A Brother's Duty

by Kelly Anne Bruce

  It took James a moment but he tore his eyes from the other end of the table. “Yes, it is quite nice. I am sure that she would love to know that you are enjoying yourself, Lady Haltham.”

  The older woman laughed. “I spoke with her earlier and she was so happy that Philip had decided to come home for the house party.”

  “Philip? Well, yes, of course. We were all quite happy to see him home.” James hoped that his true feelings were not evident.

  It would not serve him well to appear irritated at about Philip's return home. More importantly, he liked Lady Agatha Haltham. While she was outspoken, she abhorred the gossips that usually plagued the social gatherings of the Season. He gave her a warm smile. “Mother was quite happy that Philip has returned… home.”

  His eyes strayed back to the other end of the table where Lady Elizabeth was smiling over at Philip. His earlier irritation was nothing compared to the anger he was feeling as he watched Elizabeth and Philip talk quietly.

  The scene before dinner had been playing in his mind. When Lady Elizabeth and her father had entered the drawing room, James had noticed her immediately. It seemed that she had noticed him as well and it was only when his father had ended their conversation to walk over to Philip that James started to wonder if something else was going on.

  Watching Elizabeth being introduced to Philip was one of the most difficult moments of his life. He could not believe his luck. The first lady to catch his attention was already destined to marry his brother. While it tore his heart nearly in two, it seemed fitting given how his life had gone thus far. Anything James had ever wanted, Philip had gotten.

  It was something he had grown accustomed to when he was young but lately, it had been harder and harder to take.

  He stared down at his hands trying to calm himself, getting angry and making a scene would not help him in this situation. He had learned long ago that complaining about Philip only made him look childish and spoiled.

  James had originally thought Philip was just playing along with Father's plan in regards to Lady Elizabeth but he was starting to doubt that. He did not quite believe it, but it was clear that Philip was paying quite a lot of attention to Lady Elizabeth.

  James looked over at Lady Elizabeth as she laughed at something his mother had said. He could not blame his brother for his interest in the young lady. She was quite beautiful and it was clear from her conversation with his parents that she was well spoken and versed in social graces. Those facts did not surprise him at all. Her interest in Philip was the surprising bit. If she was as well-spoken and intelligent as she seemed, how could she not see that Philip was a lazy and irresponsible fop.

  James was only too glad to push away from the table a short time later. Earlier in the day he had been looking forward to the social hour. The time that was to occur after dinner was usually entertaining and quite fun. Now he would be skipping it as she had no desire to see Philip and Elizabeth together anymore that night.

  Chapter Ten

  “Dinner was lovely, was it not?” Lettie asked as they moved into the drawing room.

  Elizabeth glanced back at the large dining room that was emptying quickly. “Yes, the food was quite delicious.”

  Lettie laughed softly. “I was referring to the company, although I have to agree the food was lovely.”

  “Yes, of course,” Elizabeth agreed. “The conversation was enjoyable and not just the civil whiskers.”

  Suddenly, Lettie groaned dramatically. “That is not the company I was speaking about and I think you know that.”

  They had found their own corner of the room where they could talk and Elizabeth turned to face her friend. “Lord Holgrave has been very gracious.”

  “Gracious?” Lettie asked her.

  “Yes, gracious.” Elizabeth chewed on her bottom lip for a moment. “I cannot help but wonder if he is just being polite due to the friendship between his father and mine.”

  Lettie seemed to think for a moment. “That is a question to ponder, for sure. More importantly, though, how do you feel about Lord Holgrave?”

  Elizabeth paused before she answered. It was a tough question. Lord Holgrave was handsome and dressed in the most fashionable style. He was quite cordial and charming, indeed. Even with all of that, Elizabeth felt that there was something not quite right.

  She, herself, could not point to one thing that seemed off and she knew there was no way she could explain it to Lettie. Regardless, whatever it was, she could feel it.

