Theodore's throat worked as he swallowed hard. "Iwill not."
Oliver rounded the desk, frustration boiling over into anger.
"You must, for heaven's sake! Can you not see that pursuing this will only bring more harm? To her, to you, to all of us?"
"The only person harming her now is you, brother," Theodore replied, clipped.
"Mind yourself," Oliver warned in a low growl.
"You hide behind duty and propriety, but have you considered her happiness? Fair, you do not see her someone worthy of a happy life now that she is a widow. But what of my own happiness?" Theodore looked his brother dead in the eye. "Is that of no concern to you as well?"
The accusation felt worse than anything else Theodore had ever said to him before.
"How dare you suggest I care nothing for your happiness," he snarled. "Everything I do and everything I have done has been to protect this family."
"You are not protecting me, brother," Theodore mirrored his tone. "You're smothering me in a manner that is suffocating. I don't need protection from the woman I love."
"I am trying to protect you from ruin!" Oliver thundered back. "And perhaps from a mistake you will regret when this infatuation fades. The years will pass and…"
"It will not fade," Theodore snapped. "You are patronizing me, acting as though you know my heart better than myself."
"If Father were alive…" Oliver started but Theodore cut him off.
"Invoking his name will not bring him back from the dead. He's gone, and you arenothim."
Oliver fell abruptly silent. The fight had now escalated to a never before seen degree before. He had always had a gentle relationship with all of his siblings, where respect had been the primary pillar.
"You may be the Duke, but you are not my father. You don't have authority over whom I choose to love, or to wed," Theodore continued on, using the silence only as an opportunity to further his point even more. "I had hoped for your blessing. But if I can't have it, then I will do without."
Oliver's tongue felt glued to the roof of his mouth. He struggled to find words but none came.
"Is that what you have decided?" he asked, simply. He dared not show the hurt that he felt inside. Showing feeling was a sign of weakness, and he had learned if he was to be respected then he had to curb his feelings.
"It is a decision that I have been forced to take," Theodore replied. "I'm sorry you can't understand," he muttered.
Then, with a formal dip of his head, he turned on his heel and strode out of the study, slamming the door behind him. Oliver stood rooted to the spot, his pulse thundering in his ears. He opened his mouth, then shut it.
For once in his life, the Duke of Redhaven was utterly speechless.
CHAPTER 14
"Is that a light in the library?"
Alethea stopped in her tracks when she noticed a yellow hue emanating from underneath the doorway of library. She looked to the clock, noticing the lateness of the hour. While her original intention had been to go to her own chambers, curiosity got the better of her.
Slowly, she made her way inside and it did not take her long before she spotted him. Theodore sat slouched in a leather chair, one boot propped on the ottoman and a half-empty tumbler of whiskey dangling from his fingers. He was staring rather morosely at an open book in front of him.
Alethea bit down on her lip. Truth be told, her curiosity was not unfounded. Earlier in the day, she had overheard a squabble between the two brothers, though she could not exactly make out the reasonings behind it.
She took another step forward, the sound alerting of her presence. Theodore's gaze flickered toward her and his eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed.
"Are you lost?"
She offered a tentative smile. "No, I saw that the light on was on. Imagine my surprise when I saw that it was you inside of it. I had not taken you of much of a reader."
"I am not," he replied, curtly. "And frankly, at the moment I am no good company either. It would be better for you leave."
He huffed and looked away, taking another swallow of whiskey.
