Julius nearly choked in shock. Abbott? A scoundrel? The young man was far more upstanding and honorable than any to be found in high society. The Abbotts were precious gems of whom he was becoming quite fond. Last evening had been an aberration on the other heir’s part. An incident brought about by Abbott’s lack of carnal relations, if Julius’s inquiries were anything to judge by. Imagine a healthy young man at Abbott’s age abstaining from women! It was bound to end as poorly as it had done.
“Abbott is a good man. He offered for Miss Smythe, did he not?”
Lord Snarling’s visage displayed his mistrust. He and Julius were the same height, but while Julius was long and lean, his father had a solid build with no signs of surplus. Lord Snarling was the epitome of tailored elegance, the cut of his garb displaying his form to perfection. It could not be more evident that Julius took after his mother, with his lean face and form, while his father was renowned for his handsome square features.
The one thing they did share was the wheat hair.
Or some of it.
Julius tugged on the short brown locks behind his ear. Lord Snarling followed the self-conscious gesture, so Julius smirked and turned it into a condescending rub to accompany the roll of his eyes.
Never display weakness.
A lesson learned from the man gazing at him with a humorless disdain. From a time when his father had still bothered to teach lessons. It was an age since Lord Snarling had made time for his family, and Julius had many years of practice in hiding his true thoughts. A matter of pride to protect himself from the harsh realities of existence.
“I fail to comprehend what you were doing there. You have persisted in your pursuit of unsuitable females, so why attend a ball with marriageable young women?”
Julius thought about his fears for Brendan Ridley, and the danger that the baron and his wife were in. He would never admit anything so personal to Lord Snarling. His father, who had abandoned his family to their solitary fates so he could do his duty to the realm? What of his duty to their household? These thoughts raised the anger that was his constant companion. Anger for what had been, but was no more because Lord Snarling was far too occupied for such trivial issues as love and family loyalty. It was why Julius appreciated his allies as he did. Brendan was a friend he could rely on who had earned his loyalty, and Julius would stand by his friends until the end at any cost. His companions were the true riches of the world.
“I was bored.” Julius shrugged with pretended nonchalance.
Lord Snarling tensed his jaw, staring at Julius for several moments.
“You are willfully irresponsible,” the earl finally stated in a beleaguered tone.
“And you are sufficiently priggish for both of us,” Julius responded in a modulated voice that belied the fury burning in his breast.
“Do you take anything seriously?”
“Do you ever flex a smile?”
Lord Snarling’s face firmed with disapproval, and Julius saw the words exiting his lips before his father could consider their content. “Your mother would be ashamed of whom you have become.”
Julius had made his father react with genuine emotion.Huzza!
Then the words filtered through his defenses, and Julius comprehended just what his father had declared. Straightening up, Julius fired back with indignant force, dumbfounded that his father had dared to bring Lady Stirling into his withering criticism.
“My motherisashamed of whomyouhave become!”
The earl scowled, turning away to stare at the empty hearth. Julius’s mother smiled down from her position above the mantel. More beautiful than any woman could hope to be. More lifelike than a Da Vinci or Michelangelo. Gone but not forgotten.
They had reached yet another impasse in which neither father nor son would budge a fraction of an inch.
His father had broached the unspoken subject. All the rage Julius carried compelled him to respond. The effort to restrain his thoughts was too exhausting to bear any longer.
“When was the last time you spoke with your daughter? I have not seen Penelope since I left for my Grand Tour six years ago! She is a debutante who just enjoyed her come-out in Paris. What of your wife? My mother? When did you last exchange words with her? And Pierce remains at Oxford, or visits with his friends over the breaks, because there is no one to come home to. I had to attend a house party to even spend any time with my own brother.”
Lord Snarling had his back turned, but Julius could swear he saw his father flinch with infinitesimal tension. Bravo, it was well deserved. Lady Stirling was a magnificent countess who lit every room she entered with her grace and charm. Since she waswed to Lord Snarling, then his mother must be considered Lady Smiling. Friend to all. His beloved parent. Whom Julius had not seen since before his Grand Tour because she had departed to visit her brother, a diplomat with the British Embassy in France, prior to his return.
Even her good humor had reached its limit after years of neglect from her husband, who had been increasingly busy with important dealings. Too busy to spend time with his nearest and dearest. So it was hardly a surprise that Lady Smiling had left for Paris. And when the time had come for her to return … she had simply remained in France along with his little sister.
Julius could not blame her. He liked to think she was enjoying herself in the city ofbonhomieacross the Channel after years of miserable attrition in London. His mother deserved to be happy, even if Julius missed her so much it made his heart ache to think of his fractured family. It was why he never wanted to marry. Julius refused to mature into the grave husk his father had become, or to be trapped in a debilitating marriage with a partner who ignored him. This place had been a home filled with laughter and joyful faces once. It was why he slept at his clubs or Aunty Gertrude’s with increasing frequency—it was too depressing to return home and reflect on better times. He would not allow his soul to freeze into icy oblivion as Lord Snarling had done.
“You know not of what you speak.” His father had found his tongue.
“I know you had a wife and family who loved you, but you discarded the true wealth you possessed in service to the state. All those diplomatic missions, all those deals negotiated behind closed doors on behalf of others—was it worth it? You have lost your closest. Instead of collecting your wife and daughter from Paris—apologizing for your selfish neglect—you have allowed usto grow apart in the name of duty! What of your duty to us? We were a family once.”
Lord Snarling failed to reply, still facing the fireplace. Julius was shocked at his own temerity in raising these forbidden subjects. He had never allowed his true thoughts to be aired before, but it was cathartic to express the rage buried deep within. “What are we now? The answer is simple—weare nothing. There is no we.”
