His brother flushed slightly under the considering gaze. “Have . . . have I done something wrong?” he said uneasily.
Alex raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Not that I know of. Unless you have some interesting confessions to make?”
Jonathan started to relax. “Nothing lately,” he said cautiously.
Alex tossed the quill onto the desk. “As long as you restrict your transgressions to the kinds of youthful folly I committed, it will undercut my ability to give pious lectures. By the way, I wrote to the headmaster at Eton to tell him how to get the cow down, in case they haven’t already puzzled it out.”
“That’s good.” Jonathan chuckled. “I had been rather worried on the cow’s behalf.”
“Actually,” Alex said after a brief silence, “I wanted to talk to you about your future.” Jon’s face promptly shuttered up; Alex noted the fact before continuing, “Do you have any idea what you might like to prepare for?”
“You mean, you’re asking me? What I want to do?” Jonathan was so surprised that his voice squeaked. It was one of the unfortunate side effects of being fifteen.
“Who else should I ask?” Alex asked reasonably.
“No one ever consultedmebefore. Father wanted me trained for the Church.”
“TheChurch?” Alex asked disbelievingly. He barely knew his brother, but even so, the vicarage seemed a wildly unsuitable choice. “Is that why you’ve done so badly in school? So you would be thought unworthy of the contemplative life?”
Jonathan had the look of a fox caught in the hen coop. “You figured that out quickly,” he muttered with a mixture of respect and sulkiness.
“Probably because I would have done the same if some chaw-bacon had thought to make a priest of me,” Alex admitted. “What wouldyoulike to do?”
A look of hope dawned on the boy’s face. “I want to go into the army,” Jonathan blurted. “It’s not just a passing fancy. I’ve always wanted that. It’s all I’ve ever wanted!”
“It seems a reasonable ambition, but I’d like to see you finish school first.”
“You mean you would buy me a commission?” Jonathan seemed to have trouble absorbing the news.
“I’ll buy you a commission in any regiment you like, and as many promotions after that as you deserve. Is the idea so surprising? After all, it’s my responsibility to see you established.”
Jonathan’s face twisted as he desperately tried to keep control. Finally he said unsteadily, “I’ve never once had what I asked for. I . . .” He stopped, as though unable to continue.
Alex regarded him narrowly. Jonathan’s confidence was apparently as nonexistent as Annabelle’s, and Alex felt his own guilt twisting inside. When he was fifteen, he had been a year at sea and was already his own man. He thought it was not too late for his brother and could only hope that the same was true for his sister.
“As I said, I want you to finish at Eton. The army has at least as much paperwork as the navy, and you’ll be a better officer for knowing how to write and figure and think. I wouldn’t dream of asking you to refrain from pranks, but I expect you to avoid those that will get you expelled. Is that understood?”
“Oh, yes, yes!” Jonathan stood, shaking with his excitement. “And . . . you’ll even buy me a commission in theHussars?”
“If they’ll have you,” Alex said with a half smile.
“You’re the best brother anyone ever had!” Jonathan exclaimed. “Can I go now? I want to write to my friend Robbie.Hewants to go into the Guards,” he added scornfully.
Alex snorted with the contempt of a navy man. “I never could tell one regiment from another. Can’t see that it makes any difference.”
His brother looked momentarily outraged, then laughed out loud when he saw he was being teased. Apparently teasing was as new an experience as being asked his opinion on his future. Beaming joyously, Jonathan left the room with more speed than grace.
Alex watched him go thoughtfully. The boy was already showing some of the exuberance that should be natural at his age. His view of the army was somewhat romanticized, perhaps, but Alex felt the choice was basically sound. It was gratifying to be able to please his brother so easily; really, this head-of-family business wasn’t difficult at all!
* * *
When Annabelle returned from breakfast with her brothers the next morning, she found her new abigail evaluating her wardrobe. Annabelle watched for a moment, then said apologetically, “I know a great deal of work will be required. What do you suggest?”
Christa turned to her with shining eyes. “Miss Annabelle, we are going to have a most wonderful experience—everythingmust be replaced! When will you be out of mourning?”
Annabelle’s face tightened before she said, “My mother died at the beginning of June, so it’s about two weeks more.”
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Christa said gently.
