Sure enough, as he thundered down the steps, there was his half-brother, standing in the foyer with his hands in his pockets, peering around at the new furnishings, expression unreadable behind the scars.
Max skidded to a stop awkwardly, uncertain how to respond to the other man’s presence in his new home. But his half-brother finally nodded as he looked up at the ceiling joists.
“Congratulations, Max. The house looks sound.”
“Thanks.” Max jerked his head toward the seating area. “Can I get you anything? I’m sure I can figure out how to get the hob to work for tea.”
Leonidas’s lips twitched as he glanced over at Max. “Ye need a housekeeper. Surely ye could hire one of the various Mrs. Oliphants who are hanging about?”
“Theredoseem to be plenty of them.”
Max followed his brother into the living room. “I dinnae need tea,” the older man announced, still peering at the empty walls. “I just wanted to see yer new home. Hope ye dinnae mind me visiting?”
“Not at all.” Max sank into one of the chairs and realized he meant it. “Seriously, Leonidas, stop by whenever, I’d be glad for the company. And…” He shrugged, dropping his gaze to his brother’s shoulder. “It would be nice to get to know you.”
His brother hummed and sent him a glance from where he stood by the hearth. “Call me Lyon.” An awkward silence, until he cleared his throat. “Makes sense ye might be lonely. Until ye find someone to share the place with. She might mind yer hideous brother hauntingyerhome too.”
Max’s chest constricted. Not because Lyon had given him permission to use his nickname, not because he’d referred to himself ashideous…but because he’d called himself Max’s brother.
This sibling of his was the most mysterious, and the fact he’d just welcomed Max…well, it made this place feel even more like home.
Perhaps he’d been staring at his brother a little too long, because Lyon cleared his throat and shifted his weight.
“I’m here because Athena showed up and badgered me about what happened today.”
“What happened today?” Max’s brows rose, uncertain he understood.
Lyon moved to study the workmanship of the carvings around the mantel. “To hear her tell it, Lysander rode hell for leather to Newfincy to complain about his visit to the inn.”
Oh. “The tea?” Max clarified.
Without glancing over, Lyon made a sound which might’ve been a snort. “Oh, our brother hadplentyto say about the tea, and the actions of a certain young lady.”
“Yeah, he was disappointed by how…self-centered Tiffany was.”
“Cruel, heartless, shallow, vain, was how Lysander described her to Athena.” Lyon straightened. “She thinks he’s overreacting, but they have a plan, apparently.”
Max shrugged. “I don’t think Tiffany was that bad, but I don’t know her that well. I suspect she was just…excited about meeting Lysander.”
His brother was studying him. “Aye, well, Tiffany Oliphant and the lesson she needs to learn is Lysander’s problem. I didnae come to talk about her, but aboutye.”
“Me?” Max shifted in his seat. “What about me?”
Lyon’s glance took in the room, the empty walls, the air of anticipation the house carried. “Athena saidLysandersaid that ye’ve been looking for a lass, and ye found her. But he described the way ye looked as ye chased after the serving lass.”
“She’s not a serving lass,” Max growled, only to then realized what he said. Flushing, he dropped his gaze to his lap. “Ember’s more than that.”
His brother hummed, then crossed to the other chair. “Tell me.”
“I don’t…” Hell, how was he supposed to explain it to Lyon, when he didn’t understand it himself? “It’s complicated.”
Lyon wasn’t as dapper as Lysander, nor as likable as Phineas; in fact, his scars pulled his expression into a permanent scowl, and he didn’t seem to mind the hostile air it gave him. He seemed fine holding everyone at arms’ length, although Max’s siblings had told him their oldest brother hadn’t always been like that.
But one thing Max could say about him: when Lyon looked at you, you stayed looked at. The older man’s hazel eyes werepenetrating, and that gaze made Max shift guiltily in his seat, wanting to fill up the silencesomehow.
Now, Lyon hummed and crossed one booted ankle over the opposite knee and nodded expectantly. “I dinnae mind complicated. Start explaining. When did ye meet this lass?”
It was a little surprising that this brother of his, this recluse, theBeast of the Oliphants, was so interested in his life. So interested inMax. The fact that he cared enough to barge in here and ask questions meant that Max would tell him anything he wanted to know, any time.
