“Who have you invited?” Mrs. Merrick asked.
Letty began to rattle off a few names, many from the connected Flynn clan, and Griffin was about to let his mind wander when she said, “And Aaron Condit, of course.”
Griffin swallowed and turned his full attention to his sister. “Mr. Condit will be here?” he repeated, hoping there was no extra interest to his tone.
“Yes,” Jack said. “Letty thought he could use some time outside of London.”
Letty’s face darkened with a shade of concern. “He works too hard.”
Griffin nodded slowly. He often thought the same thing of Aaron. The man had been the best friend of Letty’s first husband, the Viscount Seagate, and Aaron and Letty had stayed friends themselves since Seagate’s untimely death. In fact, Griffin would say Aaron was Letty’sbestfriend outside of Jack.
Which made Griffin’s life far more complicated. After all, he saw Aaron himself from time to time. In certain clubs. Special clubs meant for men of Griffin’s…inclinations. The first time he’d seen Aaron in one of those places, his stomach had flipped with pure, unadulterated fear. What if Aaron told his secret?
But then he’d realized that Aaron’s appearance there meant he, too, had different urges from the average man in Society. Once it became clear that was true, Griffin had found himself seeking Aaron out in the crowd with increasing frequency. They talked from time to time, never acknowledging the secret they had in common.
And then there had been the one night when Griffin had secretly followed Aaron to a private room at the Wild Boar Club. One of the proprietor’s special rooms where observers could…watch. And watch he had. Those images still burned in his brain.
“And when will Mr. Condit arrive?” Griffin asked, hearing the strain in his own tone and hoping it wouldn’t be questioned.
“Later this afternoon,” Letty said.
“In a sea of married people, there shall be at leasttwoeligible gentlemen of means,” Mrs. Merrick said with a laugh. “The unmatched ladies of the village will be all atwitter at the welcoming ball tomorrow, Griffin. You shall have your pick of ladies between you, I would wager.”
Griffin sat stiffly as Letty began to speak to her mother about something to do with Gillian’s proficiency on the pianoforte. He was happy for the distraction, for he had heard the hopefulness in his mother’s voice when she spoke of eligible ladies.
She was forever pressuring him to settle down and wed, to produce children as Letty had. Except his children would be heirs and carry on the family name. Very important to her, as it had been important to his late father.
Of course, no one knew how difficult that was going to be for him. He had tried. God knew he had tried. He’d danced with women, he’d chatted with them in ballrooms as he fought desperately to create any attraction within himself. A few times he’d even been so driven as to go to a bawdy house. But nothing worked. He looked at women, the most beautiful and desirable of women, and felt…nothing.
But with men it was different. No matter how he tried to change it or hate it or starve it out of himself, that was a fact. A fact that had driven him to try to push away the life his parents had built for him. A fact that had made him reckless. A fact that had nearly gotten Jack and Letty killed.
Once that happened, he had settled into the life his family wanted, but never fully accepted the future. He doubted he would marry. It didn’t seem fair to do so and saddle a wife with his issues.
Not to mention marrying seemed the best way to ensure his secrets came out. If he could not perform his martial duties, that would ultimately be revealed, and questions would be asked and troubles raised and even arrests made.
He shuddered.
“You still with us?” Jack said, leaning closer to Griffin with a half-smile.
Griffin blinked. “What? Yes, sorry. The ride was long—I suppose I lost myself in thought.”
Jack tossed a side glance at the ladies, who now seemed to be discussing hats. He grinned. “Only one of us will escape this, you know. Both of us aren’t going to survive. So I’ll sacrifice myself for you.”
Griffin swallowed hard. “What do you mean?”
“Go for a walk. Get away from the talk of sashes, which is likely to follow the hat…situation. I’ll make your excuses.”
Griffin stared at him. Jack was teasing, but he was also offering him a very real out. And perhaps the air would do him good. At least it would clear his head before he saw Aaron.
Before he had to analyze too closelywhyhe was so excited to see the man.
He squeezed Jack’s shoulder and got up, slipping from the room. He heard Jack murmuring something to Letty and Mrs. Merrick, his name drifting into the foyer as he walked down the hall and out the back of the house.
He sucked in air and thrust back his shoulders. Yes, he had to clear his head. And a walk was just the answer.
The two houses sat side by side, almost as connected as the men who lived inside of them were. Brothers, Jack Blackwood and Warrick, who still went by War even years after his life had been nothing but peace. Aaron Condit slowed his horse as the twin manors came into view, and he sighed.
He both dreaded and looked forward to the time he spent with Letty, who was one of his oldest friends.Somehowthey were friends, even after all he’d done to her.
