“And miss another meeting with the lovely Lady Priscilla?I think not.”
“You’re scaring her.You’d scare me too but…”
“We’re related.”
“Precisely.”
“And I’m not scaring her.I’m confusing her with my impertinence.There’s a difference.”
“Impertinence has always been one of your favorite tactics.”
“It worked exceptionally well with our father.”
It had.Their father had been a tyrant.No wonder Eugene bothered Wyatt so much.The new Earl of Purlington and the last Viscount Ware had been remarkably similar.Where Wyatt had battled that tyranny by becoming increasingly controlled, Ralph had fought fire with defiant fire.“Do you still hate him?”
“I’ve already punched out most of my anger in the ring.”Ralph answered.
“That’s good.”
“Now I mostly worry that you haven’t done the same.Not yet.”
Wyatt grimaced.That was part of the reason he’d begun to stalk the night.He knew what it was like to helplessly face an aggressor.
Only Ralph had defended him and he’d taken countless beatings on Wyatt’s behalf as children.A fact that Wyatt still hated.
“Should I just tell her you’re my bastard brother?”
“We don’t usually share such information.Not even the staff knows.”Upon his father’s death, Wyatt had replaced the most of the staff, people who hadn’t witnessed their ugly childhood.Most of the servants had been loyal to their father.Ralph said it was another example of how he preferred to keep everyone at a distance.But Wyatt had wanted to give Ralph a clean slate.A chance to be whatever he wished.The fact that he’d chosen to be caregiver to Wyatt still surprised him.
“She’ll be my wife.”
Ralph smiled.“That she will and I think you should tell her if you see fit.You know I think you should share far more than you do.It’s not good for you to hold everything in.”
“I’m not holding it in.I’m punching it out, nightly.It’s why you agreed to teach me to fight, remember?”
Ralph made a face.“I thought you’d let go a bit more.You fight like you live.With icy detachment.Masked and hidden.”
It was an old argument.One that Wyatt had no appetite for today, but he was spared replying as the Purlington carriage came into view.Rather than step forward, he moved back into the doorway, the small alcove meant to protect entering customers from inclement weather, the perfect spot to hide.Best not to give any gossiping servants fodder to return to the earl.
Ralph remained on the sidewalk, lighting a cheroot.He need not hide as he looked like a servant waiting for his master outside the shop.
But as the footman handed out the ladies and then returned to his seat as the carriage pulled away, Ralph stepped forward with a quick bow.“Lady Priscilla, Lady Purlington.”
“Mr.Fitzroy,” Priscilla returned.“Good to see you again.”
“And you,” he returned.Just as Wyatt stepped out, Ralph reached into his pocket and handed Priscilla a card.“If you ever need to contact me.”
“Ralph,” he bit out, stepping up to Priscilla’s side, giving his brother a quizzical glance.
But Ralph only winked.“I promised you last night, remember?”
Wyatt’s brows drew together.Promised him what?Then he remembered.If Eugene stepped out of line, Ralph had promised to pummel the earl himself.And for Eugene, that would surely be a grave mistake.
Priscilla slid the card into her reticule, her mother’s brows so high they disappeared under the rim of her sun hat.
Priscilla looked between the two men, her confusion evident as she cocked her head to the side.“Shall we step inside?”
He held out his elbow, her hand settling into the crook of his arm, causing another riot of his senses with her light touch.
