had a knowing look on his face, an eyebrow raised.
“Maybe,” Noah said with a sigh, giving up the pretense, before sitting heavily on the bed. “Despite my better judgement, Eric, I have fallen for her. But she and I are not meant to be. I am not what she needs – nor what she wants. Not as a husband.”
“How do you know this?”
“At Whitehall’s wedding, I overheard her speaking to her mother. She wants a man with strength, both physically and forcefully. A man who can give her all of the excitement that she is looking for. I am not that man. But Lord Stephen is.”
“Lord Stephen?”
“The man she is apparently betrothed to. Who she never told me about.”
“I see,” Eric said, rubbing his thumb over his chin. “And does she know how you feel?”
“Not entirely.”
“What doesshefeel for you?”
Noah rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “I don’t know for certain…”
“But…”
“But I have reason to believe that she, at least, feels some affection for me. But I do not believe it stretches any further than that. Certainly not to a lifetime together.”
“Have you asked her?”
“No!”
“Why not?”
“I’ve been down that path before, Eric,” Noah said with a curse. “I do not wish to take it again.”
“You do know how sorry I am for what happened with Leticia?” Eric asked quietly.
“I know. You have told me often enough. But in the end, you did me a favor, for I learned the truth about her before it was too late.”
Eric was silent, and Noah knew he was trying to find a way to argue with him, but finally, he pushed away from the doorframe. “Will you promise me something?”
Noah crossed his arms but didn’t yet agree.
