That seemed to be the predominant opinion, as more heads began to bob up and down in agreement. “She’s lovely,” Fox agreed. He kept moving his head around, trying to catch sight of Creston, because Amir’s head was in the way. “I wonder if she has some manner of flaw that we cannot see?”
“Like what?” Tay asked.
Fox shrugged. “Mayhap she has made it clear that she is immoral or unkind,” he said. “Or mayhap she smells of compost. Who can say? Clearly, we do not know, but Creston sent her away. There has to be a reason.”
“We should not speculate,” Ming Tang, across the table, said. “There could be ten different reasons why Creston sent the young lady away. We’ll only know if he decides to tell us.”
“Here he comes,” Payne spat. “Shut up, all of ye. Dunna let him know we’ve been gossiping like fishwives.”
Tay grinned. “I think he knows.”
“Then speak of something else, quickly,” Payne said. Then he swiftly changed the subject. “Where is Bowen? Why did ye not invite him and the assistant trainers tae sit with us tonight?”
He was looking mostly at Tay, who shrugged. “Bowen may be a fully fledged trainer now, but he still has work to do,” he said. “And the assistant trainers were not invited because this is something just for us, as the senior trainers. We have known Creston the longest. He requires our support at this time and, from experience, I can tell you that it is a very personal time. Marriage always is.”
“Unless you marry a woman with an enormous family,” Sinclair said, snorting. “Elisiana has more kin than I can count on my fingers and toes. There is always someone new she is speaking of. Do you know that she had an aunt who wanted to send her troubled son to live with us? She thought that because I’m a Blackchurch trainer, I could scare the son into submission.”
Laughter rippled around the table just as Creston appeared. Cruz pushed a chair out for him and Creston sat heavily, accepting a cup of wine from Cruz.
“What are you laughing about?” he said. “Tell me so that I may laugh, too, or else I shall tear a few heads off around here before my anger is fully satisfied.”
That gave them all a clue as to how the meeting with his betrothed had gone. Sinclair eyed Tay before answering.
“I was saying that my wife has an unruly cousin whose mother wanted me to frighten into behaving,” he said. Then he cast Creston a long look. “Speaking of wives, we saw your betrothed. She is a beautiful woman.”
Creston took a long drink of his wine before answering. “She is,” he said. “Very beautiful. But her grandfather is a despicable creature. I do not like the man.”
“The earl?” Kristian said. He’d been largely quiet until now. “Was that the old man you were speaking with?”
Creston nodded. “Aye,” he said. “Would you like to hear what that animal has done? I’ve been told that he has been starving my betrothed so that she would appear slim and delicate to me in the hopes that it would make her more attractive. What kind of man does that to a woman?”
There was no more laughter or humor around the table at that point as the group began to understand the reasons behind Creston’s anger.
“Is she well, Cres?” Ming Tang, on his other side, asked with concern. “Will you send for a physic?”
Creston shook his head. “She seems well enough,” he said. “She also seems kind and bright, and has a sense of humor. That is a good thing. Beyond that, I cannot tell you much, only that I have decided to go forward with the marriage.”
Those at the table nodded in approval. “Congratulations,” Tay said. “Lads, we are in the presence of the next Earl of Sidbury. That’s a very proud thing, Creston. You deserve it.”
Cups were raised in salute, and in spite of his anger with de Bulverton—and subsequently his brother, who’d lectured him on his behavior toward the old man—Creston broke out in a weak smile. Being with his friends always grounded him, and he could feel himself calming. As the men around the table broke off into small conversation groups, Ming Tang turned to Creston.
“It seems you are to join the ranks of husbands,” he said, his dark eyes glimmering with warmth. “I am happy for you, truly, if this is what you want.”
Creston leaned back in his chair, cup in hand. “It does not matter what I want, does it?” he said. “It is what my brother has demanded. When he first came to tell me, I will be honest in my reaction—I was resentful. I still am. I have always been the achiever in the family, the ambitious one. I can run circles around my brother, mentally and physically, yet it is he who holds sway over my future. I’ve never quite overcome that bitterness.”
“Made worse when he told you about your betrothal?” Cruz said. On Creston’s right side, he had been listening to the conversation. “I think you’ve only mentioned your brother a few times since I’ve known you. You are not close.”
“Nay, we are not,” Creston said, shaking his head. “But he will remind me every chance he gets thatheis the elder brother.Baron Tottington, a legacy inherited through our mother. She was an heiress. I have a sister, too. Did I ever tell you that?”
“Nay,” Cruz said, looking at him in surprise. “Why have you never told me that?”
Creston shrugged. “Because she was barely seventeen years of age when Royston found her a husband,” he said. “She was absorbed into the House of Summerlin years ago. About twelve years ago, in fact. I was in France at the time and I came home to a sister who had been married for three years already. She had two children and a husband who seemed to be kind to her, but the husband did not want me around, given the fact he was not an ally of the Crown. I’ve not seen Helen in years.”
He seemed somewhat depressed by that. As Cruz knew, Creston wasn’t close to any of his family and never had been.
It was a lonely existence sometimes.
“I’m sure she is well,” Cruz said. “You would have heard otherwise.”
