David hurried to catch his friend and pulled him to a stop. “Explain yourself.”
“What does it matter?” asked Benjamin with a scowl before turning to head towards the stables.
“Move again, and I shall brain you. Clearly, this is troubling you both, and as you two are my dearest friends, we’re not leaving this spot until you elaborate.”
Tossing his hat down, Benjamin sighed and followed it to the ground. He leaned against a tree whilst his gaze drifted towards the gardens and lawn stretching around Whitley Court. David lowered himself to the grass and waited as they sat in silence for several long moments.
“When I was a child, Katherine was my favorite sister,” said Benjamin. “I adored Prudence as well, but she was more of a mother than a friend. Rosanna and Francis were always too occupied with their own lives to pay close attention to their much younger brother. But Katherine was always so tender with me. She used to sneak into the nursery and read books with me. Then I left for school—”
“And did everything you could not to return home during the breaks,” murmured David with a knowing raise of his brow.
Benjamin raised his brows in return with another sigh. “Wouldn’t you? At school, I was given a view into a wider world and my place within it. If left to my parents’ devices, I would’ve become a spoiled terror, but my dear teachers and headmaster taught me a better way to be. Yet when I returned home, it was too easy to revert to old habits and embrace the role of the pampered princeling. So, I avoided returning until school was over, when I was forced home for good. The one blessing to be found in that dismal prospect was reuniting with my sister…”
Reaching over, Benjamin plucked at the grass and frowned.
“And?” prodded David.
“And rather than the sweet Katherine I remember, she was cold and distant,” said Benjamin, snatching up a handful of blades and tossing them to the wind. “She never speaks, unless it is to spout a biting remark or harp at others—even me.”
Then, straightening, Benjamin met David’s gaze. “I understand why she struggles with Mother and Father. They treat her horribly. But Prudence and Rosanna have both tried to extend a hand of friendship, and she rebuffs them constantly. I’ve seen it countless times. And felt it myself.”
For all that David believed the Archers to be plagued with troubles, the more he came to know the Leighs, the more grateful he was for his family’s foibles. Keeping Father from bankrupting them was trying, to be sure, but David had the skill and acumen to do just that. Exhausting, certainly. But manageable.
And that effort was handsomely rewarded by his mother’s and sisters’ affection. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for them, and David’s heart hummed happily at the knowledge that they felt the same. That he was tasked with so much of the family’s trials and tribulations was merely a byproduct of his ability to manage such things.
Was it any wonder that the Archer ladies suffered from nerves when their futures were inextricably linked to such a careless patriarch? David had control of the business now, but if Father stirred himself, he could easily unseat his son and destroy their finances with little trouble.
The Leighs suffered from many of the same maladies but without the affection. Mr. and Mrs. Leigh pitted their children against each other in such a manner that it was a miracle any of them were on friendly terms. The more David came to know the Leighs in all their wretched glory, the more remarkable Miss Leigh became in his eyes.
And it was time that her brother understood why.
Chapter 23
Rising to his feet, Benjamin brushed off his trousers and turned towards the stables, as though that was the final word in their conversation; David narrowed his eyes but followed nonetheless. Coming up beside his friend, David tucked his hands behind him as they wandered around the house towards the stables.
“Have you ever considered what it was like for your sister to be raised in your family?” asked David.
“It wasn’t easy on any of us,” replied Benjamin with a shrug. “She may not believe our parents’ doting to be a burden, but both Rosanna and I have suffered because of it.”
David opened his mouth, but his friend held up a silencing finger and added, “Believe me, our previous conversation on the subject did not fall on deaf ears, and I have considered how the family treats Katherine. I see your point, and it chills me to see how our parents mistreat her. Even Francis often followed in Mother’s footsteps. However, the rest of us have only ever tried to be her friend, and she is forever sniping at us. I am doing what I can to help her, and she is resentful of it.”
With a neutral grunt that was neither affirmation nor condemnation, David considered just how to explain it. Though he didn’t disagree with Benjamin’s statement—all of the Leigh children had been broken by their parents in various ways—the wounds inflicted had left them with different scars.
“Irene once took in a stray dog that she found wandering a field at the edge of town,” said David. “She didn’t even hesitate to bring the starving beast home and was lucky the animal wasn’t rabid or diseased in some manner. My sister simply saw a struggling creature and insisted on helping it.”
Pausing to consider just how to word it, he felt Benjamin’s attention on him, though the fellow remained silent as David gathered his thoughts. It had taken him a long time to understand this about Miss Leigh, and how did one distill two years of hard-won experience into a few minutes?
“It had clearly been a pet or hunting dog, but we could never discover where the animal had come from—not that Irene would’ve returned the creature to a home where it had clearly been beaten and neglected. She stuffed it full of food, bathed it, and coddled it as best she could.”
David arched a brow as he glanced at his friend. “Or she attempted to. No matter how kind she was, the dog snapped and growled at her. Forever biting the literal hand that fed it.”
Benjamin huffed and added in the tone of one who believed himself wise beyond his years, “And with time and patience, the creature eventually learned to trust Irene—”
“No.” Turning to face his friend, David met his gaze and said, “Despite all her best efforts, the dog ran off some weeks later and disappeared. Irene searched all over for it, but we never discovered where it went. When a creature is so mistreated for so long, it can be impossible for them to trust kindness in any form.”
“Katherine does have a difficult time of it, but it is a bit of a reach to say she is…” But Benjamin stopped as though he couldn’t finish the sentence. His brow scrunched.
“And though you think your other sisters are kind to her, their assistance is always in the way they wish to help—not what Miss Leigh requires.” David pointed himself towards the stables once more as Benjamin shuffled beside him. “I’ve seen Mrs. Tate reach out in friendship, but only to include Miss Leigh in her social circle—something that is extremely uncomfortable for her—rather than attempting to meet Miss Leigh on common ground.”
