George fought with the desperation of a cornered animal, throwing wild punches that Aaron deflected easily. They grappled in the mud and garbage, with George trying to break free while Aaron worked to pin him.
“Stop!” Louise dropped to her knees beside them, grabbing George’s flailing arm. “George, stop fighting! It’s me!”
Her brother went rigid at the sound of her voice. His head turned slowly, his eyes wide with disbelief in the dim light.
“Louise?” The word emerged cracked, uncertain. “What are you … how are you …?”
Aaron released him but remained ready to move if George tried to run again. They climbed to their feet slowly, all three of them filthy and breathing hard. George stared at his sister as if she might evaporate, then his gaze shifted to Aaron, and his confusion deepened.
“Your Grace?” Recognition dawned with visible horror. “Christ, what are you both doing here?”
“Looking for you!” The words exploded from Louise with all the fury of weeks of worry. “Where have you been, George? Do you have any idea what we’ve been through?”
George’s jaw clenched, his shoulders squaring defensively. “I was protecting you. Bragg was getting violent and making threats. I thought if I disappeared, he’d leave you alone.”
“So, you ran?” Louise’s voice rose, thin and sharp. “You left us to face him alone?”
“I didn’t know he’d come after you!” George raked muddy fingers through his hair, leaving it standing in wild peaks. “I thought he’d search for me. Maybe waste his resources hunting me far from home.”
“And Emily? Did you think about what would happen to her?”
George’s expression crumbled. “Every day. But when I heard the duke had taken you in …” He gestured helplessly at Aaron. “You were safe. Protected. And much better off without me dragging you down.”
“So, you stayed away to what, to spare us?” Louise stepped closer, her hands clenching into fists. “Or to avoid facing what you’d done?”
“I was trying to fix things!” George’s voice cracked like a boy’s. “I thought if I could earn enough money through … through certain ventures … I could pay off Bragg and come home with solutions instead of more problems.”
“Through criminal ventures.” Aaron’s voice cut through their argument like a blade through silk. “Through smuggling. Through associations that could see you serving a lengthy sentence in prison.”
George’s face drained of color. “How did you?—”
“I’ve had investigators searching for you for weeks.” Aaron moved closer, his presence suddenly overwhelming in the narrow alley. “Do you understand what you’ve done? The danger you’ve put your sisters in?”
“I never meant?—”
“Your intentions are irrelevant.” Aaron’s tone could have frozen the Thames. “Your actions endangered your family, destroyed their security, and forced them to rely on the charity of strangers.”
George’s mouth opened, then closed. He looked at Louise, then looked away and bowed his head. “I’m sorry. I thought I was being clever, staying ahead of them all.”
“You were being a coward.” Aaron stepped between the siblings, forcing George to meet his gaze. “But that ends now. You’ll come with us. We’ll settle your debts legally. You’ll face what you’ve done like a man instead of a boy playing at schemes.”
“I can’t ask you to?—”
“You’re not asking. I’m telling you how this goes from here.” Aaron’s voice brooked no argument. “Your pride doesn’t get to dictate terms anymore, Sulton. Not when your sisters’ futures hang in the balance.”
George’s shoulders sagged. He looked younger suddenly, like the boy Louise remembered from years ago, before their father’s death, before the responsibilities that had crushed him.
“You’re right.” The admission seemed to physically pain him. “I’ve made a mess of everything.”
“Yes,” Aaron agreed with no softening. “But messes can be cleaned. Wigram can be dealt with. Your debt can be paid. But only if you stop running and face reality.”
Louise watched her brother’s face cycle through shame, relief, and fear in rapid succession. Part of her wanted to embrace him, to tell him everything would be well. But another part, the part that had spent weeks terrified for Emily’s future, wanted to shake him until he truly understood what his absence had cost them.
“Louise.” George reached toward her tentatively. “Can you forgive me?”
She stared at his outstretched hand, mud-stained and trembling. This was her brother, who had taught her to ride, who had snuck her extra desserts when their governess wasn’t looking, who had held her when their parents died.
Who had abandoned them when they needed him most.
