Page 3 of In the Prince's Bed
Both men blinked, then burst into laughter. After a second, Alec joined them. How odd to laugh over what had been the worst disaster of his young life.
“God, the irony…” Draker choked out. “Your father…I can only imagine—”
Their laughter erupted again, dissolving the earlier tension. By the time their laughs died, the warmth settling between them was almost…brotherly.
“Now that you mention it, thereisa resemblance,” Byrne managed as he brought his amusement under control. “You’ve got Prinny’s eyes.”
“But why are you telling us all this?” Draker asked. “Don’t you care who knows?”
“Believe me, I’ve no desire to spawn more gossip about me and my family. But the truth is, I need your help.”
Just that quickly, the tenuous connection between them was broken.
Byrne eyed him with cool cynicism. “Money. You think to turn to your wealthy ‘brothers’ for funds, is that it?”
Alec tensed. “I do need money, but I don’t want any from either of you.” At Draker’s snort, he rose to face them. “When I discovered my connection to Prinny, I searched for information about his other by-blows. I learned that we’re the only ones who haven’t profited from the connection.” He nodded to Draker. “You’ve been an outcast from society ever since you forcibly evicted the prince and your mother from your estate at Castlemaine.”
Alec turned to Byrne. “And Prinny has callously refused to acknowledge your connection to him. You dine with dukes at your club, but though they call you Bonnie Byrne to your face, they call you Byblow Byrne, the Irish whore’s son, behind your back.”
“Only if they want their tongues cut out,” Byrne snapped.
Alec shrugged off the threat. “And—as you’ve guessed—I’m penniless. The earl spent my mother’s entire fortune.”
In his last days, the old goat had invested in risky ventures that decimated what family monies hadn’t been stolen by his corrupt steward. Thanks to that and the earl’s obsessive—and expensive—pursuit of quack cures for some supposed illness, Alec had inherited an estate in shambles, but no blunt to save it.
“Each of us lacks something. I have no money.” Alec glanced at Byrne. “You have no legitimate name.” He nodded to Draker. “You have no acceptance in society.”
“What does Draker care about society?” Byrne said. “He seems content enough moldering out there at Castlemaine.”
“Ah, but I suspect he sometimes finds his outcast status inconvenient.” Although Draker scowled, Alec noticed he didn’t deny it. “Aren’t you guardian to the daughter your mother bore the viscount? And isn’t she approaching the age to marry? You may not care about your own situation, but I’ll wager you care about hers.”
“All right,” Draker grumbled, “so my sisterhasbeen plaguing me with this maggoty idea about having a season. I’ve told her it won’t work. Who would sponsor her? Besides, after the lies my mother spread about me, Louisa will be treated like a leper formysins.”
“But if you don’t give her a season,” Alec pointed out, “how long before she runs off with the first footman or local idiot who shows her any affection?”
“Is there a point to this?” Draker asked tersely.
Alec cast Byrne a studied glance. “If all she needs is a sponsor and invitations, I’m sure Byrne knows several lords whose…er…indebtedness to him would persuade them and their wives to do as we ask.”
“We?”Byrne queried.
“Yes, we. Thanks to our sire, we’ve been denied the advantages of most normal families—friendship, loyalty, unconditional aid. But that needn’t stop us from success.” Heartened by how intently they listened, he continued. “Each of us possesses something the others need, so I propose that we form an alliance. It would act as a family—wearehalf brothers, after all. Together, we could change our fortunes. We could help each other attain everything we desire.”
Byrne lifted an eyebrow. “Which brings us back to whatyoudesire. But if you think I’ll lend you money because of our mutual connection to Prinny—”
“I don’t want any loans,” Alec retorted. “The earl left me sunk in debt up to my chin as it is.”
“Yet you must wantsomethingfrom us. And since we’re clearly not Prinny’s favorites, you can’t be hoping we’ll get you money from him.”
“Absolutely not,” Alec said firmly. “I doubt he knows I’m his son, and I’d rather keep it that way. Besides, he doesn’t have enough money for what I need.”
Draker’s eyes narrowed. “How much are you talking about?”
“To restore Edenmore to a working estate and the house to a livable condition—” He dragged in a heavy breath. “Roughly seventy-five thousand pounds. Perhaps more.”
At Draker’s low whistle, Byrne said, “You’re damned right—nobody would loan you such a sum. I doubt you could even make it at the tables.”
“If borrowing money will sink me further, gambling would bury me.” Alec set his glass down. “No, I’ve thought about this, and I can find only one solution to my need for funds—marriage to an heiress.”
