Tobias nodded eagerly, his smile not quite reaching his eyes.
“Yes, yes. Catherine is Martha’s child. She was… well, you know how things are, Simon. Circumstances were such that she couldn’t keep her, but now that we’ve found a way, we can set things right.”
Simon’s lips pressed into a thin line as he turned his attention back to the woman. “Miss Cumberbatch, is this true?”
The woman blinked rapidly, her nervousness palpable. “Y-yes, Your Grace,” she stammered, her voice trembling. “Catherine is my daughter.”
Simon raised an eyebrow, his skepticism growing by the second. The woman’s demeanor was all wrong for someone who had come to reclaim her child. She seemed more afraid of Tobias than concerned about her supposed daughter. But it wasn’t just her behavior that caught Simon’s attention — it was her appearance.
Catherine had wispy blonde hair, a shade that matched neither Tobias’s nor Simon’s. But the woman before him had dark brown hair, not a hint of blonde anywhere in sight. More so, Catherine had striking emerald eyes – which his brother surely did not have so they must have come from the mother. The woman in front of him had brown eyes.
His suspicion solidified into certainty. Tobias waslying.
Simon’s eyes narrowed as he returned his gaze to his brother. “Tell me, Tobias,” he said, his voice deceptively calm, “how is it that Catherine has blonde hair when the woman you have brought is quite clearly brunette?”
Tobias froze, his smile faltering for the first time. He opened his mouth to respond but quickly shut it, realizing he had been caught.
His eyes darted around the room, searching for an escape, but there was none.
The woman’s eyes widened in fear, her hands trembling as she realized the ruse had failed. She took a small step back, as if trying to distance herself from the situation.
Simon crossed his arms over his chest, his expression hardening. “Well, Tobias? I’m waiting for an explanation.”
Tobias swallowed hard, the bravado draining from his face as he struggled to come up with a plausible lie.
Finally, he sighed, the tension in his shoulders releasing in a way that spoke of defeat. “Alright, Simon, you’ve caught me. Martha isn’t Catherine’s mother. I just… I did not think that it would matter so much to you.”
Simon’s expression didn’t change, but there was a flicker of disappointment in his eyes. “So you thought bringing a random woman here, claiming she was the mother of the child, would somehow convince me to give you money?”
Tobias winced at the coldness in Simon’s voice. “I thought… I thought if I could just make it seem like I was taking responsibility…”
“Responsibility?” Simon’s voice was sharp, cutting through Tobias’s weak excuse. “You think this is what responsibility looks like? Dragging an innocent woman into your schemes? Lying to my face? Is that how you plan to conduct yourself for the rest of your life?”
Simon noticed the woman growing uncomfortable as their argument escalated. He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face as if trying to rid himself of the frustration boiling within him.
“Miss Cumberbatch, you may leave. You have nothing to do with this, and I apologize for involving you in this farce.”
The woman looked relieved beyond measure. She nodded quickly, curtsying awkwardly before practically fleeing from the room. The door closed behind her with a soft click, leaving the two brothers alone.
When Simon turned back to Tobias, the disappointment in his eyes was clear. “Tobias,” he said quietly, “did you even try to find the mother?”
Tobias looked away, unable to meet his brother’s gaze. “I thought this would work. I just… I panicked. I didn’t want to lose my allowance. I didn’t want to lose everything.”
“And this is how you thought to fix it?” Simon’s tone was incredulous. “By lying? By deceiving me? Do you think that’s what a man does, Tobias?”
Tobias finally looked up, meeting Simon’s gaze with a mixture of guilt and defiance. “I’m not like you, Simon,” he said quietly. “I don’t have it all together like you do. I’m not perfect.”
If only Tobias knew. Simon was far from perfect.
“You may leave now. And donoteven think of returning unless you have the right person,” Simon warned. “If I catch you trying to deceive me again, I shall make sure that you never see a penny from me for as long as I live.”
Tobias’s shoulders slumped, the fight going out of him as he realized there was no talking his way out of this. “I… I shall try.”
Simon called in his butler to escort his brother out, his nostrils flaring with anger as he began to walk up to his study.
Coincidentally, Harriet was coming out of the nursery at the same time. She seemed to sense his frustration, as she started to follow right behind him.
“Something happened?”
