“We were.” Henry pressed his palms into the rug at his sides. It seemed appropriate that he was having this conversation seated on the floor. He couldn’t go much lower unless he sunk into the floorboards.
“For how long?”
Henry huffed out a close approximation to a chuckle. “A week?”Not nearly long enough.
When he met Victor’s gaze, the familiar silver eyes had narrowed. “You…” He shook his head. “I assumed it had been going on for much longer. When you showed up before she married Ashby…”
Henry tensed and his stomach roiled as he remembered that day, sleet slipping down the back of his overcoat as he waited outside her home for the first light of dawn. How he convinced the unwitting footman to allow him entry and summoned all the courage he possessed to face the marquess, begging for a chance, a single opportunity to prove what he could mean tohis Eleanor.
The rejection did not come as much of a surprise. Henry sat in the square outside her home for the rest of the day until the sleet turned to rain. He watched the family carriage depart, presumably with Ellie inside.She must have been a beautiful bride. He stayed there, drenched to the bone, cold past the point of having the energy to shiver, until darkness descended.
“No,” he choked out. “She was never unfaithful to Ashby.”
“Of course not. I wouldn’t expect that of her.”
Henry lifted an eyebrow. “But you expect it of me?”
One side of Victor’s mouth lifted in a sneer. “How could I expect less?”
The two men sat in silence for a moment, contemplating each other. “How is she?” Henry whispered, unsure if the words crossed the dozen feet to Victor’s ears.
The man pursed his lips before responding. “Eleanor has never been one for excesses of emotions.”
Henry barked a laugh. “Really? Is that what you think of her?” He ran a hand over his face and shook his head. “You’ve never seen her for who she is.”
Victor stiffened. “I was away at school by the time she was out of leading strings.”
“That’s not an excuse,” Henry shot back. “She’s your sister, and she needed you.” Now Henry had the right to glare. “Did you know who Ashby was when she married him?”
Victor scratched his chin and looked at his shoes. “I had heard rumors about his previous wives, of course. Everyone had.”
The air was heavy between them, their guilt hanging thick. “You should have stopped it.” Henry’s words were so low they were barely audible.
“I couldn’t have stopped it. My father was set on it.” Victor’s cheeks flushed. “And besides, Eleanor is strong. She didn’t need anyone to save her.”
“Ellie is the strongest person I’ve ever known,” Henry growled. “She doesn’tneedanyone, but she stilldeservesto have someone care for her.”
“Youare not that person, Morley.” Victor’s glare was so akin to Ellie’s it made Henry’s heart ache. “Is it true your fiancée just ended your betrothal because you were unfaithful?”
Henry dropped his head and nodded.
“So you cheated on your fiancée, and now—” Henry looked up to see Victor’s eyes wide with horror. “My sister? You cheated on your fiancée with mysister?”
“It wasn’t like that.” Henry pushed himself onto the sofa, as far as his trembling legs would carry him. He refused to allow anyone, even her brother, to sully what he and Ellie shared. “There was nothing lurid about what happened between us.”
Victor shot to his feet, resuming his pacing. “I can’t believe it,” he said, shaking his head. “After all this time…” He stopped and scowled at Henry. “So, what are your intentions now?”
“Intentions?” Henry scoffed. “Now you’re concerned about Ellie’s well-being?”
Victor lunged at him and grabbed the wilted lapels of Henry’s jacket, yanking him to his feet. “That’s my sister you’re talking about!”
“And she’s the woman I love!” The room swelled with their heavy breaths alongside the echoes of how they had failed her so mightily. “I’m a selfish bastard, and I don’t think I can continue on without her.”
Victor released Henry’s jacket and paced away before turning back. “You don’t deserve her, but neither do I.”
In his thirty years on the earth, Henry had wanted no one to know the doubts he harbored, the fears and insecurities plaguing him. Never once had he asked for help.
But he had loved no one the way he loved Ellie.
