Isaac stared at him.“What?”he breathed.
Ethan nodded and ran a hand over his face, a new fury boiling up in him.Had the perpetrator purposely framed Gavin back then?Had they been the one to cause the tragic chain of events that had led to their brother’s death?
But losing control of his emotions right now would not help anyone.No, he had to maintain a cool head.“These past weeks I have been tracking new information on corruption at the club.”
Isaac frowned, confusion clouding his vision.Then, suddenly, the clouds lifted, a dawning light entered his eyes, and Ethan could fairly see the moment his brother realized that he had been under suspicion, that Ethan had believed he could be the guilty party.He braced himself, expecting fury and grief that Ethan could think him capable of something so horrendous.
Instead, Isaac breathed deeply and placed a comforting hand on Ethan’s shoulder.“Thank you for telling me.”His lips tilted up at one corner.“Though I hope you know you cannot keep me out of working with you to unearth the culprit.”
Ethan gaped at him.“You aren’t angry with me?”
Isaac snorted.“Oh, I’m plenty angry.But I understand why you did what you did.”
Ethan shook his head, unable to speak.Finally he managed, voice hoarse with guilt, “I’m sorry for turning my back on you when you needed me most.I essentially abandoned you.”
Isaac gave him a small, sad smile.“Will you take on the guilt for this as well?You really do take pleasure in pain, don’t you?”He chuckled lightly.“You never abandoned me.You simply did what you had to in order to survive.”
Ethan shook his head.“No matter the reason, as your elder brother it was wrong of me.”
“Bullshit.”
While Ethan was stunned at the vehemence in that one unexpected word, he was even more so seeing a small, affectionate smile lifting his brother’s lips.
“You’re an idiot, did you know that?”Isaac murmured.“Despite what you wish people to believe, you’re human.And you were hurting, worse than I’ve ever seen you hurt.I knew you were dealing with that hellish situation in the only way that you could while keeping your sanity.And not once did I ever resent you for it.Nor do I resent you for this.”
Why, Ethan wondered blearily, was everything going hazy in his vision?He blinked furiously to clear his eyesight—only to feel the warm track of tears trailing down his cheeks.
But at the moment he didn’t give a damn that he was crying.All that mattered was the feeling of the great gaping hole in his chest that had been punched clear through him at Gavin’s death beginning to close.No, that wasn’t right.It had begun to close this past week or better.And it was all because of Heloise.She had touched something deep inside him with her caring and had begun to heal him, no matter that her efforts had been born from desperation for her sister-in-law.Without her, he would never have found his way out of the fog he’d been wandering aimlessly in for three years, leading him here to this moment with his brother.As he wordlessly pulled Isaac into a hug, he vowed it would not be wasted.
27
The night of the masquerade came much faster than Ethan expected.Especially as every moment he was not scouring Dionysus from top to bottom—alongside Isaac, of course, who refused to be left out of even the most trivial details in the search for the jewels and, more importantly, the person responsible—he spent thinking of Heloise.And each moment with her on his mind and not at his side was the worst torture.Was she well?Was she eating?Was she losing sleep as he was, thinking about what had been between them?And, worse than all those questions combined: Would she ever forgive him for the part he’d played, however unknowingly, in her sister-in-law’s misfortune?
Forgiveness.He sighed, looking down on St James’s from his rooms, watching the quiet crawl of traffic, traffic that would soon be as constrained as the sand in the neck of an hourglass as the time of the masquerade arrived.Mere days before, he would have scoffed at the idea of wanting Heloise’s forgiveness for anything.His hurt had been too great, the sense of betrayal too acute for him to even consider such a thing.
Yet after the sleepless nights he’d spent going over all that had happened, one thought in the whole debacle stood out first and foremost: what she must have gone through, the fear and anxiety and worry, all because of his club.Andhe knew she had done only what she’d felt she’d had to do.Was he still incredibly hurt from finding out the truth?God, yes.The pain in his chest was so sharp, at times he thought he would never draw breath again.
But he understood her.Or, at least, he understood why she had done what she had.Which only added to the guilt that pressed down on him like stone slabs on his chest.
“Penny for your thoughts,” Isaac’s voice said in his ear.
Ethan jumped, glancing sharply at his brother, who had somehow materialized at his side.“When the hell did you get here?”
“I did knock.Several times.”Isaac pursed his lips as he considered him.“Though I daresay you have much on your mind.”
“That’s an understatement,” Ethan mumbled, turning back to the scene out the window, glancing up and down the street once more.“Shall I take it the jewels were not found during your final search of the lower offices?”he asked quietly.
“No.Though we both knew they wouldn’t be.”
“Yes,” Ethan murmured.He and Isaac had scoured every inch of Dionysus from top to bottom these past three days, and not a single penny had been found out of place, much less a full set of priceless rubies.He had desperately hoped they could locate them, that tonight and all the dangers that would accompany it would not need to happen—and that he could finally be free of the guilt and yearning that Heloise dredged up in him.Now, however, there was no alternative but for their plans to commence.
A carriage slowed in front of the club then, and he tensed, peering down at it, waiting for it to stop and a familiar sable head to emerge from within.But it kept on rolling down the street.He let out a harsh breath, not certain if he was frustrated or relieved that Heloise was not yet here.
“Looking for Mrs.Marlow?”Isaac drawled.
Once more Ethan’s gaze snapped to his brother, only to find him grinning with unabashed glee.“Youarelooking for her,” Isaac said.
“Whelp,” Ethan grumbled, even as his gaze returned to the street.