  “Elizabeth, dear,” her father said joining them in the corner. “Dinner seemed to be a smashing success.”

  Elizabeth nodded at her father. “Lettie and I were just remarking on the delightful menu.”

  “And Lord Holgrave?” Her father asked her. “Surely the menu was not the only thing you appreciated in the dining room.”

  “Yes, of course, Father. I quite enjoyed my conversation with Lord Holgrave, as well as with the Duke and Duchess of Castborough.”

  Her father nodded at her with a big smile said, “I am glad to hear that. It seems as though Lord Holgrave is enjoying your company, as well. Or, that is the impression I have gotten.”

  Elizabeth did not know what to say to that so she just looked down. She hoped that if she appeared shy and embarrassed perhaps her father would stop talking about Lord Holgrave.

  Her father looked around the large drawing room and she thought perhaps he was looking for someone. If she were lucky if would be someone that he needed to speak to. “The manor here at Castborough is quite magnificent. The Duchess of Castborough was saying earlier that her favorite time to be here is in winter. She said it is rather beautiful in the snow.”

  “I can imagine it is,” Elizabeth said in agreement. She knew that he was hinting that it could very well be her home one day.

  Her father looked around the room and then suddenly turned back to her. “Well, I shall leave you young people to enjoy your evening. Good night.”

  “Thank you, Father. Good night.” Elizabeth watched him walk away and caught sight of Lord Holgrave heading their way.

  “Lady Elizabeth, I do hope you are enjoying yourself.” Lord Holgrave smiled at her as he casually hooked his arm over the back of a high-back chair.

  “I am, thank you,” Elizabeth said turning to Lettie. “We were just discussing the lovely dinner.”

  Lord Holgrave eyes barely skimmed over Lettie before going back to set on Elizabeth. “Dinner was in my honour, of course. I have not been back to Castborough since the holidays and my mother wanted to celebrate my return.”

  “How very thoughtful of your dear mother,” Elizabeth remarked.

  “Have you been very busy in London, then?” Lettie asked.

  “Oh, yes. I have been quite occupied attending the theater as well as many balls and parties,” he said with a laugh and a wave of his hand.

  It did not escape Elizabeth's attention that Lord Holgrave had answered Lettie's question but still did not deign to look at her. Gritting her teeth at the obvious snub to her friend and cousin she simply said, “London is certainly the center of fashion and social activity.”

  “Do you like the theater?” His question seemed born out of a need to make small talk as opposed to real interest in her likes or dislikes.

  Elizabeth nodded. “I have attended a night or two this Season.”

  “You would like attending the theater with me. I am very well-known and it would serve you well to be seen with me—especially in London. And since I am at the theater so often I would be happy to show you about.”

  “Of course.” Elizabeth was surprised at his words. She, of course, knew he was very active in London's social circles. His demeanor was confusing, though, was she to be impressed that he was well known at the theater?

  He bent into a deep bow. “Philip Repington, Marquess of Holgrave, heir to the Duke of Castborough, Earl of Renwood, Viscount Marling and Baron Laskey, at your service.”

  Elizabeth nearly laughed at his introduction only
managing to cover it up by clearing her throat softly. “Oh my! My throat is so dry. Perhaps some lemonade would help.”

  Lord Holgrave gave her a suddenly disinterested look and waved a hand toward the dining room. “There is lemonade and other refreshments set up in the dining room.”

  “Oh yes,” Elizabeth murmured. “Please excuse us.”

  She had already known about the refreshments in the dining room as they had announced it after dinner. It had been her thought that he would be the gentleman and leave them to retrieve their drinks. She supposed this was better as she would not need to immediately return to speak with him so soon.

  They left the drawing room to cross the hall to the dining room when Elizabeth was suddenly face-to-face with Lord James Repington.

  “Oh, my! Pardon me,” Elizabeth said taking a step back. She still remembered his look of disappointment when introduced to her before dinner.

