“But it gives me something else to think about.”
“Pain?”
“Yes, he groused, but this time, Collette suspected his irritation was directed more at himself than at her.
His fear was more powerful than she’d imagined.
Collette hugged her arms in front of her, contemplating what she could do to help him.
“Are you close to your brother?” She’d use her curiosity to distract him.
“There is no one I esteem more.”
Collette felt the same way about Chase, and she knew without a doubt that her brother loved her and her sisters with all of his heart. But a dukedom didn’t stand between them.
“Why?”
He turned his head. “Why do I esteem him?”
“Yes.”
“He is my older brother. We were raised together—educated together. Why would I not esteem him?” But there was something else he wasn’t saying. Collette pondered two brothers: a younger one and an older one. And if the younger loved the older, he likely looked up to him—saw him as a hero, even. Did this duke feel guilty for inheriting his father’s title? But she couldn’t ask that. Such an observation would be far too impertinent to make.
Even for her.
Feeling Green
Addison resisted the urge to claw at his chest. He never should have entered this stairwell. He never should have set foot inside this Godforsaken school. Every time he opened his eyes, the walls seemed a little closer.
“You said you have two sisters. Tell me about the other one.” His voice came out gruff—demanding. When he focused on her, he could almost pretend the two of them weren’t locked inside… He brushed away a bead of sweat sliding down the side of his face.
“Oh, yes. Sarah. She is the youngest—just turned ten. Her hair is a little darker than mine, and I imagine she’s the smartest of the three of us. Chase hired a special tutor for her—one who could teach her to read on her own. And a special dog as well.”
“But she should be reading by now.” Addison turned his head enough so he could focus on her face. He would not submit to the spinning feeling assaulting him. He imagined a younger version of Miss Jones. One whose behind didn’t sway in an exasperatingly suggestive manner when she climbed stairs.
“Sarah was born without sight. It’s a wonder, since her eyes are quite lovely. She’s the only one of us with brown eyes. Like my mother’s.”
“Chaswick’s father sired all three of you?”
“Yes. He was good to us—he loved us. He provided my mother with a lovely townhouse not five minutes’ walk from his other one so he could come home to us often. We didn’t know Chase until after Father’s death. It was a terrible time for all of us, but meeting our brother helped.”
Two families! Good God! Addison tried to imagine living under such… complicated circumstances. He didn’t disapprove of the man, what with arranged marriages and all, and yet he couldn’t approve either.
He closed his eyes, forcing himself to breath. What would it have been like to have been raised completely unaware of Rowan’s existence and then discover his father had kept him hidden away until after his death? The notion was beyond comprehension.
“I have more mints if you’d like. They seemed to have helped before.” He opened his eyes again when the most impertinent Miss Jones’s voice sounded much closer. With her proximity came a faint scent of vanilla.
Unwilling to peel himself off the door quite yet, he didn’t move.
He was unaccustomed to feeling like a fool.
“Here.” She took hold of one of his clenched fists and attempted unsuccessfully to open it. Addison couldn’t relax if his life depended on it.
They’d been in this stairwell too long.
Shock, however, did the trick when she slipped one of her small mints between his lips.
Was it his imagination or had her fingers lingered longer than was necessary?
