Page 5 of Loving Mister Stratford
George chuckled. Simon knew his complaints about the lack of spirits was more for show than in truth; George had cut down on his drinking drastically these past few years. Marriage to Meredith had certainly changed him in many ways.
Simon sighed heavily and finally set down his quill, more than a little frustrated that everyone seemed intent upon keeping him from his research. Something he’d discovered only recently was that the sooner he humored the intruder, the sooner they let him be. At the pace he was currently moving, Simon was never going to meet the deadline for the journal.
“To what do I owe this visit, brother?”
“Do try not to seem so put out,” George replied, his lips tilting in his characteristic half-smile as he fingered the silver lion’s head capping his cane.
The ensuing silence, however, was uncharacteristic.Simon eyed his brother, declining to speak first. Finally, George continued.
“I just wanted to get out of the house. The thought of my club was unappealing—almost as much as interacting with Mother and Father.” George made a small, self-deprecating sound.“When I would have normally gone to Jem; he, Lily, and the children are still in Kent. You know how none of them care much for the Season.”
And, with that, Simon was once again the last resort.
He heaved a sigh.
“Meredith is upset,” George admitted;“and I, brother, am helpless.” The words were leaden in the air around them. This was a problem with which Simon suddenly felt overwhelmingly inadequate to handle.“I don’t know how to fix it.” George focused on the garnet eyes set into the lion’s head in his hands.
Even Simon could guess where this conversation was headed and it was infinitely uncomfortable—close as their family might be, this was on a personal level not commonly breached. Society had no such compunctions, however, and Simon was still privy to the whispers and gossip: Three years into marriage and there were no children. The expectations of a first-born, titled, English son were very clear: Live long enough to inherit, marry well, and produce an heir.
Though it would seem from George’s words thatMeredithwas the one who was disappointed in their lack of an heir. Interesting.
Simon very much supported this venture, as it put him one step further away from having to inherit the Aldborough Earldom. The two years of George’s injury and subsequent suffering had been terrifying for Simon in an entirely different way: That time had put him perilously close to having to relinquish his scholarly ambitions and focus on learning how to manage an estate. A rather large one, at that. He wasn’t entirely cold-hearted, of course, he wouldn’t have wanted George to die either. His death, however, would have been the end of George’s suffering and only the beginning of Simon’s.
“Is Meredith displeased with you?” Simon asked innocuously enough, to which George shook his well-groomed, golden head.
“Heartbroken is a more apt description…and I don’t know how to make it better. I want nothing more than to give her everything her heart desires, but there are things clearly outside of my control. Nature is a fickle wench.” Simon examined his brother’s normally bright, mirthful green eyes. George was undeniably weary. He was a man who loved his wife with every fiber of his being and longed to give her the world, and, yet, he couldn’t do the one thing that any man—no matter his rank or wealth—should be able to do. He read all of this in the lines bracketing George’s mouth, the creases at the corners of his eyes. Simon didn’t doubt that this was a particularly painful blow to a man who, even five years later, still struggled with a crippling injury and feelings of inadequacy when compared to his peers.
“I suppose all you can do is be there for her; show her that you won’t abandon her even if she cannot meet your expectations,” Simon told his brother something he thought he’d like to hear were the roles reversed.
George finally met his gaze.“I don’t care if she cannot bear a child, I just want her to be happy.”
“Have you said this?”
“Well, yes—”
“Thoseexactwords?”
George briefly narrowed his eyes at Simon before his lips split into a small smile.“Yet again, your blunt insight is surprisingly helpful.” Seeming placated enough to move onto a less raw topic, George asked what Simon had been up to.“You certainly must have more going on than your books and your papers.”
“I attended the theater two nights ago with Blackwood.”
A twitch of George’s brows told Simon he’d piqued his brother’s interest.“And how was that?”
“The production was interesting enough. Blackwood gained us access to the backstage area with his winning charm.” His lips tilted in a slight smile as he recalled, not for the first time since then, his strange first meeting with Odette.
“Oh? And who, in particular, made this venture so interesting?” George asked coyly, his nuance lost entirely on his brother.
“Just a woman.” Too late, Simon recognized the trap into which he’d stepped. While he wasn’t good at reading social cues, he sometimes forgot that others could still readhim. He clenched his jaw and refused to elaborate; the smug smirk on George’s face irked him deep in the pit of his stomach.
“I’m pleased to see you getting out in the world. I may not have always cared for Blackwood, but perhaps he’s turning into a better influence now that you have both matured some.”
Simon served George a droll stare at his hypocrisy. His brother had certainly been no saint in his youth, though Simon chose not to mention George’s former notoriety for taking a new lover every month or so and leaving a trail of broken hearts in his wake. Hardly what Simon would deem a good influence.
George glanced at the small ornamental clock set above the hearth.
“Is that the time?” George stood with a grunt and steadied himself.“Don’t forget that you need to be at Aldborough House at eight so we can all go together to the Prince Regent’s birthday ball.You know how Mother insists upon us all arriving as a unit.” The ostentatious mid-August event always called upon the best and shiniest of England’s elite to pay homage to Prinny’s ego and flair for opulence and overindulgence. It was still a few months ahead of the official Season, but that didn’t stop the Prince Regent from demanding an early trek to Carlton House. Several of the more far-flung families would no doubt take up their London residences ahead of normal schedule to avoid all the back and forth and the expenses that would incur. Unfortunately for Simon, his family spent a great deal of time in Town, and the weight of the Stratford name and the Aldborough Earldom meant their attendance was no less than mandatory.
Simon silently cursed the further interruption, but promised he would do his best not to become too entrenched in his research and lose track of time…as he tended to do. He turned back to his papers and picked up his quill once more.
