by Abigail Agar
“You definitely would have thrown a punch,” Jack concurred with a grin. “I would have beaten you silly for it, but you would have started it.”
Henry laughed and shook his head. “All this time, and how nice I am to you, and you still think you can take me in a fight just because of your military campaign?”
“I could beat you in a fight before I went off to war,” Jack reminded Henry.
Henry corrected, “Because I let you, Little Brother.”
“If that is what you need to tell yourself, Big Brother, then, by all means, keep whispering that tired old lie to yourself,” Jack said in amusement.
With a shrug of his shoulders, Henry let the comment go, and again at that moment, Jack saw how much Henry had changed. A month ago, Henry would have taken that bait. They would probably be fighting right at that moment, but instead, Henry had chosen to let it go. Jack smiled at his brother.
“What are you smiling at, you pig-headed braggart?” Henry asked with a puzzled look.
Jack shrugged. “I am still trying to figure that out, but I think it might be the next Duke of Castleberry.”
“Have I really changed so much that now you are willing to lay a title on my shoulders?” Henry asked the question with much amusement.
Whether or not Henry had changed enough was not really Jack’s call, but then Jack never had been in charge of that. “I think father answered that question when he decided to retire soon,” Jack said.
Henry was quiet for a moment. “They were going to pass me over, did you know that?”
Jack shook his head. “I did not,” Jack said honestly. “I never thought they would even think of doing so.”
“Apparently, Father had decided that you were a better fit for the role,” Henry said. “When I read your journal, I thought that perhaps that had been your goal all along.”
Jack looked at his brother intently. “I never wanted to be a duke. You know that I cannot stand all that pomp and stuffiness. I just wanted to live my life, but I also thought you were determined to try and lose the title,” Jack said with a soft laugh.
“There for a bit, it was my goal of choice,” Henry admitted. “I was frustrated that no matter what I did, I would never be as good as you, Jack.”
Jack nudged Henry. “Well, guess what? You are better than I am now.”
“Yes, but that is my fault,” Henry said quietly.
Jack scoffed, “Please, at least Gwyn is not marrying that blithering sergeant character. They were not right for each other, and she deserves better.”
“Am I better, though?” Henry asked the question and looked at Jack curiously.
Jack put his hand on Henry’s shoulder. “You are better,” Jack said sincerely. “Thank you for trying to get her to see me.”
“I said I would,” Henry said with a shrug of his shoulders.
With a shake of his head, Jack said, “Most men in your situation would not have, and that is why I say thank you. Besides, it was a long shot at best.”
***
Gwyn knocked on her mother’s sitting room. “Enter,” came the woman’s crisp reply.
Inside the sitting room, Gwyn found her father reading a book and her mother working on her embroidery. Her mother looked up at her expectantly. “Gwyn,” her father said enthusiastically. “Look, Clarisse, it is Gwyn come to see us.”
Gwyn smiled at her father. “Hello, Papa. Are you feeling well today?” It was curious to see the man out of the sunroom or his study.
“Oh, yes, I am fine. Clarisse, however, is not feeling as well. She asked me to sit with her. I think it makes her feel better,” Gwyn’s father said as he smiled over at Lady Stanton.
Lady Stanton said softly, “He tried to go out the doors while his maid was otherwise engaged.”
Gwyn said, “Oh, my. Papa, you cannot go wandering off.”
“I was not wandering. Wandering is what a person does when they have no idea where they are going,” Lord Stanton said as if that should be perfectly obvious.
Lady Stanton sighed. “And where were you going?” Lady Stanton asked her husband.
Lord Stanton pursed his lips. He brought his finger up to tap on his lips as he squinted. “Now that you ask, I do not remember,” he said in puzzlement. “Perhaps I was just going for a walk.”
“That could be so,” Gwyn said reasonably. “The garden is lovely to walk in this time of the year. I saw a whole host of butterflies. You should be able to see them out of the sunroom window the next time you visit, but for now, I do think that Mother needs you. She looks rather peaked.”
Lady Stanton gave Gwyn a pointed look, but Gwyn just smiled when Lord Stanton agreed heartily. “She does look a bit pink in the nose.”
“Can we please talk about whatever your errand here is?” Lady Stanton said to her daughter.
Gwyn smiled and agreed with a nod. “Of course,” she said. “It is just that Henry came to speak to me about Jack.”
“What could he possibly have to say about that man?” Lady Stanton asked as she jabbed the needle through the fabric a bit harder than necessary.
