Page 8 of Stealing the Rake's Heart
“I will get the girl a new dress,” Harriet interrupted sourly.
Aunt Florence grinned. “What a treasure you are, sister.”
And then she sailed out of the room, never once looking back.
Chapter Three
“Henry and Eleanor aren’t coming,” Katherine announced.
Alex flinched, caught in the act of pouring himself yet another generous brandy. He slopped some of the liquid over his hand and wrist and licked at the sticky droplets guiltily.
Katherine was like William – she could always make him feel guilty, even when all he was doing was having adrink, for heaven’s sake.
He glanced over to where she stood in the doorway, arms folded, eyes narrowed.
“I thought Henry wouldn’t come,” Alex huffed. “He’s so busy with that silly business of his. Do you know, he told me I should have a job there? The cheek of it.”
“I think it was kind,” Katherine shrugged, coming further into the room. “Henry doesn’t like to see you idle. I suppose he thought you might enjoy the work.”
“Then he doesn’t know me at all. I’m not a child, to bekept busy. I’m supposed to be a gentleman.”
Henry would have pounced on that at once, of course. He was the sharpest of them all, and much addicted to travelling. Alex supposed that it was only a matter of time before he and his new wife left the country.
Back when the old duke was alive, Henry had travelled a great deal. Alex knew the truth, they all did – he couldn’t bear to be at home. William was not permitted to leave, being the oldest and the heir. Katherine was not permitted to leave, since she was a woman. Alex could probably have gone – heaven knew his father didn’t care much abouthim– but how could he leave his mother?
Katherine came all the way into the room and sat down beside him. She could smell the cigar smoke hanging in the library like a pall, and the brandy decanter was almost empty. She didn’t say anything, however.
“You miss him, don’t you?” she said quietly. “Henry and you were always as intimate as kindred spirits.”
Alex sighed. “It’s not that I don’t love Will and you. It’s just that Henry… well, I suppose he was my best friend. Sad, isn’t it?”
“Not sad. And don’t worry – Will and I love you too, no matter how much we nag you. Henry worries about you, you know.”
“He’s got a strange way of showing it,” Alex remarked bitterly. “Since his marriage, I’ve only seen him a handful of times.”
She sighed. “Be kind, Alex. Henry is in love. He’s newly married. I know that when I married Timothy – which was not so very long ago – I could think of nothing else but him. Give Henry time.”
“I don’t resent his happiness. I just… Oh, I don’t know. Pay no attention to me.”
“But I am paying attention to you, Alex. You’re not happy. You drink too much, you smoke too much, yougamble– and until you come into your money, you can ill afford that, and…”
“Yes, well, I’m not going to come into my money, am I?” Alex pointed out bitterly. “Our darling Papa made sure of that. Who’d marry me?”
“Plenty of people. Don’t be defeatist, Alex. Just attend a few balls this Season - good ones, not your raucous gentlemen’s pursuits – and meet a few ladies. Somebody might catch your eye.”
“And what if nobody does?” he muttered. “What then? Do I just choose one and hope for the best? When Father added that stipulation to his will, it wasn’t to ensure that we’d all enjoy wedded bliss. It was because he wanted to have the final say over what we did with our lives. He wanted us to be miserable,proper, and obliged to obey him even when he was gone. He still holds that money over our heads like a great weight. Some days, I feel like sayingdash it alland just staying a penniless bachelor for the rest of my life.”
Katherine didn’t say anything to this, letting the echoes of Alex’s raised voice bounce around the room.
“I know what you’re thinking,” he added, after a moment had passed.
“Do you?”
“Yes. You suppose me to be selfish, foolish and engaging in an act of self-sabotage, as though I were to disfigure myself in a fit of pique, and not thinking about William, who reallyhasto marry, because he is the Duke of Dunleigh and he needs the money. Yes, I know, I won’t starve on the streets, not with the rest of you rich, andyes, I know that Father really is gone at the end of the day, but…” he trailed off, obliged to swallow hard and work some moisture into his mouth before he continued. “I’m nothappy, Katherine,” he managed at last, his voice breaking.
Katherine shuffled closer, draping an arm around his shoulder. He leaned into her, and for a few moments, the siblings sat like that, neither one saying a word.
“I know it isn’t fair,” Katherine said quietly. “We all know it. But complaining won’t change the facts. Whether you marry or not, Alex, you must think about your life and how you’d like to use it. This,” she reached out, plucking the sticky brandy glass from his hand and placing it out of reach on the table, “this will not make you happy. It’ll make you ill, discontented, and probably ugly.”
