Page 38 of Vanquished By A Viscount
“Everything changes,” Gray said, his voice slightly softer, though he kept his distance from Charlie and made no move to reach for him. “Often it changes in ways we are not ready for and that we do not like.”
Charlie’s cheeks went hot and he looked away. It was his fault, all of it. He’d hurt Gray, and though the wound had been inflicted years ago, it felt somehow deeper now.
“We must do something about the current state of affairs,” he said, forcing himself to look at Gray once more. “Too much hangs in the balance to allow this rift to continue.”
“Yes,” Gray said slowly. “Your sister’s reputation and my brother’s happiness are at stake.”
“Agreed,” Charlie said, feeling unaccountably breathless. “We know they love each other and that their future is destined to be one of closeness and adoration.”
“They have simply lost their way for the moment,” Gray agreed.
“We must help them find it again,” Charlie said.
“And the only way to do that is to ensure that the two of them are thrown into close proximity as much as possible,” Gray said, eyes suddenly glittering with inspiration.
“We must set them some sort of task or mission that they can only perform together,” Charlie said. “Something that will force them to communicate and work together.”
Gray suddenly burst into laughter. The sound and sight had Charlie trembling with ardor and longing to grab the man’s face so that he could slam his mouth over Gray’s laughing one.
Instead of doing that, he blinked and asked, “What is so amusing?”
Gray’s laughter settled and he shook his head. “Apples do not fall far from trees, it would appear,” he said. When Charlie frowned at him in confusion, he went on with, “We are plotting to reunite our siblings using the same strategy they have been using with us.”
As soon as he understood the joke, Charlie grinned. “We do share the same blood, after all,” he said.
“And one could argue that the strategy works,” Gray said.
As soon as those words were spoken, both Charlie and Gray held still for a moment, gazing at each other. It had worked. Barbara had pushed the two of them together, and regardless of their motivations or the nature of the arrangement, the two of them were not only speaking again, they’d renewed their intimate acquaintance with each other’s bodies as well.
“We might employ the same strategy,” Charlie said, sobering a bit as his vulnerability flashed to the surface, “but ourexecution of it needs to produce more permanent results than theirs.”
“Yes, yes, of course,” Gray said, suddenly quieter and twitchy. “Not like the arrangement between the two of us.”
“No, nothing like that,” Charlie said, his heart beating so hard he thought it might burst through his ribs. “Our agreement is merely practical and temporary. Their attachment should be much more permanent.”
“Precisely,” Gray said. “Not temporary.”
The two of them stood where they were, gazing at each other. Part of Charlie wanted to say things between them should be more permanent as well, but another part of him had no idea if that was what he truly wanted. He might have been in the wrong originally, but Grayson did not have to rush off to the Continent to fling himself at every amorous gentleman or doe-eyed youth who crossed his path.
Still, nothing had been the same in his life without Gray.
“I believe I have an idea,” Gray said at last, breaking the silence.
“Oh?” Charlie leaned slightly toward him, hoping that idea was that the two of them should run away together and live out the rest of their lives as one.
“Yes,” Gray said, stepping away from Charlie and heading toward the door. “And it will fall in line with the suggestion you made earlier of everyone finding ways to entertain each other.”
“I see,” Charlie said, even though he didn’t quite.
“Trust me,” Gray said, glancing back over his shoulder at him with a grin.
Charlie caught his breath. He wanted to trust Gray. He wanted to trust himself, but the prickling feeling that everything might still fall apart haunted him.
Twelve
He had to move. Standing still would only lead Gray to think about the things his heart was telling him. He was desperately afraid that if he stopped to listen for too long, he would do something his head would never forgive him for.
“I know just the thing,” he told Charlie over his shoulder as he walked swiftly down the hall, peeking into the various parlors and rooms they passed in search of Robert or Barbara. “I am certain it will draw Robert out of his gloom, and Barbara might very well enjoy it as well.”
