Page 62 of The Duelist for the Ton
“I wouldn’t gothatfar.”
He let out a laugh and patted her cheek. She flinched, and a flicker of pain shone in his eyes.
“You think I’d strike you back?” he said. “No matter how badly you behave, I’d never hurt you, Portia. I only act out of wanting what’s best for you.” He smiled. “I almost envy the man who wins you—he may be beset with many trials, but boredom won’t be one of them. If this soldier fellow is the one you’ve set your cap at, then I’ll not object. Ought I to speak to him?”
Portia shook her head. “The last thing I want is you interfering.”
“He’ll feel the end of my sword if he does anything to dishonor you.”
“He’s done nothing to dishonor me, Adam. I don’t even know if he likes me, at least enough to—”
She broke off, her cheeks warming at the direction of her thoughts.
“I suppose there’s worse men to be had,” Adam said. “He keeps himself to himself. I can’t recall ever seeing him at White’s.”
“That’s something to recommend him, is it not?”
“I find it hard to trust a man incapable of holding his liquor.”
“But you don’t go to White’s merely to drink brandy, do you?” she said. “You go to escape the tyranny of female company and boast about your conquests to your fellow men.”
He let out a laugh. “Surely you wouldn’t deny me sanctuary from the rest of the world?”
“I would deny you nothing, brother, as long as you do not bring others, or yourself, to harm.”
“Then we are of one mind, sister, for that is what I desire for you.”
She turned to the dressing mirror and began brushing her hair.
“Perhaps I should give you some respite from your overbearing old brother,” he said, an undercurrent of sadness in his voice. “Please assure your maid—”
“Nerissa.”
“Yes, Nerissa. Please assure her that her position is safe.” He glanced at the notes in her hand. “Would you like me to pass that to Dr. McIver?”
“Really?”
He nodded. “Yes, really. If you wish to help the hospital, then I’ve no wish to stop you.”
She opened her mouth to respond, and he held up his hand.
“I shan’t waver in my resolve to forbid you from visiting the hospital at night, but I’ll not object to your visiting in the day, provided you take a footman with you. I’m sure James would oblige.”
“You mean Charles?”
“James, Charles—it’s all the same to me.”
“I daresay it is.”
“Very well,” he said. “Will you be joining me for supper later, or retiring?”
“Are you not visiting Mrs. Scarlet tonight?”
“I prefer the company of my sister.”
“Is that because you can bully me, whereas Mrs. Scarlet is free to leave if she tires of you?”
“No, Portia,” he said. “Mrs. Scarlet, and her like, will always return when I open my purse. But as for my beloved sister, when you leave, you will never return. Which is as it should be. A wife has a duty to her husband as a sister has to her brother. But it is the brother who must yield in the end, and I therefore wish to enjoy the time we have left before you are no longer in my life. As you must defer to your husband, so must I.”
