“Sorry.”
Christ, Gus was getting married, and he’d arrived to witness it. The pain inside him was hot and intense. He listened as his brother took his vows, and thought about leaving. Clearly Gus had made a life for himself here. He did not need the brother who had nearly killed him to show up.
But I must tell him what I know.
It was hard to force air in and out of his lungs. Everything felt off, like he was looking at the scene before him from through the lens of his telescope.
“Boy, you need to calm down. You are breathing harder than old Mr. Lenny after a walk through the village.” An old leathery hand settled on the one he had on his knee. “That woman meant for you?”
“What?” He looked down at the weathered face.
“Were you meant to marry that girl up there?”
Ash shook his head.
“Well that’s good, as Miss Somerset is happy with her professor. Them Sinclairs always marry those of Raven blood,” she whispered. “So I doubt you’d have found favor anyway.” She patted his hand again. “Now best shut up and listen.”
Gus was a professor. Ash wanted to smile at that. They’d run wild, the Charlton brothers, but coming to England had meant to bring about change for them. It appeared that had happened for Gus.
Strangely, he felt marginally better after the woman’s chat, and steadier. He was a privateer, for pity’s sake. He did not feel faint, nor was he weak. His brother was getting married, and he’d arrived just in time. Whether Gus would be happy about that fact remained to be seen. Somehow Ash doubted it.
He let his eyes wander to the rest of the wedding party.
With Gus were two men, both dark-haired and tall, dressed like his brother in gray trousers and a black jacket. Two women stood to the bride’s left. One was blond, the other brunette. Ash could see only her side profile, but something passed over him. Almost an awareness, which was impossible. She and the blond woman wore long blue coats, open to show the ivory dresses beneath. Her hair was pinned on her head, and little white flowers were dotted throughout it.
“You’ll be wondering why anyone would get married here in anything but the summer months, is my guess,” the old lady said. “These people don’t do anything that’s normal, is all you need to know.”
Ash thought back to that day two months ago when he’d been shot in the thigh and saved by a woman. His memory of what she looked like was hazy, as he’d been trying to stay upright and awake at the time. But he’d known she had a sweet face and a lovely mouth that he’d kissed. She’d worn a bonnet, so he did not know what color hair she had, but he’d thought it was dark.
Surely it couldn’t be this woman? He’d spent a lot of time wondering who she was and if he’d recognize her if they met again. He’d thought yes was the answer to that. You didn’t forget what the person who saved your life looked like.
She’d been a fool, of course, to rescue him. Ash didn’t value his life overly; he just went through the motions until he wouldn’t have to.
Looking down the church, he saw it was full of people. Ash guessed they were of wealth and circumstance, as they were here on the Duke of Raven’s land.
The lady beside him sighed as the couple rose.
“Wonderful people marrying wonderful people.” Her voice was gruff. “Always knew they’d meet a good end.”
He shot her a look. Her lips seemed to fold in on themselves. She was old, but Ash had no idea her age. He thought closer to eighty than seventy. Her bonnet was gray and large, with orange and yellow flowers stitched all over it. She wore a dress of thick gray brocade and a spencer in black velvet. Nothing seemed to match, but he guessed she was happy about that or she’d not have worn it.
“I’m Mrs. Radcliff,” she whispered. “Is he your brother?”
CHAPTERFIVE
“Pardon?” The name Radcliff gave him a jolt. It belonged to a man he had vowed to kill. Not that there weren’t a lot of Radcliffs in the world; he’d just not expected to sit next to one at his brother’s wedding. The wedding he’d not been invited to.
“The groom. Now I have the chance to study you, I can see you’re not just a guest. You have the look of him.”
Did he? Ash had once thought he and his brother were identical in many ways. Their outlook on life, future plans they’d created together, and appearance, also, although he was bigger, a constant source of annoyance to Gus.
Just looking at the back of his brother’s head made him feel odd. A deep and heavy pain settled inside his chest as he studied the hair that was too long. Like Ash, Gus often forgot to get his hair trimmed. His brother had a steady manner that had always calmed Ash. Yes, he could anger, but it was more a slow rise, unlike him. Or the old him. He was now someone who had learned to hide his emotions, as they were a weakness.
“Well?” A pointy elbow jabbed him in the side.
“Well what?” Looking at his brother made his heart beat faster and his hands sweat inside the gloves he rarely wore. Perhaps he was ill?
Odd.