Gwyn eyed her mother warily as she said, “He wanted to know if I would meet with Jack for the sake of keeping the family peace. He thought perhaps we could find a way to get along in the meantime to make things easier on everyone.”
“I sincerely hope you refused,” Lady Stanton said scandalized.
Gwyn assured her mother, “I did. Henry understood completely. He just felt it was his duty as the future leader of the family to try and facilitate some sort of truce.”
“Henry is a noble soul, especially with all that his brother visited upon him over the years,” Lady Stanton said with a shake of her head. “However, there is no cause to bring you grief.”
Gwyn said, “He has no intention of bringing me grief, Mother. He agreed wholeheartedly when I refused and promised not to bring it up again.”
“I feel as if there is some latent guilt in there that you wish to unburden,” Lady Stanton said as she eyed her daughter astutely.
Lord Stanton said, “Gwyn always was a softhearted thing. That is a good thing.”
“A good thing that makes her easy prey, and you are no better with all that Jack nonsense all the time,” Lady Stanton said to her husband.
Lord Stanton looked up confused. “Jack is here? Where?”
“Read your book, Ian,” Lady Stanton said. She sighed and waved for Gwyn to continue.
Gwyn cleared her throat. “Actually, you were right about the guilt. I feel horrible. It is as if I have let him down even though he kept telling me that I had not.”
“Do you trust his words?” Lady Stanton asked.
Gwyn thought about that and then nodded. “Sure as the sun rises,” Gwyn said.
“Then do not do him such a disservice by doubting what he says. I am certain that he would not say it if he did not mean it,” Lady Stanton said as she pulled and pushed her needle back up through the fabric. “Henry does not strike me as the kind of man who says things without reason.”
Gwyn could not naysay her mother’s words. They held a ring of truth. She nodded. “You are right. I wish that I was not so weak and that I could face Jack for Henry.”
“It is not weak to know your weakness and to protect yourself. It is just good sense,” Lord Stanton said while his eyes never left his book.
Lady Stanton looked at her husband and then Gwyn. “He is right,” she concurred. “Now do stop beating yourself up and go wash your face. Your eyes are puffy.”
Gwyn frowned and left her parents to their own devices. Their advice was sincere, and she had to believe that both her betrothed and her parents had to have her best interests at heart. Gwyn took a deep breath and resigned herself to just giving Henry time to resolve the situation.
***
There was nothing so hard to do as to wait. Gwyn sighed and sat in the sunroom with her father. She had at least had more time to spend with the man, but the days since the wedding had been long.
There was nothing she could do without risking seeing Jack, and she was not sure she could keep her lady-like disposition if she did so.
Gwyn’s mother came to the sunroom door. “Gwyn, Lydia and I have to discuss a few things today, namely being when we wish to go and address the church. After all, something has to be done about that. Are you going to come with me?”
“What if I see Jack?” Gwyn asked hesitantly.
Lady Stanton drew herself up. “There is always going to be that chance. You will be marrying into that family. Do I want you to be a friend of the man?” Lady Stanton scowled and continued, “No, but the more I think about it, the more I think that perhaps Henry had a good idea. It will be nearly impossible for you two to avoid each other once you are a duchess unless of course, he does go back to the colonies.”
“Do you think it likely that he will?” Gwyn honestly was curious, and her mother had a good head on her shoulders.
Lady Stanton said flatly, “I would not bet the house on it, Gwyn, but there is a chance that Henry can make the man see reason.”
“Yes,” Gwyn said softly. “Alright, I think I shall go with you.” Gwyn stood up and put her hand on her father’s shoulder. “It has been good to sit with you, Papa.” She placed a kiss on the man’s head as he sat enraptured by the butterflies out in the garden.
Gwyn smoothed her dress and went to get her hat and gloves while her mother rang for the men to bring the carriage around. By the time Gwyn was ready, the carriage was waiting out front. A short ride it might have been, but Gwyn did not fancy walking so far in her shoes either. While Gwyn carried her gloves with her, she did not put them on, and she still did not follow her mother’s logic with putting the gloves on.
At Shelton Hall, Gwyn let the carriage driver help her down as her skirt was a bit fluffier than her others, and she had difficulty seeing her feet while stepping down. Lady Stanton waited for Gwyn to be beside her before she knocked. To Gwyn’s surprise, Jack pulled the door open. The man stalled for a moment before he seemed to remember that he should say something. “Lady and Miss Stanton,” Jack said as he stepped back to hold the door open for them. “I will alert my mother to your presence.”
