The memory of her beautiful face and the hundreds of letters they’d exchanged since he left had sometimes been all that had gotten him through the days of alternating boredom and terror. Though he’d hardly known her when they’d parted, those letters had been something to hold on to, proof that she loved him and had waited for him just as she’d said she would.
Sometimes, he still couldn’t believe how lucky he was. He’d planned to come home on leave as often as he could and grow their relationship, marrying her after a year or two and taking her with him, but he’d been sent to the Crimea instead. Months had turned into years. He knew she’d probably had dozens of other, perhaps better, offers, but she’d stuck with him, against all odds.
If he hadn’t been exhausted by the long journey, he would have insisted his brother’s driver take him to the Weatherby home first, but he’d resisted the temptation, determined to be at his best when he saw her. Because when he did... he planned to ask her to marry him.
A small smile tipped his lips at the thought, and then it spread when the house came into view, a huge, sprawling thing made of gray stone. The sun was just beginning to set, and the soft pink light reflected off the dozens of windows, making the entire edifice gleam.
Home.After all this time, he was finally home.
His grin widened as the coach pulled to a stop in front of the house and the doors opened, a stream of servants spilling out, followed by his brother Heath and... Violet?
Pleasure surged through him as he took in her beautiful visage. She was even lovelier than he remembered, absolutely stunning. He wasn’t sure how she’d known he was coming home today, as he hadn’t sent word ahead, but he was thrilled that she’d come to meet him. He reached for the door, too impatient to wait for the footman, only to pause when Heath put his arm around Violet in a very proprietary way.
What the...?
The footman opened the door and Flynn slowly stepped down, his mind spinning. Why was the woman he loved standing in his brother’s arms?
Heath stepped forward, tugging Violet with him. At least she had the good grace to look embarrassed. She couldn’t meet his eyes as Heath released her and pulled Flynn into a bone-crushing hug. “My brother, the hero!”
Flynn stiffened, his gaze still locked on Violet. “I’m no hero,” he muttered, pulling away, too upset to enjoy his brother’s embrace. Nothing that had happened in that filthy war had been heroic, and though he’d been awarded a medal for his actions at Balaklava, he had no wish to be thought of in such a way.
Heath grabbed Violet’s hand and drew her forward. “I’m sure you remember my lovely bride, Violet?”
Bride?
Flynn felt as though his entire world and everything he’d thought he’d known had just shifted beneath his feet. “How long?” he managed. “How long have you been married?”
Heath smiled. “Just over a year.”
A year?He’d gotten a letter from Violet just two months ago. How could she have written such beautiful things to him when she was already married to his brother? He tried to meet her gaze, to wordlessly demand that she deny it, but she refused to look at him.
He let them draw him into the house, responding appropriately when asked a question, but everything seemed distant, a buzzing in his ears. He’d planned his whole future on Violet, and he didn’t know how to accept that it had all been a lie. Had it been a game to her? Had she tried to make him fall in love with her, knowing all the while that she had no intention of ever returning the emotion?
As they headed into the drawing room and Heath turned to the maid to order some refreshments, Violet grabbed his arm, her lovely lavender scent filling his senses. She pulled him a bit farther into the room, out of his brother’s hearing. “Flynn, I’m so glad to see you again.” She cast her gaze toward Heath. “He doesn’t know about the kiss we shared. I’d appreciate it if we could keep that our little secret.”
“The kiss,” he muttered, shaking his head as his confusion and dread grew. This was true then. They were actually married. It wasn’t some sort of cruel joke. “What about the rest of it? The letters? All the plans we made?”
Her green eyes widened, and he saw no affection for him there, nothing but confusion and maybe even a hint of fear. “Letters? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The urge to shake the truth out of her rose within him, but before he could, Heath rejoined them. As they sat down for tea, the tension in the room grew. Flynn focused on the dainty china in his hands, tamping down the need to demand answers, hoping he didn’t actually snap it to bits.
Heath and Violet were already married, had been for a year. There was nothing he could do to change that, no matter how much he might wish to, and he didn’t want to hurt his brother, not until he had a chance to speak to Violet alone.
“I’ve had your things taken up to your old room,” Heath was saying, pulling Flynn out of his thoughts. “I’m sure you’re exhausted from your journey and need to rest.” His brother looked troubled, and Flynn sensed he’d picked up on the tension in the room but didn’t know what was causing it.
“No,” Flynn said before he could even stop to think about it. “I’ll be staying in the dower house.” The cozy little cottage his grandmother had lived in on the other side of the extensive gardens would be the perfect place to lick his wounds and try to figure out what to do next. At the moment, the pain in his side was crushing, and he realized he should have taken the doctor’s advice and stayed in the hospital for a while longer. But he’d been so eager to get home. To see Violet...
Heath frowned. “No one’s lived there since Grandmother died. At the very least, it needs a good cleaning.”
“So, we’ll have it cleaned out. I don’t care. I just need to have my own space for a while.” He could not sleep beneath the same roof as Violet and his brother. He had to find out what had happened, how he could have been so foolish.
Heath sighed and rang for the maid, giving her quick instructions to have the dower house cleaned out and all Flynn’s things moved there. When he was done, he looked at Flynn and shook his head. “You seem troubled, brother. I wish you would stay here with us.”
“I’ll be fine,” Flynn assured him, carefully not looking at Violet. “I’ve been away for a long time. I just need some time to... adjust to being back home again.”
Heath’s face immediately smoothed out, as he grasped on to that easy explanation. “Of course. I can’t even begin to imagine what you’ve been through. Just know that Violet and I are always here if you need us.”
Flynn nodded abruptly and stood, wincing at the twinge of pain the sudden movement caused. “Thank you. That means a lot. It was a long journey, my wound is bothering me, and I think I’d just like to find a place to rest until they are done cleaning the house. I’ll see you in a day or two.” Then he fled the room, his dreams of a happy homecoming shattered.
