Page 67 of The Lost Lord
“Of course.” Dutifully, Richard followed his brother into the dark, immaculately tidy study. He thought of Howard’s chaotic, haphazard papers and shook his head. The two were night and day. Yet there were similarities as well. The singularity of their personalities, for example. Their physical impressiveness. He wondered if one day they might meet. It was not impossible.
“Has there been any news of your ship?” Edward asked.
“No. We are going to ask around today.” At six weeks, theThetis’svoyage was edging into worrisome territory. No matter how he knew intellectually that the crossing could take weeks, their own speedy trip cast each passing day into sharp relief.
“I may be able to spare you the effort,” Edward said cryptically. He did not seat himself behind the desk. That would have been too reminiscent of the time when he’d forced Richard into going away. Instead, Richard handed him a thick vellum letter sealed in livid red wax. On one side, a unicorn. On the other, a lion. At the top, a crown.
Richard stared at the document uncomprehending. Then at his brother.
“Is this…”
“Open it and find out,” Edward smirked.
He cracked the seal and unfolded the luxurious paper. Amid a profusion of flourishes at the top, Richard found his name.Lord Richard Northcote, Viscount.
He scanned the document in disbelief. “This cannot be true.”
“I’m afraid it is. Congratulations.”
“It comes with an allowance and land. An estate. Rather a bother that it is only a lifetime peerage, though.” Richard’s face stretched into a radiant beam of happiness.
“You weren’t asked for your opinion,” Edward chuckled. “It required a great deal of delicate negotiations to achieve this. The King was eager to see his bill passed. Yesterday, I delivered the votes he needed. George was in an appreciative mood, apparently.”
“As am I.” Richard embraced his brother. Even after several years of luxury it was difficult to get his arms around Edward’s shoulders.
“Before you celebrate, you should also see this.” Edward disengaged and produced a small cut-out from the morning’s newspaper.
The joy drained out of Richard as he scanned the news. “No,” he whispered, stricken. “It cannot be.”
“I am afraid so. TheThetiswas spied sinking after a storm just off the coast of France.
Richard swayed on his feet as he absorbed the magnitude of the loss. “Had we docked in Bournemouth or Liverpool this would not have happened.” Richard gazed at the two papers which had thrown his entire life off-course in the span of a morning. His body iced cold. Howard’s future was lost. Livingston’s trust in him would be irrevocably shattered. All because he had failed to come through.
Of all the odd twists and turns his life had taken, this had to be the strangest of all. The title he had always dreamed of possessing was nothing more than a piece of paper. A gift. Unearned.
He’d needed to prove himself worthy of something, of anything.
But he was a failure again.
“You took a risk. The Channel can be a difficult passage for captains who have never navigated it before. I am very sorry it turned out this way. For the loss of the sailors especially.” Edward clapped one hand on Richard’s shoulder. “At least you have the title.”
“I cannot accept it,” Richard said miserably. “I am unworthy of your efforts and your generosity,” he said. “I shall write to the King and decline the boon.”
Edward stared at him. “Now I know you aren’t all right. It’s a ship. I realize it has importance and great value to you, but it is a boat full of replaceable goods. You cannot refuse a gift from the King simply because you are disappointed with your luck.”
Richard knew his brother spoke reason. He was beyond reason in agony as guilt and shame whirled through him more potent than ever before. It sickened him to acknowledge how much luck he had squandered in his life—and here he was doing it again.
But this time, it was his choice.
“I cannot accept a viscountcy which I do not merit.” He heaved in air so quickly it made his lungs hurt. “I must send Miriam home. Pack her belongings. I promised to protect her and keep her safe from me.” He swallowed. “I promised her adventures. I can’t give that to her anymore. Therefore, I must let her go.”
“You can’t give up everything simply because a boat didn’t arrive,” Edward argued.
Richard turned on his heel and left his brother alone in his astonishment.
* * *
Two days later,Miriam gazed up at her frustrating, hell-bent husband the way she had done on the beach months before, with her heart in her eyes. It was her only hope of making him listen.
