Leaning in, Benedict pressed the point, “Don’t you think that one day, when you are old and grey, lounging near the Seine River, or whichever river is in Italy—”
“TheReno.We have a cottage in Sasso Marconi.”
“—you wouldn’t want someone beside you?” Benedict finished, one brow lifted high. “Don’t you want a companion in your twilight years? Or do you think it is your destiny to die alone?”
“I think destiny or fate or providence, whatever you might want to call it, has not been very kind to me in the regard of providinga suitable partner. The ladies I draw only see me as a vehicle to a better life, they do not see me or care to know me.
“It is the reason why I never dance with Misses of marriageable age, and only stick with widowed or married women,” Edward remarked. “But the truth of the matter is… I have not thought that far down the line yet.”
“I’d hate to see you squander your life away, brother,” Benedict murmured. “You deserve someone good and fitting in your life too. I know you are not one for society diamonds-of-the-first-water sort. If I were to imagine you with someone, it would be a practical-minded Miss with a sharp tongue and a sharper mind.”
If only you knew.
“Well, until the fates send me such a lady—”they already have,“—I will live my lonesome life, with premium wine and an old hound who enjoys the finer things in life, like ripping apart balls.”
Lifting his glass, Benedict chirped, “My best to you, old man.”
At the doorway, Edward looked over his shoulder, “I expect you to be gone by the time I return.”
“Never change,” Benedict laughed.
In his rooms, Edward called for bathwater and undressed into his robe, while his thoughts strayed to the conversation he’d just had with Benedict.
Truly, was this decision not to marry only hurting himself and no one else? Was he damning himself to a life of seclusion and solitude for an old, immaterial grudge?
Would Alice accept a marriage proposal now, when she was sworn off to not even look at him twice anymore? How would she take it when Benedict courted Penelope?
“All this while, the only thing Alice ever wanted was to protect Penelope, and now she won’t have to worry about her anymore…” he said to himself. “What would she think about my sudden change around?”
That wasifhe was truly considering this.
Atticus ambled over to him and nudged his knee with his greying muzzle. Reaching out, he rubbed his dog’s ears. “How are you, old boy? Do you have any drops of wisdom for me on how to win a woman who you effectively rejected?”
Tilting his head, Atticus meandered off to his spot before the slumbering hearth and circled the rug. “That would be ano, Itake it,” Edward sighed. “I suppose I’ll just have to figure it out on my own.”
He fell back against his soft bed, waiting for the footmen to enter to tell him the bath was ready.
He exhaled deeply and fell back against the bed, the mattress dipping beneath his weight. The fire crackled low, shadows dancing on the carved mahogany panels along the walls. The scent of wax and the lingering aroma of the evening’s brandy clung faintly to the air.
His eyes slipped closed for just a moment.A moment.
But exhaustion—of body, of mind—was relentless. And so he drifted.
The candle burned low, pooling wax along the brass holder as Edward bent over his desk, the scratch of his quill the only sound in the quiet chamber. His textbooks—Latin grammar, treatises on law—lay open beside him, the scent of ink sharp in the still air. The looming exams at Oxford were weeks away, and he'd been studying late into the night more often than not, determined to prove himself. Determined to be more than his father expected of him.
A quiet knock sounded at the door.
Edward barely looked up. "Yes?"
The door creaked open just enough for a small, tear-streaked face to peek through.
Benedict.
Edward's chest tightened instantly. "What’s wrong, Ben?"
The boy shuffled inside, hands curled into fists against the too-large sleeves of his nightshirt. He didn’t speak, just sniffled, cheeks blotchy with unshed tears.
Edward pushed back his chair, softening his voice. "Come here."
