Papa was immovable when it came to fairness. It was why his tenants respected him so.
Landry took his leave, and Papa indicated Rhys take a seat on the sofa beside the hearth, which roared with a lively fire. Papa settled into the leather wingback opposite and waited for Rhys to state his business. “Shall I ring for tea?”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Perhaps a finger of whisky?”
“I haven’t touched a drop in over a year.”
Papa’s brow lifted. “Truly?”
The question had been a test, Rhys understood that. “Truly.”
“Jasper mentioned having seen you at White’s.”
Rhys supposed he should’ve expected Jasper to report back to Papa—and Rhys didn’t blame his brother. Jasper would’ve wanted to brace Papa for the possibility—probability—that Rhys had slid back into old wastrel habits. It would’ve been motivated by the need to protect their father, and Rhys couldn’t begrudge Jasper that.
“I’ve stayed the course,” said Rhys.
Papa nodded, and Rhys noted a flash of relief behind his father’s brown eyes.
In a strange way, Papa’s relief hit him harder than his initial wariness had. For years, his third son had been a source of worry—he still was—for this parent who had never been anything other than kind and generous to him.
And what struck through Rhys was shame.
But, perhaps, today could be the first step on a new path forward.
Make your amends.
Tilly’s words echoing through and propelling him, he dug into an interior coat pocket and retrieved the signet ring, which he placed on the low table between him and his father.
Papa’s eyebrows winged together. “Is that?—”
“It’s your ring.”
Papa reached for the ring and slid it onto his pinky. He squeezed his hand into a fist and released, testing its weight and feel.
“Papa,” said Rhys, “I must offer my sincere apology for taking and losing it.”
“You’ve already apologized, Rhys.”
A hard note sounded in Papa’s voice.
A hard note Rhys had spent years earning as he’d done as he liked and apologized later—over and over again.
“Did you earn it back the way you lost it?”
Again that hard note.
But the question was a fair one.
Rhys shook his head. “I didn’t win it back. I had to earn it back.”
“Earn it?”
“With noble deeds.”
Papa considered Rhys for a long moment. “I’m afraid you’ll have to explain.”
