Harred was a smart enough man to know when his brother was attempting to dismiss him, but he had no intentionof backing down. “I will not be dismissed,” he stated. “This has gone on for long enough and I am putting you on an allowance.”
William visibly tensed. “I beg your pardon?” he asked in a curt tone.
“There should be no confusion since I spoke plainly enough.”
“You wish to give me pin money, then?” William shoved back his chair and jumped up. “Will you give me enough to buy a nice hat or some ribbons?”
Harred wasn’t the least bit deterred by his brother’s sharp tone and proceeded with his next words. “It will be a generous allowance, given the circumstances.”
“And, pray tell, what are those circumstances?”
“You have wasted your inheritance on your mistresses and gambling,” he explained. “Now you are wasting my money and I will not condone your behavior.”
William’s brows shot up. “How dare you!” he shouted. “You think you can stand there and judge me, but you know nothing about what I have been through.”
Harred wanted to laugh at the irony of his brother’s statement, knowing William had no one else to blame for his actions but himself. William always tried to shift blame to others. It had been this way since they were young.
Taking a step closer to his brother, Harred asked, “What, exactly, have you been through that isn’t of your own making? You have made one poor decision after another and now you are attempting to defend your actions to me.”
William brought a hand up to his forehead and winced. “If I didn’t have such a splitting headache right now, I would challenge you to a duel for what you just said.”
“A duel?” Harred asked. “Do be serious. You can hardly stand up straight, much less hold a pistol.”
“When will you accept that I will never be you? I will never be the perfect brother,” William spat out.
“I am not asking you to be perfect, but I do think it is time that you find a way to produce an income.”
“An income? Surely you are not serious,” William huffed. “Father was richer than Hades. Why should I have to work? That is beneath me.”
Harred didn’t think he had ever met a more entitled person than his brother. But he had made that blasted promise to his father and he intended to honor it. “I could use your help managing the country estate. I would pay you a fair wage.”
William’s jaw dropped and he looked stupefied. “You wish for me to work for you?” he asked. “What’s next? Should I bring you your port in the evening, my lord?”
With a glance at the footmen that were standing guard, Harred said, “You are being utterly ridiculous. If you take some time, you will realize that I am offering you a perfectly respectable form of employment.”
“I don’t want to think about it. The answer is no,” William stated before he started to storm off.
Harred called out after him. “If you don’t take this opportunity, then I want you to move out of my townhouse.”
William came to an abrupt stop. “’Your townhouse’?” He spun back around. “No, this was our parents’ townhouse. You have no right to kick me out of it.”
“I have every right, and you know it,” Harred said, standing his ground. He had no intention of letting William use their parents’ memory to try to win this argument. They weren’t here. Not anymore. And it was his job to continue on their legacy.
William narrowed his eyes at him. “You would do that to your own brother?”
Harred gave him a look that he only hoped conveyed compassion. “I don’t want to, but you can’t keep going on as you have. If you do, you will bankrupt both of us,” he said,attempting to reason with his brother. “I can’t stand by and let that happen.”
William didn’t look swayed by his explanation. Why should he? He was living the life that he wanted, without any of the consequences of his actions. His brother came and went when he wanted, giving little heed for anyone but himself.
That ended now.
“I’m sorry, but this is how it will be now,” Harred continued. “It is time that you step up and be the person that you were meant to be.”
William put his hands out wide. “There is nothing wrong with the way that I am living. You are just jealous of me; you always have been.”
“You are just spouting nonsense.”
“It all makes sense now to me,” William declared. “You aren’t happy in your boring, pathetic life and you want to be more like me.”
