Page 83 of The Dreaming Beauty
Chapter 35
It was midday before Marcuscrawled out of bed. Not a single nightmare had touched his sleep. He felt as if he had run to the ends of the earth and slept for ten years. Rising from his bed, he stretched his tight muscles and went to his window. He was a new man now. And everything he had cared for on behalf of Simon was now his to tend to for as long as he lived. There was so much to deal with; he hardly knew where to begin. His mother was at the top of his list. She had stolen his inheritance from him, and no crime so great could be overlooked.
Mr. Baxter came in to help him dress, followed by Simon.
“Are you just getting up?” Simon toed his boot into the Axminster carpet, and there was hesitation in his expression. Behind a strained smile, he tsked his tongue and sat on Marcus’s bed. “I was up hours ago. In fact, I never went back to sleep. Wicked revelation you sprung on us all last night. I am surprised no one fainted with shock. And when I say no one, I mean myself.”
Hesitant as he searched for a tactful way to respond, Marcus took the pitcher on his dressing table, poured water onto his hands, and washed his face and neck. Mr. Baxter handed him a towel, and Marcus dried his face before looking at Simon again.
“I have not quite come to terms with it myself.”
Simon sighed. “I still cannot believe you listened to that old eccentric nurse and rode all the way to Melbourne Meadows and back.”
“Yes, well, I could not be easy about it until I did.”
“Almost every day I am greeted with shocking news. I cannot guess what will be next. Oh wait—I predict your wedding.”
“You mean your wedding? Are you not engaged?” Marcus tugged his shirt over his head.
“Me? It is you she loves, Marcus.”
Marcus accepted the waistcoat Mr. Baxter held for him. “If she said yes to you, she will not change her mind so easily.”
Simon smirked. “You can figure out that our mother has lied to us for twenty plus years, but you cannot see what is right in front of you. And do not deny your own feelings. I have seen this coming on since I returned home.”
Slowly, Marcus’s arms cooperated, and he slid into his waistcoat. He wanted to believe his brother, but in his mind, he saw Tansy searching for Simon before the treasure hunt. He had never heard her compliment anyone in such flowery terms. The way she’d chewed the side of her lip—as if she were anxious to find Simon among the crowd—came to mind.
He frowned. She had chewed her lip when he had interviewed her at Rose Cottage too.
She had been lying then about her revelatory dreams.
Was there a chance Tansy had been trying to play off the hurt he had caused her by hurrying off to Simon? He could hardly believe it, and yet...
“Why do you think she loves me and not you?” He needed Simon to tell him exactly.
“Because she told me. To my face.” Simon’s expression soured. “She rejected me soundly with you as the reason. You have everything now, as you deserve.”
His heart leaped in his chest. She loved him.Him.But his elation was short-lived. How could he truly rejoice when his brother suffered? “Simon...”
“Don’t apologize. You have given me wings. I am finally free of this burden that has dragged down my every breath. There is no reason to keep fighting the fact that I never felt like this was my destiny. My own dreams are finally within my grasp, and I am going to take them and run as far as I can.”
Marcus absently fumbled with his buttons. “And Tansy?”
“Feel no guilt there either. She said I wanted to marry her to drive Mother mad.” He chuckled and crossed his ankles. “She didn’t miss a thing. I wanted what Mother did not want. I have had a few days to think about this, and, Marcus, you and Tansy have been brought together. It’s fate. Go to her.”
Not fate but faith.Faith in something more than he could attain on his own—a happiness he had tried to deny himself. “Do you think she will have me after everything?”
“She will. That woman does not love a man moderately. So take courage, Brother, and hurry and end this misery you have put upon yourself.”
Marcus’s hands slid down the front of his waistcoat, and he took a step toward Simon. “You will always have a home with me. You have been the best brother and friend I could have asked for, blood or not.”
Simon stood and put his arms around Marcus, slapping him on the back. When he pulled away, he kept his arms on Marcus’s shoulders. “I always felt like you were the older brother and not the other way around. I am happy to find I was right. There is no one I would rather have watching out for me.”
Marcus smiled, relief and promise settling in his chest. It was his job now to keep his family together—all of them—and he did not take such a duty lightly.
After Simon left him, Marcus knew what needed to be done. He left his room and made his way to his mother’s chamber. After a knock, he heard her call for him to come in.
She was sitting in a chair, staring out the window. Instead of commanding the room with her presence, she seemed older and almost fragile. He followed her gaze, realizing the view was the same he had just observed from his own room, but he knew her thoughts did not parallel his own.