  Lord James nodded to each of them. “No, not at all. It was I that was not watching where I was going.”

  “We were going to the dining room for refreshments,” Lettie told him.

  “Oh? May I get you something?” Lord James offered, smiling at Lettie before looking back to Elizabeth.

  To Elizabeth’s horror, she felt her cheeks grow red. “Thank you, but no. I shall like to see what has been set up in the dining room.” She only wanted to get away from him, inexplicably jealous that he had smiled at Lettie while continuing to nearly scowl at her.

  “Then, I will bid you a good night.” Lord James gave them each a small bow before he turned to continue down the hall.

  Elizabeth and Lettie entered the empty dining room. The long table was filled with small cakes and biscuits as well as large pitchers of lemonade and fruit punch.

  Lettie pulled her to the far side of the table. “Now that we are alone I must ask you, were you surprised that Lord Holgrave was not the man from the garden yesterday?”

  “It was a little bit of a surprise, yes,” Elizabeth admitted to her friend. She pointed to one of the trays. “I think I shall have one of these small cakes. What do you think?”

  Elizabeth was hoping to distract Lettie. As she was not ready to admit that she was still thinking about Lord James or that he had hurt her feelings so much.

  Chapter Eleven

  The sun was barely shining over the horizon when James stepped into the stable. He had not slept well the night before and thought a vigorous ride would help get his day sorted out properly. Although he knew it would not heal his bitterness it would be a good distraction.

  It had been just over a week since the house party had started and he could no longer bear to watch Philip court Elizabeth. The night before he had seen Philip whisper something into Elizabeth’s ear and wanted nothing more than to rip his brother’s head off. The thought of Elizabeth in his brother's arms was making him miserable. While he could not change it, he would be damned if he was going to stand around and watch it happen.

  “You are up a bit early, are you not?” Matthew was saddling up his horse.

  “I could not sleep,” James told him crossing the stables to pull his saddle from where it was kept. “What brings you out so early?”

  “Me? I am here at this time most mornings. Jensen used to insist that I get him up so that he could saddle my horse but I do not mind the routine of it so early in the morning. It gives me time to ruminate.”

  James nodded. He too appreciated the peaceful moments of a repeated activity in order to let his mind settle. He looked up at his younger brother suddenly. “I pray I am not interrupting your morning routine. I could wait until later if that suits you better.”

  “No, not at all. I welcome the company this morning perhaps some conversation will do us both some good.” Matthew smiled and tilted his head as if about to inquire about his bother’s well-being.

  “Perhaps,” James replied quickly although he was not feeling very conversational at the moment.

  They continued in silence until their horses were both saddled. They were mounted and riding away from the stable by the time Matthew spoke. “I was going to ride out towards the river if that is agreeable with you.”

  “Yes,” James answered. “Anywhere is fine, as long as it gets me away from the house.”

  Matthew glanced over at him. “Are you not enjoying the house party?”

  Determined not to discuss his issues regarding their older brother, he simply said, “The house party has been quite enjoyable. It is Father's not-so-subtle interference that has gotten under my skin.”

  “Ah, yes. That.” Matthew said as they rode towards the trees.

  They rode on in silence for a moment and James was surprised when Matthew suddenly said, “I am a little concerned about Lady Elizabeth.”

  “Lady Elizabeth, why?” James asked.

  “I know that it is not my place to say anything but I fear that Philip is not as devoted as he would have people think.” Matthew kept his eyes forward but James could see that there was true concern on his face.

  “I have not been a confidante of Philip's in recent times, so I am unsure of his true intentions. Is there a specific reason that you would doubt him?”

  Matthew finally looked over at James. “Yes, I overheard him talking with Lord Fallbrooke the other night. They were talking about returning to London soon and when Lord Fallbrooke mentioned Lady Elizabeth Philip laughed. I did not hear what he said after but it is my assumption that it was not favorable.”

