Yes, he wanted to say.You are right, she deserves better than you, and it is much safer if you never speak to her again, since you cannot be trusted to think and behave reasonably around this woman.
But then Henry’s words came back to him:Emery is what changed you.
The words echoed through his head, and with them came the realization that things didn’t have to stay the way they always had been. Emeryhadchanged him. Even if the two of them were no longer romantically involved, it didn’t change the fact she had influenced him. And he could welcome that influence, rather than staying stubborn in his old ways; ways that had only ever caused pain to everyone around him, including himself.
And as Lucien looked up at his brother, he saw the same pain he was feeling reflected back to him in Henry’s eyes: the pain of heartbreak. Henry, he realized, was trying to do the right thing, but this was coming at a great cost. He was giving up Miss Holloway in order to do the dutiful thing for his family, but he didn’t need to give her up; not when he hadn’t completely lost her yet; not when he hadn’t yet messed everything up as much as Lucien had messed them up.
“No,” Lucien heard himself say, as if from a great distance. “I cannot allow that.”
“What?” Henry’s mouth fell open, and he stared at Lucien as if he had never seen him before. “What are you saying?”
“I cannot allow you to give up the woman you love,” Lucien said, more determined this time, the courage of his conviction beginning to spread throughout his entire body. “You do love this woman, do you not? You haven’t changed your mind about that since last you saw her?”
“Of course I still love her!” Henry nearly shouted. “She is my best friend and the most intelligent, interesting, beautiful, grounding, and capable woman I have ever met. I would do anything for her, Lucien, anything at all. I love her with all my heart.”
“Then you must marry her,” Lucien said, not even fully believing what he was saying as the words left his lips. “I was wrong to say you shouldn’t speak to her again. Not only is it the honorablething for you to marry the girl, but it would be a tragedy if you were to let her go when you love her as much as you profess to.”
“I--I agree!” Henry’s mouth was still agape, and he looked thrown, dizzy even. Lucien didn’t blame him. This was all happening so fast. Lucien had changed his mind in a second, but now he was so determined to make this happen that nothing could sway him.
“I will speak to her father,” he said, standing suddenly, in order to demonstrate his authority on the matter. “And a special license will be procured! To prevent any tomfoolery or scandal between the two of you.”
“A special license?” Henry repeated, dazed. “Yes, I suppose that is best. Although I promise you, the last thing we want is any more scandal or tomfoolery.”
“Good,” Lucien said. “I don’t think it will be too hard to convince the Archbishop. He is a little terrified of me, especially after everything that happened with my wedding to Emery. That took a good deal of coaxing, but I was able to frighten him into it in the end.”
“Are you serious about all this?” Henry was still sitting, but he rose to his feet slowly, looking at Lucien with a very somber expression. “Because if this is just a trick to test me--”
“It’s no trick,” Lucien said at once. “I want this. In fact, I may need this.”
Henry paused, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Because you and Emery are not…?”
“Our relationship is complicated,” Lucien said, in a tone of voice which he hoped told his brother he didn’t wish to discuss it any further. “Suffice it to say that it would make me very happy to see you happily wed.”
Henry nodded. He seemed to think for a moment, and then his expression clouded. “Won’t this be inviting scandal, though? A quick wedding between Miss Holloway and me--her, the best friend of my former fiancé, whom I recently left at the altar? Won’t everyone believe this confirms the rumors that I abandoned Emery at the altar because I was in love with Miss Holloway? Won’t they then also believe you only married Emery out of duty and not because you loved her?”
“Yes,” Lucien said, snorting a little bit at the fact he had to spell this out for his brother. “That is very much what it will imply, and those are exactly the rumors that will spread because of it.” He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He couldn’t believe what he was about to say, but he did anyway. “Still, I find that I cannot sacrifice one sibling’s happiness just to save the reputation of another’s. Anyway, Leah doesn’t seem to need our reputation to be as perfect as I thought she did. She is a hit amongst theton, or so I read in the gossip sheets. Despite the fact she comes from a slightly scandalous family.”
“Why am I not surprised?” Henry asked, shaking his head. “She has always been better than the rest of us combined, hasn’t she?”
“She is a natural, it is true,” Lucien agreed.
For a long moment, the two brothers continued to gazed at each other, a friendly but wary look in each of their eyes.
“So this is really happening?” Henry asked after a moment. “I’m really marrying Miss Holloway in the next few days?”
“Yes,” Lucien said, laughing slightly as the full gravity of it hit him. “We came to London to marry one sibling, but I suppose another one will do.”
“Thank you, Lucien,” Henry said, and he held out his hand. “You are the best older brother for whom I could ever ask.”
Lucien reached out and took Henry’s hand, gripping it tightly before shaking it. “You’re welcome. Now, you better be off to Holloway House and propose to your bride, so that she knows to be ready to be married in a few days' time.”
Henry laughed, dropped his hand, and then turned and walked to the door. When his hand was on the handle, he paused for a moment and turned back to Lucien. “You really have changed, Lucien,” he said, his eyes boring into Lucien’s. “Your wife really did do some good.”
With a dry mouth, Lucien nodded. “I know.”
“Then I think you should listen to your own advice and not put one sibling’s reputation over the happiness of another.”
“What do you--”
