“You need money.” It was a statement, not a question, and he grabbed the bottle between us and topped off his glass.
“How did you know?”
“I flipped through some of the ledgers when I couldn’t sleep. Also, servants talk. And tenants. The dower house is in a right state too, that won’t be cheap. Your mother has expensive tastes—hideous but expensive.”
“If you knew, why did you not say anything?”
“Oh yes, that would have been an enjoyable conversation.”
I hated that he was right, that we both knew precisely how horrible I would have been to him if he had suggested anything of the kind. I offered him a quiet, “fair.”
“What happened? I left more than enough to be successful.” There was nothing accusatory in his tone, merely curiosity.
“I fired your solicitor. The one I hired is… less than ethical.”
“Should have known you would,” he said with a half-baked laugh. “Who?”
“Forsyth.”
“Damn, he is a cheat. Tried to swindle me when I was looking to open the club. What have you done to recover it?” He leaned forward in interest, pulling one of the stacked ledgers to flip through it.
“I have written to Kate’s brother, Kit. He is a solicitor.”
“Kit Summers?”
“Yes, do you know him?”
“A little. He joined my solicitor’s practice, William Hart. I’m certain he is quite good for Will to have agreed to take him on as partner. If anyone can get it back, Will can.”
“That would be promising if Kit would agree to assist.”
“Why would he not?”
“I was… less than welcoming.”
“Hugh…” The exasperated sigh ripped through him with my name.
“I know, I have done poorly. Trust me, it has been made abundantly clear.”
“How much do you need?”
“Anything you are willing to part with would be most appreciated. And a loan, only. We will pay you back.”
“It’s not necessary. And name your sum.”
“Michael, I cannot—”
“You can. Hugh, like it or not, you’re my brother. I want to thrash you most of the time, but you’re still my brother. On the day you were born, I promised to protect you. Even if it did get me threatened with a lashing, I meant it.”
“You what?”He could not possibly mean…
“I want to hit you a large percent of the time,” he said deliberately obtuse.
“You were threatened with a lashing for looking at me?”
“Oh, that—I was threatened with a lashing quite often. Fortunately, Agatha is too lazy to dole them out herself, and the servants she ordered to do it liked me more than her.”
It was easy to ignore the slight to my mother with such horrifying intelligence surrounding it. “Why?”
