“Running your mouth off like this is not going to make me reinstate your allowance either,” Simon warned, his eyes narrowed.
“Gentlemen, please,” Anthony stepped in between them, “Your little scuffle is drawing too much unwanted attention. It is best if you continue this conversation privately.”
“Fine,” Simon huffed, straightening his collar and walking out into the distance. The other two men followed him.
Simon was not a strict older brother — quite the opposite. He had given Tobias mostly free rein to do as he pleased, as long it did not harm him or the family. It was a complete change from their father, who had ensured that his children were disciplined in each part of their lives.
But he was not one to tolerate disrespect either. Tobias had to learn that he could not act like an impish rake in his presence.
They walked a considerable distance — the crowd gathered for the cockfighting was barely visible now, and no one could eavesdrop on their conversation here.
“Is this really necessary, brother?” Tobias called from behind him, bending his waist to catch his breath. “You said you wished to talk to me, not that you wished to engage me in exercise.”
Simon passed him an unimpressed sneer. “It seems that both your morals and your physical fitness have dropped below levels that are considered acceptable.”
That got a laugh out of Anthony, who quickly shut up when Tobias shot him a glare.
“If you spend more time focusing on bettering yourself, and less on your hedonism, then all of our problems would be eliminated today,” Simon continued.
Tobias stopped walking, and instead found a nearby bench to sit down. “We have walked enough. Now, tell me what it is that you wish to say here.”
Simon’s jaw tightened slightly, and he walked back to his brother. Anthony thought that he might charge at him, and tried to hold him back.
“No need,” Simon said, resisting his efforts. “I am not planning on hurting him.”
“By all means,” Anthony shrugged. “He definitely deserves it. But I think it would cause too much of a scene.”
Tobias was looking at his brother with a mixture of annoyance and fear now — of course, he would never admit to the latter.
“You should use your words, big brother.” Tobias’s tone was mocking.
That snapped something inside of Simon. In a flash, he had Tobias held up by the scruff of his collar and pressed against the wall. He held him there for a second, before realizing his anger was too much and let him go.
“I have had enough of your attitude. Do you know how much trouble your debaucheries have caused me? My wife is left taking care of a child that she has nothing to do with, and here you are frolicking amuck in town like you have nothing to do with this.”
Tobias held up his hands. “Why is it my fault to begin with? I did not even know the existence of a baby until you just told me now.”
“I do not care if you knew or not. You need to find out who the mother is, and fix this mess of a situation that you have created.”
Tobias struggled to answer — he was not able to articulate his words properly.
Anthony pulled Simon back. “You’ve gotten the message across, Simon. Let him go now.”
Simon gave him a glare. Tobias stumbled on his words.
“I will be expecting to hear back from you soon,” Simon said, his words ringing with an air of finality. “The sooner you are able to do this, the sooner you shall get your allowance resumed.”
With that, Simon walked away without so much as exchanging a goodbye with his brother. Anthony was right on his heels, but the two men did not speak again until they were back in the carriage.
“I have never seen you this angry before.” Anthony broke the silence. His expression was a mixture of awe and horror.
“Let us pray that you never have to again,” Simon replied, settling back into his seat in the carriage.
“Do you really believe that he is going to get his act together now?” Anthony inquired.
Simon thought it over it for a moment. “From what I know of my brother, he is not one to listen — to anyone. But he is far too attached to his lifestyle to simply let it go.”
“That was genius,” Anthony reached over and patted Simon on the shoulder. “It would have never occurred to me to cut out his allowance. It is bound to work.”