  It was not surprising to hear from Philip but since it was regarding Lady Elizabeth James was infuriated by his brother's callousness. Remembering that Matthew was still waiting for his counsel James finally said, “I do not know what our brother is doing. Father has made it clear he expects him to settle down soon and we can only stand by and watch to see what path Philip chooses. It is unfortunate that Lady Elizabeth may be caught in the middle of it. It is my hope that Philip will be responsible for once.”

  It had been difficult for him to say but he truly did not want Elizabeth to be hurt. He had seen enough of his father and the Earl of Southwick talking to know that the match was favored by the old friends. The courtship between Philip and Lady Elizabeth had been foisted upon them both.

  Matthew nodded. “I think I shall keep an eye on Philip, if for nothing than for Lady Elizabeth’s sake.”

  “I think that is wise,” James agreed.

  They came into a clearing and heard shouting not far away. Without speaking both Matthew and James turned their horses toward the noise. A moment later they rode up to see Philip and Lord Fallbrooke on their horses attempting to jump over hedges and the small creek.

  Before either Matthew or James could call out to them Philip was riding swiftly towards the hedge. As his horse left the ground James watched as Philip failed to lean forward. Philip was thrown back off the saddle and disappeared behind the hedge. Lord Fallbrooke was already riding away and did not notice his fallen friend.

  “I will catch his horse! You go check on Philip!” Matthew called out before riding after the spooked horse.

  Philip was a damn fool. It would serve him right if he broke his bloody neck.

  James rode toward where Philip had fallen easily jumping the creek to get to him. By the time James had slid off his horse Lord Fallbrooke had come back to find Philip and join James as he rushed towards him.

  Philip sat up slowly looking around confused. “What happened?”

  “You fell off your bloody horse,” Lord Fallbrooke told him in a loud, slurred voice.

  “I fell off?” Philip fell back to the ground laughing hysterically. Fallbrooke falling to the ground next to him.

  James groaned. They were both drunk. He had no idea how long they had been out riding in the dark. Quietly James took the reins to Fallbrooke's horse and led it away.

  Matthew rode up a moment later with Philip's horse. James took the reins from him. “You stay with them and make sure they do not hurt themselves. They are both well into their cups. I
will send the wagon back to get them.”

  On his way back to the stable James recalled his first thought at seeing Philip fall. It was appalling to him that he had truly hoped that his brother been injured severely. He was so very tired of filling in or fixing mistakes that Philip had made. James had been putting it off because he felt that his father needed him at Castborough but the time had come.

  It was time for him to leave Castborough and make a life of his own. Perhaps he would go back to university to finish his law studies. He would not disrupt his mother's house party but he would leave Surrey as soon as he could.

  Chapter Twelve

  “It is a very lucky thing that you did not break your neck when you fell off that horse, Holgrave,” the Earl of Southwick was saying when James walked into the library.

  James winced and turned quickly to leave. The last thing he wanted was to relive the incident.

  “I am quite lucky. I owe my life to my brother, James. Is that not right?”

  James turned to see his brother and Lord Southwick smiling at him. “I would not say that, at all. You were quite all right after the fall.”

  “My brother, so modest,” Philip smirked at him.

  “I did not mean to interrupt I was just leaving.” James turned to leave but Lord Southwick stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

  “I was just talking to your brother about his plans for the rest of the Season,” Southwick gave James a knowing look.

  “Oh, I am sure my brother has plenty planned.” James smiled when Philip glared at him from over the Earl's shoulder. “Philip is quite popular in London. He gets invited to the most exclusive balls and parties. He’s busy every single night.”

  Southwick laughed, a deep rumbling sound. “Yes, I am quite sure of that. Perhaps as his brother, you can persuade him to make some plans that will affect his future and not just this Season.”

  James tilted his head to look at Philip. “I do not think that I have much control over the Marquess of Holgrave, but I will be happy to be his counsel if he so desires.”