“Well, what are we going to do?” Royal said.
“First, I’m going to talk to Kade, and then I’m going to Glasgow to take it up with the headmaster,” Nick said. He would also both deal with Corbin and speak to Lord Kincannon about his disgusting whelp of a son.
“No, you won’t,” Braden said, settling his spectacles firmly on his nose.
Royal scoffed. “Why not?”
“Because I’ve already taken care of it,” Braden replied. “As soon as Kade told me, I went to speak to the headmaster. I insisted that Kincannon’s son be punished, and that Corbin be removed from his position.”
“I’m sure he jumped right on that, didn’t he?” Royal asked with heavy sarcasm.
“He did, actually. Richard was sent down and Mr. Corbin was let go without a recommendation.”
Nick let out a disbelieving laugh. “How did you manage that?” While it was true that Braden had more brains than the rest of them put together and was mature for his age, he was still young and fairly unworldly.
“I threatened him with you, Nick,” he said. “I told him that you would make it your mission to shut the school down and ruin the reputation of everyone who worked there.”
“And he believed you?”
Braden gave him a puzzled smile. “Of course. In fact, I thought the poor man was going to have a nervous collapse on the spot.”
Royal let out a short, harsh laugh. “Clearly, he’s heard of Lord Arnprior’s fearsome reputation.”
“Yes, and it terrified him,” Braden said with a satisfied little smile.
Nick winced as he shot a look at Miss Knight. The last thing he wanted to do was scare the girl off with exaggerated stories of his stern nature. She, however, didn’t seem the least bit perturbed by Braden’s characterization. In fact, her smile suggested she approved of his brother’s tactics.
“Well done, lad,” Royal said. “We’ll turn you into a Highland warrior yet.”
Braden’s shoulders came down from around his ears, and he gave a tentative smile. “Lord, I hope not.”
“Royal is correct,” Nick said. “You did well. But I will be calling on the headmaster the next time I’m in Glasgow. I will also be paying a visit to Lord Kincannon and speak to him about his son.” He paused, grimacing. “And I must talk to Kade about this incident as well. He shouldn’t be hiding things from me.”
He hated that the lad had kept such a terrible secret from him.
“You can’t,” Braden said decisively.
“But—”
“No. You’ll humiliate him even more. You know how much he looks up to you. He’s afraid you’ll think less of him.”
“I never would,” Nick protested.
“Of course you wouldn’t,” Braden said. “But he doesn’t want to talk about it now. It’s best to let it be until he’s ready to raise it with you himself.”
“When did you become so smart?” Royal said with a wry snort.
Braden rolled his eyes. “I’ve always been smart. Smarter than the rest of you, certainly.”
“I think you will make a very fine doctor,” Miss Knight said warmly.
At least there was one member of the family she approved of.
Nick sighed. “All right, I’ll be guided by you for now. But we’ve got to do something to help Kade. We can’t act like this didn’t happen.”
“But we are doing something,” Braden said in a patient voice, as if Nick was a bit slow. “We’re hiring Miss Knight to be his tutor.”
The governess blinked, her expression going from thoughtful to wary. “But I’m not a tutor. Wouldn’t Kade be better served by a man with the appropriate experience in this sort of situation?”
