Page 22 of Vanquished by a Viscount (Tales from the Brotherhood #3)
“Not at all,” Charlie said, somehow managing to keep his voice calm and even. “But we both suffer from that unfortunate tendency to make things bigger than they are when we have not slept well.”
A smile twitched at the corner of Gray’s mouth. Charlie was clever indeed to reflect what was very likely the cause of Barbara’s upset back upon himself so that his sister did not feel singled out.
Barbara’s shoulders dropped, but her tears increased. “I do not want to do this any longer, Charlie,” she wept. “This is not what I expected of married life. I no longer wish to be anyone’s wife.”
Robert sucked in a breath. Even Gray was alarmed by the statement.
“Well, now, sweet,” Charlie said, still managing to sound calm and steady, “you know that it is too late for that.”
Barbara wailed and twisted to throw herself against her brother once more.
Gray had never felt so awkward in his life.
Between inadvertently ending up in the middle of his brother’s marital dispute and being caught nearly in the act with a lover he should not have been dallying with in the first place, the entire situation felt as charged as the sky before a lightning storm.
“Have I married a child instead of a woman?” Robert complained, making matters worse. “How am I meant to tolerate this sort of behavior?”
“Robert, really,” Gray scolded him in a whisper. “You are not making this easier for her.”
“I have done nothing other than pointing out the obvious,” Robert sighed.
“Take me away from here, Charlie,” Barbara continued to cry. “Take me back to Downham Manor.”
“Darling, I cannot do that,” Charlie said. He kissed his sister’s forehead, then glanced pleadingly up at Gray.
Gray shoved a hand through his hair, feeling the weight of responsibility lashing at him.
And then an idea struck him.
“Clearly, Barbara cannot leave Hawthorne House,” he said, “but could she not find a night or two of respite in the gamekeeper’s cottage? It has been empty these last six months, since Maxwell took that position at Swanmore Glen?”
Barbara and Charlie both glanced hopefully at Robert.
For a moment, Robert looked as though he wanted to argue. He stared at Gray for a moment, then at Barbara, before meeting Gray’s eyes once more. Gray silently pleaded with him not to be a stubborn arse and to give Barbara the benefit of the doubt.
Finally, Robert sighed, his shoulders dropping, and said, “Perhaps that would be best. I believe we could all do with a few nights of peace to calm our spirits.”
Gray wanted to shout in triumph. Finally, some sense in the madness that surrounded them all.
“Barbara, do you agree?” he asked.
Barbara sniffed, hiccupped, and wiped her streaming eyes and runny nose on Charlie’s shirtsleeve before nodding.
“I agree. I happen to know that the cottage is in order and the linens are clean because Winifred, Patience, Suzanne, Cary, and I took our tea there three days ago so that we could discuss—well, never mind.”
Gray was grateful for the private nature of close friends with gossip to discuss. “Very well, then. Why do you not have Charlie escort you there at once and Robert will send your maid with clothing and other things shortly.”
“I would like that very much,” Barbara said, still sniffing, though she held her chin high.
Gray sent Charlie a look.
Charlie nodded and slipped his arm around Barbara’s shoulders. “Come along, love,” he said. “Show me the way.”
Gray and Robert stayed where they were as Charlie and Barbara walked down the hall. As soon as they had turned the corner and were out of sight, Gray rounded on his brother.
“What truly is the matter?” he asked. “I know Barbara has high spirits, but I have never seen her so beside herself.”
Robert sighed and shifted to sag back against the wall, rubbing his face with both hands. “I should not have married a woman ten years my junior who was coddled by her brother into believing life is nothing but a fairy story.”
“No,” Gray said, shaking his head and crossing his arms. “You will not say that. It is a disservice to the cheerful and exuberant woman you fell in love with.”
With his hands still covering his face, Robert peeked through his fingers at Gray. Then he sighed and let his arms drop to his sides. “You are right,” he said, standing straighter. “Barbara may be na?ve in many ways, but those ways are why I love her.”
“Good,” Gray said with a nod. “That is more like it.”
Robert pushed off from the wall. “Her upset is likely the same thing that it has been for months now,” he said. “Her failure to conceive.”
“ Her failure to conceive?” Gray arched one eyebrow. “Do women create babies entirely on their own?”
Robert clenched his jaw slightly, then said, “Very well, our failure to conceive.”
