Page 79 of Duke of Bronze
"I find I am no longer," she replied, offering him a tight smile before making her way toward the door.
She did not look back.
She could still feel his gaze on her as she exited.
CHAPTER 30
"Iam offering you sponsorship," Colin stated plainly. "A legitimate arrangement that will ensure your career flourishes."
"No."
The response was immediate, firm, leaving no room for negotiation.
Colin blinked, caught off guard by the outright rejection. "At least take a moment to think on it."
"There is no need." Roderick's voice remained flat, unyielding. "One only contemplates when there exists a possibility of acceptance. I do not entertain such a possibility, therefore, there is nothing to consider."
Silence stretched between them, thick with unspoken tension. Colin let out a breath and let his fingers tap against the polishedsurface of his desk. He studied the man before him—the firm set of his jaw, the unwavering look in his eyes—and realized that there was a question he had yet to ask.
"Why do you dislike me so?" he asked at last.
A muscle in Roderick's jaw twitched. "Dislike?" He let out a short, humorless breath. "There is no sentiment in our association, Your Grace. Affection and resentment have no place in what is, at its core, a mere arrangement. Do you not agree?"
Colin tilted his head slightly, considering the words. He was beginning to understand.
Where Lydia wished to reunite her son with the only family he had left, it was becoming increasingly apparent that Roderick had no such inclination. He refused to acknowledge the connection, resisted any suggestion of it.
And if Colin was being honest with himself, he had yet to make sense of his own feelings on the matter. He did not know what it meant to suddenly find himself with a brother—an unknown, estranged brother, born of circumstances neither of their makings.
But he did know one thing: Roderick had been wronged. He had been cast aside—disregarded by the very man who should have claimed him. And for that, Colin felt something akin to regret. A need, perhaps, to right what had been so callously done.
"Whatever the case may be," Colin said at last, his voice measured, "this sponsorship is business. You reject it outright, without a second thought—if that is not sentiment, then what is?"
Roderick's gaze darkened slightly. "I am certain there are far more suitable places that would benefit from Your Grace's charity."
"My offer is not charity," Colin insisted.
"Is it not?" Roderick countered, his voice deceptively calm.
Colin opened his mouth, then closed it, finding—rather unexpectedly—that he had no immediate response. It was not often he was rendered speechless, yet here he was, unable to summon a single convincing retort.
Roderick's gaze remained unwavering. "I appreciate the sentiment, Your Grace," he said, sounding polite but cool. "Truly, I do. But I have no desire for your sullied favors."
Colin's brows drew together. "Sullied?"
Roderick rose from his chair, moving with a deliberate grace. "I am perfectly content with my career as it stands. I have fought for every inch of ground I possess, and I shall continue to do so without the assistance of a duke's charity."
There was no mistaking the edge in his voice now; the tightly leashed pride and the quiet fury simmering beneath the surface. The tension between them thickened as Roderick inclined his head in the barest semblance of courtesy. "Good afternoon, Your Grace."
And with that, he turned and strode from the study, leaving Colin sitting behind his desk, fingers curled around the arms of his chair, watching as the door shut firmly behind him.
Annoyance and frustration settled in his chest. Had he justoffendedthe man he had sought to help?
Anna was making her way back to the house after a leisurely stroll through the gardens when a familiar figure caught her eye through the glass panes of the conservatory. She paused, tilting her head slightly before stepping inside.
"It appears that I am the one interrupting your solitude today," she remarked lightly, joining Roderick amidst the lush greenery.
He offered her a wan smile but said nothing at first.
