“I thought that would be better than a cold arse?—”
“He is none of those things, brother. He may seem cold, but that is not who he is. Not really. Besides, it is not like he has had a particularly easy time of things.”
“Who has? That doesn’t excuse bad behaviour.”
“The same could be said of you brother,” Lydia pointed out. “Whatever else you may think of him, the Duke is my husband. And he is a good man.”
“If you say so.” Landon tugged at his collar. “He did try to shoot me though.”
“You tried to shoot him as well—I’d say you’re even.”
At that moment, a servant entered with snacks and coffee. Landon’s eyes widened as he took the cup from her. “Goodness, if I’d known you were living such a high life, I wouldn’t have worried about you marrying the Duke.”
“You’ll want to put some milk in that. Archer insists that it is an abomination to put three sugars in it, but it’s the only thing that makes it taste decent.” She smiled fondly and caught sight of her brother looking at her, hastily tucking away a strand of hair.
“Archer? You seem rather familiar.” Her brother gave her a knowing smile.
“I could hardly keep calling him Your Grace.” She made a dismissive gesture as she helped herself to a scone. “Now, tell me what has been going on with you?”
“Oh, nothing really. A little of this, a little of that.” He made a vague gesture with his hand.
“You’re staying out of trouble I hope?” Lydia asked, watching as her brother ate another scone. “You’re looking rather skinny, brother. Are you eating enough?”
“Lydia, you needn’t fuss over me. I am capable of looking after myself you know.” He shook his head and sighed, the irritation replaced by his easy smile. “If you keep on nagging me, I’ll have to demote you from my favorite sister.”
“I’m your only sister,” Lydia laughed and crossed her arms. “You can hardly demote me, Land.”
He shrugged. “Regardless, I am fine.”
A door slammed shut, and her brother jumped, upsetting his coffee cup and spilling it over himself and the carpet. “Damn. Damn. Damn and Bother. I’m sorry Lydia.”
“It’s fine, Land. Most of it has gone on you, and that will be easy enough to clean.” She waved a hand. “But why are you so jumpy anyway? I haven’t seen you this on edge since you broke father’s favourite desk lamp. Oh God, you haven’t broken something else?”
“Not exactly.” Spots of colour appeared on his cheeks, and he rubbed his neck.
“What have you done?” Lydia tensed.
“Now before I tell you, you have to promise not to get angry.” He gave her the same look he had given her so many times, right before he told her something that would make her incandescent with rage.
“Land, you know full well that if you are making me promise that, I am going to be angry with you.” She shook her head. “Now tell me what is wrong.”
Landon looked like a fish out of water, spluttering and huffing like he should be offended. Lydia stood her ground and stared him down. That was all it took for Landon to slump forward in defeat.
He murmured begrudgingly. “Fine, but really Lydia, it’s almost funny.”
“Somehow I doubt that.” She folded her arms across her chest.
He swallowed. “You remember how I told you that it was not just the Duke I owed money? Well, since you have gotten married, people seem to think that his wealth is my wealth. And of course, I’ve tried to tell them that it’s not the case, but well… you know how people are.”
“No, Land. I don’t.”
“They are demanding I pay them what I owe.” He sagged even further. “Actually, they are demanding I pay them what I owe with interest. And if I don’t, they… Well, suffice to say what they have said they will do to me is not fit to be shared in polite company. Or impolite company for that matter.”
“I should have known this visit was a façade. Of course, you wanted something from me.” Lydia shook her head.It was too much to hope that he would actually wanted to see me.
“Now, that is not true,” Landon said with a desperate look in his eye. “I was trying to keep you out of it, to not come to you with this at all, but you were the one who asked?—”
“Because you are more skittish than a startled deer!” Lydia shook her head. “Honestly, I’m fed-up, Land; I have half a mind not to help you.”