Satisfied that his brother would not continue to attempt to foist blame for the rift entirely on Barbara’s shoulders, Gray moved to lean against the wall with this brother.
“I know that you are as desperate for children as she is,” he said.
“Are you certain the urgency to begin your family has not put undue pressure on both of you? Pressure that has led to frustration?”
“And what would you know about making babies?” Robert chided him.
Gray was tempted to reply that he knew enough to know that the arseful of seed he was standing there with would never create a baby, but it was not a time for crude jokes.
That reminder that he was not exactly in an appropriate state for a long discussion about procreation with his brother pushed Gray on.
“Barbara is not the only one who likely needs a good, refreshing night’s sleep,” he said, clapping a hand on Robert’s shoulder.
“You both have been under a great deal of strain with this house party. The rain has done nothing to make anyone’s spirits lighter.
Go to bed, allow Barbara to sleep as well, and once the sun is shining again, the two of you will be able to resolve your issues. ”
“If they are resolvable,” Robert said gloomily. He stood straight once more and sent Gray a weary smile. “If things go on the way they are, I might be forced to take your passage to Australia in order to begin a new life.”
Robert thumped Gray’s arm, then retreated down the hall to his bedroom.
Gray was left standing alone, heart suddenly beating faster. He’d completely forgotten about Australia in the intensity of the last few days. His passage was already booked and the voyage was approaching swiftly.
He turned to glance down the hall the way Charlie and Barbara had gone. What would he tell Charlie about Australia?
Not that it mattered. They had an arrangement, yes, but it only lasted as long as the house party. After that, they would go their separate ways once again.
That thought sat awkwardly in Gray’s chest as he turned and headed into his room.
He tried not to think past the next couple of weeks, the next couple of days, as he stripped out of his soiled clothing and bathed using his washbasin and a few tools he’d picked up on the Continent.
Once that was done, he sat in bed, waiting for Charlie’s return.
It was more than an hour later when he heard Charlie’s heavy footsteps in the hall. As soon as he did, he leapt from his bed and dashed to yank open his door before Charlie could retreat all the way into his bedchamber.
Charlie looked startled to see him and paused, face drawn and weary, in his doorway with a questioning look.
“Has Barbara settled comfortably?” Gray asked, though that wasn’t truly the question foremost on his mind.
“She has,” Charlie said with a tired nod. “The gamekeeper’s cottage is surprisingly well-appointed. It is only just on the other side of the garden. I’ve been told it’s visible from the north side of the house.”
“It is,” Gray confirmed. He hesitated for a moment, letting his eyes sweep over Charlie and taking in his full form, before going on with, “I do not know how serious this breach between them is, but I am concerned about it.”
“As am I,” Charlie admitted, leaning against the inside of his doorframe. “Something must be done.”
“Something most certainly must be done,” Gray agreed. “Particularly as I believe the chief complaint between them is that there is no happy news to share with the family yet.”
“And that news will not come about if they are sleeping in separate beds,” Charlie agreed.
Gray had no idea how wise or right the idea that popped into his head was, but he said, “We must do whatever we can to bring the two of them together in the coming days so that they might resolve their differences and get on with things.”
Charlie stood stock still, then blinked, then laughed.
“What?” Gray demanded with a frown. “Why laugh at that?”
Charlie continued laughing for a moment before saying, “Do you suppose Barbara and Robert said the same thing about us?”
Gray felt something tug at his gut. Part of him wanted to laugh along with Charlie, but the rest of him was indignant and bothered…and hopeful at the thought.
“Never mind the two of us,” he said, shaking his head and gesturing as if to sweep the idea away. “It is Robert and Barbara we must think of now.”
“Of course it is,” Charlie said, eyes still flashing with mirth. “And yes, we must do what we can to help them.”
“Good,” Gray said, hesitated, then finished with, “I am glad we are in agreement.”
“We are,” Charlie said, still amused about something. He stepped the rest of the way into his room and began shutting the door. “Good night, Grayson,” he said.
“Good night, Charlie,” Gray said in return before retreating into his own room.
Once he had the door shut, he sagged and blew out a breath as he walked back to his bed. How cold and arrogant did a man have to be to make him feel…to make him feel as though he were a young man of twenty, reveling in his first taste of love again.
He never should have agreed to attend the house party. It was going to change everything.