Page 147 of He's the One

“This is all your fault,” Theo’s mother snapped at his grandmother. “You were the one who pushed me into this. Your fault and that of Ludo’s father. You schemed to get me married to Ludo after Father lost all our money. And you made sure you did all right in the deal, getting a place to live for the rest of your life. You didn’t care that I was unhappy. And neither did you.” She directed the words at Theo’s father. “All the right is on my side. You moved your lover into the lodge and—”

“And your men—a considerable number of them—have been visitors to this house. There are no longer any rights and wrongs in a divorce. All that matters is an equitable arrangement over finances and I’ll remind you that you signed a prenuptial agreement. I’ll continue to support you and your mother, but you have no entitlement to Asquith or its contents. I suggest you start packing because you will be out of here by five tonight regardless of whether you’ve packed or not.”

Theo knew he was clutching Col too tightly but he felt as if he’d just played a role in some dramatic play. His mother and grandmother left the room without a glance in his direction.

His father closed the door after them, looking exhausted, and yet with a spark in his eyes that Theo had never seen before. “I need to make some calls, then I’ll talk to you. Is this Robert Murray your ex, Col?”

“Yes.”

“Where does he work?”

Col told him and the marquess chuckled. “Unlucky for him.”

His father left and Theo pressed his face into Col’s shoulder. “I can’t believe what’s happened.”

“Nor me.”

Col pulled him over to a couch and they sat down. “This is an amazing room.”

Theo gave a choked laugh. “A whirlwind has turned everything upside down and you’re admiring the room?”

“I was trying to distract you. Tell me about it.”

Theo sighed. “That’s a Turner on the wall. 1799. A Beech Wood. He was obsessed with light. He died of cholera in his seventies. His last words were said to bethe sun is God.I want my last words to be something like—the body is in the East Meadow.Then it would get dug up and they’d find all the treasure.”

“Don’t,” Col whispered.

“My father might have to sell the Turner to pay off my mother.”

“I thought he said the house and contents couldn’t be touched.”

“He’ll have to sell something to pay her alimony. We don’t have much cash and she won’t want to live in a bungalow in Eastbourne. A bungalow anywhere really. Or Eastbourne.”

“What’s that?” Col nodded towards a blue glass shell on the mantelpiece.

“It was a present to my father. Extremely valuable. One of a kind. The artist never made another.”

Col nipped his ear. “You made it?”

“I might have. It was for GCSE art.”

His father came back into the room. “All done.”

Theo stood up. “You knew about Col’s brother? How?”

“Of course I didn’t know. Not until a moment ago.”

Theo put his arms around him and hugged him.

His father hugged him back. “Not had enough of these, have we? I’m sorry.”

The lump in Theo’s throat grew painful.

“I suppose I made that confrontation rather public.” His father gave a quiet chuckle.

Theo let him go. “You need to come all the way out now.”

Col stood up. “You should do it before the narrative’s written for you.”

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