His brother frowned as if not liking the sound of the word and then said in a low voice, “Somewhat.”
“Somewhat like yes? Or somewhat like no?” Jack was pushing him, but he was quickly moving past caring.
“You werebornEnglish,” Ben insisted doggedly.
Jack could have roared his irritation. “Regardless ofwhichcountry I am from, or which country I choose, I wouldliketo believeanyof us would wish to averta war. To me, that is the larger question. Does that not make sense?”
“My government is not concerned about American grievances right now, Jack. We have more pressing issues.”
“More pressing thanwar?”
“We are already at war.”
Now it was Jack who took a step away from his brother. Their conversation was going in circles. Ben would not see reason. He would not help him. Meanwhile, gentlemen had come out of their offices to witness the confrontation. Perhaps one of them would have heard his case and realized the grave concerns at stake.
OrJack might find himself the topic of more articles in the papers on the morrow.
That thought gave him pause.
He struggled with his temper. Creating a scene, especially with his brother, would not help his cause. “Very well,” he said quietly. “But there must be someone who is willing to listen. Someone who has the power to make your government do what is honorable and right.”
“You know who that person is,” Ben said.
Of course, Jack did—Baynton. His twin. There was so much between them. Too much.
“Where is he now?” he asked Ben.
“At the time of the day, he can be a number of places. However, I happen to know that his intention was to go courting.”
“Courting?”
“Yes, Jack, our brother is in the market for a wife. The purpose of the ball last night was to introduce him to eligible young women.”
This information tickled Jack’s interest. “Did he meet anyone he liked?”
“Well, the ball came to an abrupt end,” Ben reminded Jack. “However, I believe he was introduced to someone of interest. Lady Charlene Blanchard,” he said as if needing to share the information. “He is calling on her this afternoon. Elin and I also spent the night at Menheim and when I saw him this morning, he was—well, how to describe it? Afloat. He was cheerfully afloat.”
Jack gave his brother a look of disbelief. “Gavin is never cheerful in the morning, unless the years have worked a miracle in him.”
“They haven’t. He still is not his best in the morning. However,thismorning, he was afloat. I even heard him humming.”
“Ourbrother?”
Ben nodded.
“So what you are saying is that if I want to speak to Baynton right this minute, I need to find this young lady?”
“Well, if you want himrightthis minute,” Ben agreed. “But I wouldn’t. Baynton will not be pleased.”
Jack didn’t care. “I have been complacent, Ben. I have been polite and I have been diplomatic. The time has come to shake the tree a bit, starting with the one man who has the power to help me.”
“Don’t tell Gavin I was the one who gave you the information.”
“You needn’t worry. Our brother will be so annoyed to see me, he won’t ask. Come along, Perkins.”
And with that Jack set out to track down his twin.
Chapter Seven