They both watched the man hurry off. Gwyn once again envied her mother’s stone face that rarely seemed moved by anything. As soon as Jack was out of earshot, Lady Stanton brought her fan up to her lips. “The nerve of that man,” she grumbled to Gwyn.
Gwyn nodded. “Why was he answering the door, do you suppose?”
“Oh, probably the doorman out sick again. He has been having some issues with his health lately. I fear if this keeps up that they may have to let him go,” Lady Stanton said as she tugged off her gloves.
Gwyn frowned and said sadly, “That would be horrible. He has worked for them for so long.”
“Everyone has to go sometime, Gwyn,” Lady Stanton said then sighed. “I am sorry. That was a bit callous.”
Gwyn nodded and then laughed. “It was, but it was also true.”
“I think you have been around Henry too much,” Lady Stanton said, but she hid a little smile behind her fan.
Instead of Jack, Henry came back to fetch them. He apologized profusely, “I had no idea that Jack would get the door when you arrived. I was trying to stay close by but had to go attend to something. I fear I have failed you, Gwyn.”
“Not at all,” Gwyn said. “I came to prove to myself that I could face your brother, and I think I did well.”
Lady Stanton said proudly, “You did, indeed. If I had not known better, then I would have said that you had never met him before.”
“I do not know about that, but I think perhaps I could try to get along with him, for you,” Gwyn said to Henry.
The man smiled at her affectionately. “That warms my heart to hear you say that, but I think Jack has all but decided to leave at this point. He is merely waiting for things to resolve with our parents and his inheritance.”
“Do you think he will be disinherited?” Lady Stanton asked.
Gwyn tapped her mother’s arm. “Mother,” she said in a whispered exclamation.
Henry shook his head and said, “I do not know. That is entirely in my parents’ corner of things.” Henry gave Gwyn a smile. “Mother is waiting for us in the sitting room.”
***
Jack leaned against the wall listening to the Stanton ladies and Henry talk around a corner in the hallway. He sighed up at the ceiling. It was difficult not to talk to the woman, but then hearing her talk about him had definitely put a damper on his urge to be near her. Gwyn sincerely seemed taken with his brother, and Jack had heard the relief in Gwyn when Henry mentioned that Jack might leave.
There was very little doubt left in his mind that his place was indeed elsewhere. The house that Jack had grown up in was simply not the same house. The wallpaper was the same, but the lights seemed a bit less warm and inviting. No, this was not his home anymore.
Jack pushed off the wall and went to his father’s study. He found the man sitting much as he always was. “Father, can I talk to you?”
“I was wondering when you would want to,” Lord Shelton said as he gestured to one of the overstuffed chairs in front of his desk.
Jack sat down and said quietly. “What would you say if I told you that I regret coming home from the islands?”
“Do you truly?” Lord Shelton asked as he looked over his cigar at his youngest son.
Jack could consider that question for a long time, but at this moment, he had to answer truthfully. “Yes,” he said with no small amount of guilt. “Henry and Gwyn would be married now instead of trying to sort out things that I caused. I know that offering to help would make things worse. Gwyn had no interest in seeing me. She has made that clear, and I do not wish to jeopardize the trust that Henry and I have managed.”
“It is very good to hear you say such things,” Lord Shelton said with a smile. “You sound a bit more yourself.”
Jack nodded. “I suppose that things have gotten off on the wrong foot, but I do wish to make amends. In that respect, I feel that the best thing to do would be for me to return to the colonies and work for the family there. Maybe when Gwyn and Henry have settled and have children of their own then I can return to Shelton Hall.”
“I know that your mother will not like to hear that, but she will respect your wishes as will I,” Lord Shelton said. “Take some time and think of your decision. Gwyn and Henry will be plenty busy enough to overlook your presence.”
Jack hoped that was true, but even if it was not, there was likely to be few chances for Henry to say much to him about it. Jack nodded, still uncertain that what his father said was absolutely true. He got up and left the room feeling that he had made the best decision that he could for now. As much as he might have liked to, Jack could not take back what he had done.
The sound of voices made Jack pause at the top of the stairs. He stepped back a bit to be out of sight as Henry walked out into the foyer. A moment later, Gwyn’s mother stepped into view along with Jack’s mother. They were talking with smiles on their faces, but Jack cared not for whatever it was they were saying. He could just make out that it was about the church and how Gwyn’s mother would go with Henry and Gwyn.
Finally, Gwyn stepped into view. Jack watched her with a smile. She smiled at Henry, and Jack remembered when that smile used to be for him and him alone. He sighed and turned away so that he did not have to see any more.