“It’s perfect,” Charles replied. He speared the piece he’d cut and popped it into his mouth. Arthur was right. It was tender and quite delicious. He nodded his head after swallowing.
Just then a fellow MP happened upon their table. He was an older man and quite boisterous. Charles wasn’t sure if that was his personality or if he’d had a bit too much wine.
“You never said you were a twin,” the man said loudly.
“Yes, I am. This is my brother, Lord Jameson. Charles, this is Perry Young, Earl of Blackshire.”
“A pleasure, Lord Jameson. I expect we’ll be seeing a lot more of you. Do you live in Kent as well?”
Arthur interrupted. “He does.”
The man turned and loudly spoke to an adjacent table about Arthur and Charles being twins. It was more than Charles could bear. Without a word to Arthur, he stood and walked out of the dining room as fast as he could. He didn’t stop until he was back outside in front of the Parliament building. The sky was still a foreboding shade of gray, but the skies had not opened up. He stood there trying to catch his breath and decide what to do next.
His instinct told him to walk. Walk he did. He crossed the street and disappeared down one of the side streets. The longer he walked, the better he felt. He knew he had to get his aversion to crowds or small gatherings under control. Arthur was left having to explain why his brother left.
Before today’s incident, he and Frazier had been working on just that. He would put himself in situations such as looking in a shop. The results weren’t always what they’d hoped for, but he had made some progress. Today’s incident had been caused in part due to the boisterous man who visited their table. Charles knew there were lots of men in the world like that one, and that he was going to have to get used to being around them, especially when in town.
He continued walking until he came upon a park. He knew it was near Grosvenor. Finding a bench, he sat down. The skies were still gray, but it hadn’t stopped people from coming out for a walk. There were more than he figured would have been outside. They would go scurrying home the moment the rain began. He didn’t want to go home because that would be the first place Arthur would look for him. His conscience wouldn’t allow him to worry that his brother, newfound or otherwise, was out looking for him. Sitting for a time, caught up in people watching, Charles finally rose and began walking toward thehouse, estimating it was at least eight blocks from the park. He needed Frazier to help him put this right. He didn’t need his brother being ashamed of him, but Arthur needed to understand him better.
He felt peace within himself as he saw the house come into view. He hoped it was quiet and not a lot going on. He’d rather not run into anyone. All he wanted was to go to his rooms without having to answer a lot of questions from well-meaning people.
A footman opened the front door and Charles walked past, leaving his hat and coat on a chair. He was walking toward the steps that led to the family’s quarters when Daphne came toward him out of nowhere.
“Arthur stopped by and mentioned what happened,” she said.
“I didn’t mean to worry him.”
“He understood why you left and said if he had been in a position to, he would have fled too,” she replied with a smile. She grabbed hold of his hand and began pulling him toward the drawing room. “Come have a cup of tea with me. I’m sure you must be chilled.”
Charles understood he was caught and shouldn’t be rude and decline. “That sounds nice.”
He entered the drawing room and a blonde-headed young woman caught his eye as she sat on a settee near the fire. She was a slip of a thing, wearing a lavender and gray day dress. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. Never had he encountered such a beauty. She smiled demurely at him.
“Cathryn, may I introduce my brother-in-law, Lord Charles.” She turned to Charles. “Charles, this is a very old friend of mine, Lady Cathryn Beckman.”
Charles nodded as she extended her hand. “Lady Beckman, a pleasure, I’m sure.”
“Very nice to meet you as well. I wasn’t aware until today that Lord Arthur had a brother. Daphne explained it all. Amazing likeness.”
“We’re identical twins,” he replied.
“Would you care for a cup of tea, Charles?” Daphne asked him with a bemused smile on her face.
“I don’t wish to interrupt. I need to find my valet and go over some matters with him. Another time.”
“Frazier isn’t here. He went to pick up some shirts I believe you’d ordered,” Daphne said.
“He could have had them sent to the house.” He sighed and sat down on a gold damask high back chair.
“Will you take a cup of tea now?” Lady Cathryn asked. She was smiling, and looking at her made his insides act strange.
“Yes, thank you. No milk or sugar, please.”
He noted Daphne had a smile on her face. Women tended to do that a lot. Why, he wasn’t sure. His knowledge of women was limited. Mostly older women. People thought him an oddity and kept their daughters away from him. He rarely went to social events. His life was changing, and intermingling with the fairer sex was something he’d have to get used to.
Accepting the tea from Lady Cathryn, Charles stared down at it for a moment. “Is your father an MP?”
“No,” she replied, sitting back down. “He had some business here and my mother wanted to shop so he brought us both along.”
