Page 81 of In Want of a Wife
“I don’t need another lecture. I thought I was doing you a kindness. A kindness is when?—”
“Listen, you utter cad.” Henry dropped his head in his hand and sighed. “I have been put in an impossible position. I am not your father, yet I constantly have to guide you as if I am. You dislike me. It is very clear, so don’t waste your breath denying it. And I don’t doubt you had good intentions in finding me a wife, you often do, because your fatal flaw is that you have a very large heart that wishes to chase away all the heartache in this world. I am not so unfeeling as to realize that. And yes, I did marry.
“I met Matilda in London last autumn, and when I visited the Duke of Maitland’s home for the Christmas holiday, we had an opportunity to reconnect.” He held up his hand. “No, I am not finished. Just because you don’t wish to live your life any longer doesn’t mean I need you to manage mine. I am quite happy, no matter what you believe. And frankly, your opinion doesn’t hold any significance where my happiness is concerned.”
Rafe clenched his fists and lowered his head. He hadn’t traveled from Cumbria in a carriage for the past week and been robbed by highwaymen to be lectured. Admittedly, yes, he had been lost recently, but why should that count against him?
“I went home,” he confessed instead.
“You went home? With Miss Abrams?”
“No, I made her stay in the carriage. Yes, with Miss Abrams. Ma and Mari are in good spirits, and the house in good shape. I repaired a leak in the roof before we left. And I needed to retrieve Grandmother’s ring.”
Henry pinched his brow. “Rafe, I know you have men’s lives who depend upon you and your judgment, but what I don’t understand is why you insist on speaking to me as if I’m the enemy.”
“Stop!” Rafe closed his eyes before spinning around to face his brother. “You might mean well, but I cannot bring back Father, and no matter how you wish it, I will never be him, and you will never be me.”
“What do you mean?”
“You have resented me since I was sent off to be Captain Ackerman’s apprentice. Mother made that decision, and I went without question because I was a boy. And you’ve hated me ever since.”
“Then it’s time for you to accept that you made a mistake.”
He had, and being told otherwise stung. Henry would never understand how deeply Rafe regretted that afternoon with Mari. And now he must face what awaited Lily.
A soft knock rapped at the door, then Matilda poked her head inside. “I’ve rung for tea.”
“In a minute, sweet. We are almost finished.”
“Hmm, very well.” She glanced between the brothers, then peeked around the office as if she were looking to remove anything that could be used as a weapon. “Please don’t destroy the library. We only sorted it yesterday.”
The door clicked shut.
“Rafe, I don’t wish to lecture you, and honestly, I am tired of it. But I don’t know what to do anymore, either. You have ruined Miss Abrams, and something tells me you do not plan on marrying her.”
“I didn’t know you were married!” Rafe threw back his head and roared. It might have looked ridiculous, but it was likely more suitable than swiping at his brother’s smug face.
“You were never around much?—”
“Please, Henry. You act as if I left for days at a time. I spent my mornings down the lane looking in on the Chapmans, and then I would assist a few of the tenants rebuilding stone walls or repairing their wells. That is how I spent my days on this godforsaken island.”
Henry tugged on his jacket, lifting his long thin nose. “That is news to me.”
They were at an impasse. Henry would never see Rafe as anything other than an annoying little brother, and Rafe would never see Henry as anything other than a smug arse who preferred law books.
Well, he had.
Now he had a wife.
Fancy that.
Henry married.
Rafe began laughing. It started at his toes, curled up his body, and erupted from his throat until tears formed in his eyes.
“I don’t see how any of this is funny.”
“You are married.” He struggled to catch his breath, then doubled over, his hands clasping his knees. “You are married.”
