However, Henley was now looking ahead, which was now the new theme of his life.So much of the past year had been a constant reflection of the past, of his mistakes, or mistakes he was assigned to, and now it was expectation.It was hope.It was a woman who owned him soul-deep and the returning of her affection and the promise of her hand.And tonight, it would be made known.
The clock in the library began to chime, signaling the dinner hour.It was time to move the final chess pieces, to call checkmate, and he just prayed that Edwin took his loss with grace rather than the arrogant nature he leaned toward.Though brotherly affection or even comradery was not a trait Edwin exhibited, Henley still wanted good for him, even if he didn’t make those same choices for himself.How often had he picked up his brother from the hell houses?It wasn’t for nothing, it wasn’t to inflate his own ego, it was because he loved his brother.
Even if his brother didn’t love him back.
And this, certainly, wouldn’t endear him further.No, this might be the final straw signaling an end to any hope for that brotherly relationship, and that sent a bone-deep ache in his heart.But he’d swallow the ache, deal with it, survive it, because it meant that Anna would be his wife, not Edwin’s.
And he’d endure the fires of hell for her heart.
Over and over again.
The clock finished chiming, and Henley stood from his sanctuary in the library and set his untouched brandy on the table.
He strode into the hall, destiny at his heels, as he made his way toward the parlor where all the other guests were assembling before dinner was signaled by the staff.As he walked into the room, he nodded in greeting to his family’s guests and caught the eye of the duke.The Duke of Kinfield lifted his glass slightly, an acknowledgment, and also a reminder.
The evening stage was set.
Edwin nodded to the duke from across the room and then took account of all the people present, searching for his brother.When he caught his eye, Edwin lifted a hand, signaling for his brother to come over.Curious, Henley made excuses as he passed through the people waiting, and approached his brother, a tension in his shoulders he couldn’t tamp down.
“Lovely evening,” Edwin drawled, swirling his brandy.“You’ve been busy, I hear.Curious… I’ve not been told with what.”
Henley met his gaze calmly.“And yet here we are.”
Edwin stepped closer, voice dropping.“If you’ve done anything to spoil my plans—and I believe you know precisely what I mean—I’ll see you ruined.Last season’s scandal will seem a bedtime story by comparison.”
Henley studied his brother; the scent of liquor clung to his brother’s words.
His light brows arched.“Don’t believe me?”
“I… believe you,” Henley hedged, not certain how best to defuse the situation.Edwin was impulsive when not drunk; this had the potential to be a disaster.“How much brandy have you drank, dear brother?”
“It’s none of your concern.”
“I believe it is.Mother—”
“Mother is damn near drinking as much as I am, so…” Edwin shifted.“You wouldn’t happen to know why, would you?Dear brother.”He said the words with venom.“After all, the one that usually makes her distraught is you.”Edwin shot back the rest of his brandy and gave a humorless laugh.
Henley nearly rose to the bait, but it wouldn’t serve now.No, let the chips fall where they might.Edwin would now have to take his own consequences.
“I’ll see you at dinner.”Henley nodded to his brother and left, striding toward the hall as dinner was announced.
It was an appropriate beginning to the evening, Henley thought as he found his place at dinner.How often had he protected his brother from himself?How often had he intervened to make the consequences of Edwin’s actions less severe?And now, after learning all the information from the duke, how often had Edwin used Henley to cover for his own misdeeds?Certainly, the fight wasn’t the first time.
Which made his stomach churn.
He cast his gaze to his mother, who was sitting at the head of the table next to Edwin, her hand tight around a wineglass, as if afraid someone would take it from her.Good Lord, it was going to be that kind of evening.
Pere caught his eye next, and she flickered her gaze to their mother, then back to Henley, her eyebrows rising in question.Henley merely shook his head.It wasn’t something he could communicate through sign language at dinner, that was for certain.Pere gave him a concerned expression, then returned to the fish course set before her.
After the final course was cleared away, Henley met the gaze of the duke, who stood from his seat and tapped his wineglass with a fork, signaling for everyone to divert their attention to His Grace.
Henley swallowed; the moment was at hand, the one he’d been both anticipating with every fiber of his being and also worried over equally.
“I have an announcement, and I wish you lovely people to be the first to hear of it!”
The room went silent, then a hush of whispers trickled about the room before dying down completely.Several guests flashed glances at Edwin, who Henley noted didn’t bear an expression of confusion, rather victory.
Odd.
