Gabe raised an eyebrow. “True brothers?” he said sarcastically. “When I am—what was it you and your brother called me? The legitimate bastard. And Harry was the illegitimate one. So clever you thought yourselves.”
Nash shook his head. “I was eleven at the time, Gabriel, and Marcus was thirteen, and we were both just repeating what our father called you—foolishly and cruelly, I admit. And I’ve apologized for it before and will do so again, as many times as it’ll take until you forgive me, for I bitterly repent it. If Father had ever seen you, he would have known that you are our true brother.”
“And Harry?”
Nash said carefully. “I will acknowledge him as my illegitimate half brother.”
Gabe snorted. “Big of you. I call him brother and I’ll accept nothing less on his behalf. He’s just as much a victim of my father’s folly as I was. And Harry is the only family I have ever known: Harry, Great-aunt Gert, and since the latter part of my school days, Aunt Gosforth. Harry is my brother, my school friend, my comrade in arms. You and your brother are strangers to me.”
“Don’t say ‘your brother’ like that. Marcus is your brother, too.”
Gabe folded his arms and changed the subject. “You were talking about the crown prince of Zindaria. You’re not handing him over. I won’t allow it.”
Nash sat back with a thoughtful expression. “I won’t give up on you, Gabriel. But, yes, to return to the subject of the crown prince, if the count wishes him ill, I agree, the boy must be protected. But how?”
“Boot the bastard out of England.”
Nash gave Gabe a look that said he could throw the word “bastard” around all he liked, Nash would not react. “Unfortunately the government cannot,” he said. “Zindaria, though small and obscure, is an ally of the Austrians and we cannot afford to provoke an international incident.”
He steepled his fingers and stared at them thoughtfully. “What we need is a complication. Something for the Foreign Office to chew over, to debate, to delay. Delay can be a government’s most useful weapon.”
Gabe snorted. Delay had caused him many a problem in the army. Delay in funding, in provision of supplies. He had no patience with government delay. He looked at Nash. Except perhaps in this case.
Gabe sat forward as an idea came to him. “If the princess was married to an Englishman, would that make a difference?”
“Yes, that would certainly complicate things nicely, but she’s not.”
“She could be. To me.”
Nash stared. “Are you mad? You hardly know her.”
“That doesn’t matter. What matters is that she would not only be married to an Englishman, it would be to an Englishman with excellent family connections. An aunt who is a leader of theton, a brother with an inside track to government decision-making—”
“And another brother who sits in the House of Lords and would make a huge fuss if anyone tried to take his sister-in-law’s son! And besides, you’re a war hero.” Nash sat back in his chair and gave his brother an admiring look. “It’s brilliant. It will answer our purpose admirably—but are you sure you want to do this?”
Gabe nodded. “I’m certain.”
“Beddable little filly, is she?”
Gabe gave his brother a hard stare. “No.” He said the word like a whiplash.
“Not beddable?”
“Not your business,brother.” The violence of his reaction shocked Gabe. The mere thought of his brother regarding Callie as “a beddable filly” had made him want to thrash Nash to a pulp. His brother hadn’t even met her.
Nash gave him a cool look. “Point taken. She will be my sister-in-law, after all. But there will be a deal of talk.”
“I’m counting on it,” Gabe said. “The more people know about the wedding the harder it’ll be to have her son whisked out of the country.”That’s right,Gabe told himself.Keep reminding yourself that it’s all about the child.
Nothing to do with these primitive emotions surging up within him. The moment the idea had occurred to him he wanted it done, wanted her to be his wife. Now, without delay. His wife.
The woman who had sworn repeatedly that she would never marry again.
Nash nodded. “Yes, you’re right. We’ll get it organized at once.”
Gabe frowned as a fairly large hole in the scheme occurred to him.
His brother noticed his expression and said, “You are having second thoughts, aren’t you?”
