“Yes.”
“What of the competition? I’ve been thinking,” Thaddeus lifted one of Chev’s more intricate creations. “If I join in the competition and I win, she will not have to wed either of them, would she?”
His gaze softened.
“Valiant,” he said. “But unnecessary.”
He joined his son and ran his finger over the carving. He’d spent so much time on that bow—making sure it was just right.
“Fancy, no?” Thaddeus frowned. “I don’t understand why anyone would put such effort into a weapon.”
“Don’t you?” Chev replied. “Then let me tell you this—exercise crafts the body, while artistry crafts the mind.”
“Is that why you spent so much time on the detail?”
Awareness skimmed Chev’s senses, though Thaddeus had asked the question so quietly, Chev almost hadn’t heard.
He turned, facing the unspoken plea in the lad’s eyes.
He was the only answer to that plea.
“Yes,” he said slowly. “It is why I spent so much time on the detail.”
Thaddeus launched without warning, crushing Chev with his arms, burying his face in Chev’s chest.
He hooked his son close, with both arms, wounded and not.
After a heart-swelling moment, Thaddeus broke away.
They shared the same eyes. They shared the same heart. And they might have shared the same flaws, but Thaddeus had not been raised by the duke.
Thaddeus had been raised by a smarter, kinder, wiser parent.
“I am sorry I deceived you,” Chev said.
“Deceived me?” Thaddeus asked.
“By pretending I am someone who I am not.”
“Oh.” Thaddeus considered. “You are doing so to protect us—my mother and I—are you not?”
“Yes,” he said. Although it was only part of the truth.
“Do you intend to reveal yourself to her?”
Chev sent his son a crooked smile.
“Ah,” Thaddeus nodded. “Mother knows already. The competition.”
He gripped the boy’s shoulder. “We are counting on you to be very brave.”
“Always,” Thaddeus replied.
Thaddeus carried the axes Chev could not hold and, together, they made their way out of the cellars back into the early evening light.
“Are you coming back inside?” Thaddeus asked.
“In a moment,” Chev answered. “You head back—and stay out of the woods.”
