“I can handle brothers,” William said haughtily.
“Not these two. They are protective of their sister and they will know of your real intent in pursuing her.”
William uncrossed his arms and leaned back. “Regardless, she is by far the prettiest of all the debutantes this Season and she is the richest, making her the obvious choice.”
Harred couldn’t quite believe the audacity of his brother. William had no business in pursuing anyone, much less Lady Octavia, when his actions were so dishonorable.
“If you truly want a wife, you should stop your association with other women and at least attempt to be faithful,” Harred advised. “That would be the honorable thing to do.”
William looked at him as if he hadn’t even considered this possibility. “Why would I do such a thing? I am not you,” he said.
“Perhaps you should at least try not to be so despicable?”
It was evident that Harred’s words fell on deaf ears by William’s next comment. “Now, I just have to get Lady Octavia alone to press my suit,” he mused. “Will you help me with that?”
Harred stiffened. Why would his brother think he would go along with this madcap plan? He would never stoop so low as to help his brother trick a woman into marriage.
“I will do no such thing,” he declared. “Lady Octavia is an innocent and she deserves more than a loveless marriage to you.”
William’s disappointment showed on his face. “I said nothing about ‘loveless.’ I could grow to love her, assuming she won’t take issue with me having a discretion or two.”
“You are an idiot.”
“I know why you aren’t helping me,” William started. “You don’t want me to be richer than you. You want me to fail.”
“That is ludicrous and not the least bit true.” Why did his brother always make it about himself? It was vexing to say the least.
William scoffed. “It is true. You have always been jealous of me.”
Harred’s eyebrows shot up. “Jealous of you?” he repeated. “What am I jealous of, Brother? Your drunken behavior, your disreputable intentions with women or how you spend more time at a gambling hall than your own home?”
“I am free to live my life as I see fit and you are trapped.”
With a shake of his head, Harred said, “I am not trapped.”
“You are and you don’t even see it,” William remarked. “You spend all your time reviewing your accounts and you make time for little else.”
Harred stared at his brother in disbelief. How did he think their accounts were paid? It was because he worked hard to ensure their estate had success. He didn’t have time to shirk his responsibilities like his brother did.
In an incredulous tone, Harred asked, “Good gads, are you daft? If I didn’t work constantly, how do you think we would survive? Regardless, it is far better than what you do, which is nothing.”
William narrowed his eyes as the coach came to a stop in front of Lady Henwick’s townhouse. He opened his mouth to no doubt say something intolerably stupid but closed it when a footman held the door open.
“We will continue this conversation later,” William grumbled.
“I can hardly wait,” Harred muttered.
In a swift motion, William departed from the coach and cut the line of guests that were waiting to go inside.
Harred couldn’t quite believe the audacity of his brother. The rules of polite Society never seemed to apply to William. He was entirely too entitled for his own good.
As he waited his turn to enter the townhouse, he remembered why he detested social events so much. People. There were far too many people here for his liking. He could only imagine how crowded the ballroom was.
But he was here for one purpose- to dance with LadyOctavia. He looked forward to the short time that he would be able to spend with her and to hold her in his arms.
It wasn’t long before he stepped into the ballroom and groaned at the large crowd that was assembled. The dancing had already commenced but he didn’t see Lady Octavia on the dance floor.
He wondered where she was. His eyes roamed over the large, rectangular hall until they landed on the object of his desire. Octavia’s dark hair was piled high atop her head and two long curls framed her face. She was wearing an alluring blue gown and a strand of pearls hung low around her neck.
