Page 113 of If the Slipper Fits
Zeke drew his glass toward him, eyes on the shimmering aromatic liquid. “I gathered from our earlier conversation, you have some things to say concerning your allowance, brother?”
“I say, m’boy, Caden only arrived home today. Surely such matters as quarterly allowances can wait?” The earl smiled an apology at Caden.
Caden held up a hand. “Please don’t worry on my account, my lord. Zeke has the right of it; I have some things I need to say—to both of you.”
The earl’s bushy grey brows shot up. He leaned back in his chair and lifted his snifter to his lips. “Go on, then.”
“The thing is—” Caden cleared his throat. This was harder than he’d anticipated. Best to get the worst part out. “The thing is, Zeke, a large part of what you observed about me was true.”
He had the momentary pleasure of seeing Zeke’s dumbfounded expression. That was something.
Bolstered, he continued. “I have spent these past several years following my education in negligence and disrepute. Rather than pursue any proper vocation or calling, I squandered my time, fraternizing with a certain class of women, frequenting house parties and the like.” He paused. “Gambling for the fun, I’ll admit, despite the incident you bailed me out of.
“I want you to know, however, It’s the former I regret. I don’t have a gambling addiction, Zeke. I have, however, lived a meaningless existence. Recently I tried to change that.”
Zeke nodded once. “By change, do you mean you needed one last large withdrawal from the family account to cover a gambling debt? Because, I have to tell you, that screams of a gambling problem.”
“The money wasn’t for a gambling debt.”
Zeke closed his eyes briefly in a silent show of relief. “You needed to pay off, or house a woman, then?” The impliedwhom you impregnated,remained unspoken. “Best we know now to minimize any damage going forward. Your wife will certainly not thank you for your bastard child showing up on her doorstep.”
Caden told himself he deserved this. The good news was, for once, Zeke had the key points all wrong. “No—on both counts. Though I can see why you’d assume as much.”
“But—”
Caden held his palm out for silence. His grandfather, he noted, gratified, had not uttered the first word. “Let me finish, please. I am coming to my point.”
“Very well.” Zeke drummed his fingers on the white tablecloth.
He couldn’t help himself, Caden supposed..
“Go on, son,” the earl said, with a tap on Zeke’s forearm, bless his grizzled heart.
The drumming ceased.
“I think I’d come to the same conclusion as you. No, Ihad.I took stock of my life and realized it was past time for me to change, thanks, in large part, to your influence, Zeke.”
“Mine?” Zeke sounded dumfounded.
“Witnessing your metamorphosis after Kitty came into your life, seeing you”—Caden searched his mind for the right words—“allow yourself to be vulnerable, showed me a strength in you I’d never realized until then was missing.”
Zeke shifted in his seat, his cheeks turning a dull shade of red. He made no denial. To do so would be to lie. His brother was no liar.
“It caused me to contemplate my own future. Well, that, and Kitty’s relentless humanitarianism.”
Both Zeke and the earl chuckled knowingly.
“When I looked in the mirror, I saw a shallow, self-absorbed man. One I’d thought was so different from our father, but who was really the same—minus his unluckiness.”
The earl looked sad at the mention of his son, but Zeke looked downright thunderous. “You are nothing like our father. He was a weak, selfish man.”
Caden’s brows shot up, as if to point out Zeke had made his point for him.
“Zeke’s right, Caden. I loved your father. But you are not like him. Granted, you are blessed with some of his better traits, his charm, a jovial attitude that draws the fairer sex, and more than his share of luck,but the rest,” His grandfather broke off, shaking his head in vehement denial.
Caden fought down a rush of emotion he hadn’t expected. He grasped his forgotten snifter and took a large swallow. The heady liquid burned its way down to his belly. It helped.
Zeke spoke again. “So, you lost a bundle of money, perhaps in an investment gone awry. It’s just money, Cade. There are worse things. Thankfully you don’t make a practice of racking up debts. I can only hope, now that you are engaged—”
