"Who is it he's going to marry?"
"Lady Katherine, if the rumors are to be believed."
"I don't know her."
"The daughter of the Earl of Montrose. A lovely young thing, and very kind to boot. They say he wants you to be present at the wedding."
"How on Earth do you know all this? Have you spoken to him?"
"No, but I have my sources."
"You always have your sources," James said.
"And you know I'm rarely wrong. Come on—your brother is a good man, even if the two of you have some struggles in your past. You can let go of what's happened back then and be there for him now."
"Has he enlisted you to mediate between us?
"Of course not."
"Then why are you taking such an interest?"
"You're my friend, James. Believe it or not, I do care for your happiness. The tension between you and your brother has always made you unhappy. I think you'd be better off if you found a way to let it go. Don't you agree?"
James turned and scanned the room, looking for a sight of his brother. He expected to feel the usual stab of displeasure at the sight of Benjamin.
Instead, when he located him, he was met with a wave of ill will so intense that it swept over him and felt like it was going to knock him off his feet.
Benjamin was dancing with Victoria.
It was so outrageous, so distressing, that for a moment he felt sure Benjamin must have done it on purpose to provoke him. Even as he reminded himself that that couldn't be true, that Benjamin couldn't possibly have known how much it would upset him to see the two of them together like this, a part of him knew itmusthave been deliberate. Just as everything else between him and Benjamin had to have been deliberate—could never have been innocent, as Benjamin had so often claimed.
But then he paused.
Even if Benjamin's aim had been to upset him, how could he possibly have known that dancing with Victoria would do that job? James hadn't known that himself. Why did it upset him so much, anyway? He had known that she would be dancing with people tonight. It was the reason he had brought her here. This was nothing more than what he had planned for.
She was supposed to be meeting potential husbands, though, and Benjamin didn't qualify. Even if he hadn't intended to marry someone already, there was no way James would have approved a marriage between Benjamin and Victoria.
Was that why it upset him? Was it simply that he felt she was wasting her time with someone who would never be a match for her?
No, that wasn't it. It was true that he was determined that they shouldn't marry, but even so, time wasn't exactly being wasted. He had meant to dance with Victoria himself. It was important to show her off, to give gentlemen who were searching for wives a chance to see her on the dance floor and to realize how beautiful and charming she was. If anything, Benjamin was helping by taking her for a turn like this.
It didn't feel helpful, though.
William stared at him. "I swear," he said. "You have never seen with clear eyes when it comes to that brother of yours."
"I don't wish to talk about him any longer," James said firmly.
"As you wish, but you were the one who began this conversation," William pointed out. "You can hardly blame me for thinking that you did want to talk about him. And if I am honest, I believe you still do."
"It's the last thing I want. This was my greatest fear upon returning to London. I don't think I would have come back if I hadn't believed him to be in Rome."
"Don't be ridiculous. Even though he was away, you knew that London was his home. You knew there was always a chance he would come back here. I realize your childhood was traumatic, but why do you avoid him so? He isn't the one who —"
James held up a hand. "I know what he did and what he didn't do," he said. "We were children at the time, and I know there's only so much I can hold him responsible for. Perhaps I should let it go. But even so, he is a reminder of my past. I don't wish to be around him."
"I suppose that's your choice," William said. "I just think you are robbing yourself of a brother."
"Did you also think I was robbing myself of a mother when my father's wife tried to get in touch with me?"
