Lady X
Damnation! That woman was a thorn in his side. Of course he wanted Tilly out of that infernal group. It made him physically ill to think of any danger she could put herself in. But nothing he’d done so far had made a whit of difference to Tilly. No argument he’d made had been received with anything more than disdain.
And, frankly, he didn’t have time to deal with Lady X and her nonsense.
Impatient to get on with his evening, he gestured for his valet to bring over his writing instrument and jotted down a reply.
Lady X,
Or perhaps I should call you Lady Deerfield. I agree the situation with the Ladies of Virtue is intolerable, but I’ve had no luck on my end. I assure you I find it most bothersome that my wife willingly puts herself into dangerous situations. I welcome any suggestions from you as to how to disband this group. Until then, perhaps there is some other agreement we could come to in order for me to receive the proof you have of my brother Roderick’s murder.
Cordially yours,
Sullivan Chase, Viscount Glenbrook
Perhaps that would shut up the lady. Otherwise, he had much more pressing issues to deal with. Namely his brother.If Sullivan couldn’t prove he was a murderer, at least he could prevent his incompetence from doing any further damage.
Sullivan sighed. This was the right thing to do, but he also knew this would likely put an immovable wedge between him and his wife. Granted, she wasn’t exactly speaking to him at the moment, so perhaps it couldn’t get any worse. Perhaps he should simply give up, let her walk away, since she so obviously didn’t want him.
Twenty minutes later he entered the dining room to find Tilly sitting at the foot of the table, flanked on either side by Thomas and her sister, Melanie. Their respective mothers sat in the other seats leaving the head of the table open for him. He skirted by Tilly’s chair and bent to place a kiss on her cheek.
God, she smelled good. “You look lovely, my dear.”
“Thank you,” she said, her voice tight. Clearly, she was still angry with him.
He paused by his mother’s chair and offered her a kiss on the cheek as well, then he took his seat. He nodded to the footmen to begin serving the meal. The family was relatively quiet during the soup course. His mother spoke softly to Tilly, but Melanie answered for her so often that eventually his mother just stared at her bowl.
“I requested you to dinner to discuss some family matters.” He’d captured their attention now.
Thomas leaned back in his chair, looking bored and irritated.
Melanie glanced in Sullivan’s direction, but her eyes seemed glassy and unfocused.
Tilly had stopped eating, but had yet to look up to meet his gaze.
“As much as I appreciate all of Thomas’s hard work.” Sullivan paused to take a sip of his wine. There was no way he could get through that false compliment without assistance. “I know he stepped in while I was at war, and everything he has done has not gone unnoticed.” Sullivan met his brother’s gaze, quirked a brow, and held up his glass in a silent toast.
Confronting Thomas wouldn’t work. Sullivan knew that. But he also wanted his brother to know that he knew the truth. I know what you did to our brother. I know what you’ve done—or rather haven’t done—with our family’s coffers.
“It is past time for me to take on the responsibilities and duties as viscount. Starting tomorrow, I shall be taking over control of all of the family finances and properties.”
Thomas leaned forward. His lips tilted up in a forced grin. “That won’t be necessary, brother. I know you must be busy with your new bride.”
“Actually, this was my new bride’s idea.”
Tilly released a squeak of a noise and her lips parted. Thomas glanced over at her, a frown weighing his brow, his eyes narrowing.
“She reminded me I should not be taking advantage of your generosity and continue ignoring the duties that actually belong to me,” Sullivan continued. “That is why you spoke to her about all of your burdens, wasn’t it?” The last thing Sullivan wanted to do was to subject Tilly to Thomas’s darker side. So he would simply remind his brother that he was the one who had complained to Tilly about his plight.
Thomas’s jaw tightened.
Sullivan hadn’t risked another glance at his wife. He suspected she would be quite unhappy with him at the moment. No matter, he wasn’t particularly happy with her at the moment, either. She’d lied to him about her reasons for wanting to return home, that much was obvious. Ever since the day at the beach, she’d been distant.
“It is the right thing to do,” Sullivan said, hoping this would end any potential arguments. “Especially since it seems you’ve been rather overwhelmed with the number of duties.”
Thomas scoffed. “What the devil does that mean?”
“You are obviously too busy with other things to see to the needs of our seaside village. The roads there are deplorable. It has made transportation nearly impossible. I’ve already been in communication with someone regarding railroad expansion in the area as well as immediate road repair. The rail from London to Brighton has been running for nearly a decade, and that seaside town has seen an increase in holiday tourists. There’s no reason why Southend-on-Sea could not enjoy the same.”