“I don’t recall anything off about him,” Benedict continued.
Darrius got up and paced to the window to stare outside. “My brother has been acting oddly for a couple of months, but I assumed it was the reality of the marriage sinking in. I…I hoped it was him coming to terms with it, perhaps even looking forward to it. After all, he is incredibly lucky in his choice.”
Benedict lifted his brows. There was a lilt of longing to Darrius’s tone when he said that. And he understood it. Vanessa Gardner was a beauty, inside and out. It was impossible not to be drawn to her, body and spirit. Except he hadn’t felt Arthur’s draw to her in that way.
“Was that the same sense you got last night?” Benedict pushed.
Darrius faced him, bright blue gaze meeting his and holding there. “The last two days he’s seemed more and more strange. And last night, after you three had gone and we were saying out goodnights, he…he shook my hand for far too long. And I’m realizing he said goodbye, not good night.”
Benedict caught his breath. “Fuck,” he whispered.
“Yes.” Darrius pressed his full lips together. “But perhaps I am assuming the worst.”
Darrius hadn’t named what the worst was, but Benedict knew it. He nodded. “We shall have to hope so. Come, I’ll help you look for him.”
“No!” Darrius’s voice was sharp, and Benedict stared at him even more closely.
“Are you doing this right now?” Benedict asked softly. “When there is an emergency? You’d let your personal feelings for me…or lack thereof…keep you from receiving the help you need from a person you know you can trust?”
Darrius’s gaze flitted over him and then he sighed. “Fine. Yes. I would appreciate your help, Norfolk. Benedict.”
Benedict sucked in a breath. Darrius hadn’t called him by his first name for years. Now it felt like it mattered.
There was a knock at the door and both men jumped a little. Darrius looked past him as the butler, Turner, stepped into the study. “I apologize for intruding, gentlemen. Mr. Warwick, his lordship’s valet found this note for you in the viscount’s chamber a few moments ago.”
He held out a missive, messily folded. Benedict sucked in a breath as he briefly saw the hand in which Darrius’s name had been written. It was definitely from Arthur. His heart sank and his stomach turned.
“Thank you, Turner,” Darrius said, his voice rough as he took the note. “Please be at the ready. I fear you will be needed a great deal today.”
The butler looked concerned, but said nothing as he exited the room and quietly closed the door behind him. Darrius held up the note and shook his head. “This cannot be good.”
“Read it,” Benedict said, wishing he could reach out and squeeze Darrius’s arm but knowing he would pull away if he did. “And we will face whatever comes next together.”
Darrius gave a soft intake of breath and then he unfolded the note and read it. His frown turned farther and farther down as the seconds ticked by and the color left his face. Finally he lifted his gaze.
“He left,” he explained, tucking the note away in his pocket without letting Benedict read it. “He ran off. And he wasn’t alone.”
Benedict shut his eyes and tried to meter his response. “With who?”
“With Vanessa—Miss Gardner’s maid,” Darrius said.
Benedict recoiled at that statement and the rush of realization of all the pain and disruption it would cause. Dear God, but Arthur had stepped in it. How could he be so idiotic when he had such a woman like Vanessa waiting to be his bride?
Vanessa. Benedict couldn’t help but think of her as he’d left her a short time before. She was so beautiful and so light. He’d watched her in the six months since Arthur had announced his intention to wed her. In truth, he’d had almost as difficult time turning his gaze from her as he sometimes had turning it away from Darrius. So he felt desire for two people he couldn’t have.
Darrius walked across the room back to his brother’s desk and rested his hands on the top. He leaned over, his shoulders curled, his face stormy. Benedict restrained himself and stayed where he was, waiting for whatever Darrius would say next.
“Bloody hell, he is a fool,” he breathed, and then slammed his hands against the desk. “A selfish, fucking fool.”
Benedict didn’t argue. “We must tell Miss Gardner,” he said softly.
Darrius looked up at him and there was something in his expression that collapsed a little. “Yes. I know. Will you…will you come with me to do it?”
“Of course,” Benedict said without hesitation. He sighed. “We can make it easier for her. She doesn’t deserve this pain.”
“No,” Darrius said, his voice rough. “She doesn’t. Come then. We shouldn’t wait a moment more. She deserves to hear this news as soon as possible.”
Benedict stared at this man, who had five times the decency and honor that his brother did. And cared about even more deeply, though his future with him was as dark and unreachable as Vanessa’s future now was with Arthur. He had no idea how to untangle it all.
