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T he following morning, Harrington sent a note over to Castle Bernard asking if he might call upon the Duke of Trevissick that afternoon. He received a response not from Trevissick but from Lord Bandon, indicating that the duke was willing to speak with him.

And so, after he finished his daily drill with the King’s German Legion, Harrington headed over to the castle.

Lord Bandon received him warmly and ushered him into the library, where Trevissick was waiting.

The earl was extremely gracious, settling them both in leather wingchairs before the fire and pouring them each a glass of his best whiskey before clasping his hands.

“I’ll leave you to it, then.” He exited the room, shutting the door behind him with a click.

Harrington had tossed and turned for most of the night, rehearsing what he was going to say. “Well.”

“Well,” the duke replied, his voice cold.

Harrington ignored his tone. This was Diana’s brother, the most important man in her life, excepting him. He doubted they would ever be friends. But he was determined to be cordial for Diana’s sake.

He took a sip of his drink and set it on the side table. “I want to start by offering you an apology. My conduct toward you when we were at school was inexcusable.”

The duke rolled his eyes. “And now that you’re married to my sister, you expect me to let bygones be bygones. All you need do is speak two little words, and we’ll be the best of chums.”

“No,” Harrington said quickly. “I don’t expect you to forgive me. I’m not sure that I would, if I were in your shoes, and frankly, I can’t argue that I deserve it. But I do think we should reach some sort of understanding, for Diana’s sake.”

The duke arched a haughty eyebrow. “What sort of understanding?”

“A détente, if you will. It will only cause her distress if we’re at one another’s throats. And causing her distress is the last thing I would ever want to do.”

Trevissick regarded him with a wrinkled nose, as if he found it distasteful that Harrington had made a good point. “Fine,” he muttered, turning to glower at the fire.

Harrington listened to the crackle of peat burning in the grate. After a moment, he said, “So. Going forward, how would you like me to?—”

“Why did you do it?” The duke stiffened, looking surprised that the words had slipped from his lips.

It would be an awkward conversation, but Harrington wasn’t going to avoid it. “I was jealous.”

Trevissick cast him a withering look. “Because I was rich, and the heir to a dukedom, and it never occurred to you that I might have problems of my own?”

“No,” Harrington said quickly. “I suppose the last part was true. You were bloody good at hiding the fact that anything was wrong at home. Not that I gave it any thought. I was twelve years old. I wasn’t what you would call introspective.”

The duke narrowed his eyes. “Then why?”

Harrington forced himself to look at Trevissick steadily as he said, “Because you were friends with Edward.”

The duke blinked. It occurred to Harrington that this was the first time he had just looked at him, not sneered, or glared, or glowered. “You remained close to your brother. It’s not as if I displaced you.”

“That’s true,” Harrington acknowledged. “But you were the one he chose. I’m just the idiot he was stuck with through some accident of birth.”

The duke was back to scowling. “You will not convince me that Fauconbridge ever said as much.”

“Of course not. Edward would never do something like that.” He sipped from his drink, then set it aside.

“But some of the other boys did, and it bothered me more than I could admit at the time. It was only years after the fact that I came to understand the real reason I mocked you so relentlessly. Because I was jealous and searching for a way to take you down a peg. To demonstrate that you weren’t better than me, in spite of what everybody said. ”

He paused to see if Trevissick would say something. He merely sat, studying Harrington through narrowed eyes.

Harrington cleared his throat. “I apologize. Unreservedly. It was poorly done of me all around, and I deeply regret it. However…”

The duke arched a supercilious eyebrow. “However?”

“I want to make it clear that I will never absent myself from Diana’s life for the sake of sparing you discomfort.” He leaned forward, looking the duke square in the eyes. “So long as she wants me around, that’s where I’m going to be.”

The duke’s only response was a grunt.

Placing his hands on his knees, Harrington stood.

The conversation had not been a roaring success, but it had probably gone about as well as could be expected.

“Diana and I would like to invite you to dinner tonight.” This was part of the plan they had discussed.

Although the cottage wasn’t what you would call fancy, hopefully showing the duke that it was clean and respectable would help him resign himself to his sister’s new life.

Trevissick sighed heavily. “Fine.”

Harrington inclined his head. “I’ll see you in an hour, then.”