Two men approached. They were big, with tawny hair and eyes. Brothers, Ash thought. They were also there to check on him. To make sure he was not bringing trouble to his brother’s wedding.
“These are also your cousins, Ash. My brothers, Max and Rory.”
He hadn’t expected that.
“I did not realize you had more brothers.”
“The story is a long one, and I am more than happy to share it with you, but we will leave the telling until tomorrow,” James said.
“Have you come to make peace with your brother?” Rory asked him. And the look in his eyes wasn’t friendly or angry, just steady. Something told Ash this brother did not have the gentlemanly edges of the duke. His curiosity was piqued as to why.
“I have something I must tell him, and then I will leave. I will not inconvenience you for long.”
“Family is not an inconvenience, unless it brings trouble,” Rory stated.
“It is good you are here, Ash,” Max said.
“Ash.” Gus appeared.
“And that is our signal to leave,” James said. “Come inside when you are done, and we will celebrate the union of yet another Sinclair to a Raven and the arrival of Ash,” James said. He walked away flanked by his brothers.
“How is it you are here, today of all days?” Gus asked. His expression was closed, voice even.
“I came to London to find you.”
“Why now, after all these years?”
“I need to tell you something.” They may not have seen each other for a long time, but he felt the familiar tug of pride he’d always experienced when he looked at Gus. His brother may have been wild, like him, but he was a good man. A man Ash had always been able to rely on.
The same could not be said for him.
“You couldn’t have written? Clearly you didn’t want to see me in the years previous to this.”
“Your anger is justified. But this was not something I could write in a letter, even if I knew where to send it.”
Gus exhaled. “When did you arrive?”
“A while ago, but I was injured.”
“How were you injured?”
“It is of no consequence.” Ash waved the words and concern aside.
Gus looked down at his toes, then back at Ash. “There are so many things I want to say to you. So many questions I want to ask, that I don’t know where to start.”
Ash stayed silent, letting his brother talk. He owed him that.
“When the anger and pain had eased, part of me knew it was you who sent Baron to me. Seeing him here today confirms that. But for a while I hated what you had become.”
Ash nodded. He had begged his friend to go to Gus because he could not. Chained in a hold below deck on one of Radcliff’s ships, he’d been left there to starve. Baron had risked his life to help him, and for that he was one of the two men Ash would die for. The other stood before him.
“I was angry for so long that I shut myself off from people and came here. I thought my life would be that of a scholar with no family, and then I met Somer. She made me realize I’d been living a half life since you left. She and the others accepted me unconditionally.”
“Your anger toward me is justified. Hold on to that, brother. I am worthy of nothing more from you.” Saying the word “brother” when he’d longed to do so made his chest tight. “Sorry seems inadequate,” Ash added. “But for what it is worth, I am. I made a foolish choice and lost everything that was important in my life because of it.”
“Will you tell me what happened?”
“It’s a dark and dirty story, and you don’t need to know—”
