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“Jane is hurting.”
Baldwin huffed. “Aren’t we all?”
“Yes, but you were the one who left,” Oliver pointed out.
“I had my reasons.”
“I miss Father, too,” Oliver remarked, a note of sadness in his voice.
Baldwin stiffened as he stopped on the street and turned to face his brother. “Of course you do,” he said. “Father was proud of you.”
“He was proud of you, as well,” Oliver argued.
“No,” he replied. “I did nothing to earn Father’s praise.”
Oliver’s brow knitted. “Aren’t you being rather hard on yourself?”
“Father wanted me to help him manage our investments and properties, but I was too busy being an agent,” Baldwin said, keeping his voice low. “I failed him.”
“You did no such thing,” Oliver asserted.
Baldwin shook his head. “It doesn’t matter now,” he declared. “Father is gone, and I will never be able to live up to the man that he was.”
“You are making a blasted good effort, if you ask me,” Oliver said, his voice filled with compassion.
“No, Jane was right,” Baldwin asserted dejectedly. “I abandoned the family when you needed me the most.”
“You were hurting,” Oliver observed. “You still are.”
“Forget I said anything,” Baldwin huffed as he resumed walking.
“It’s not too late to make amends,” Oliver responded, matching his stride.
Baldwin pursed his lips together as they continued to walk down the street. His brother couldn’t understand the overwhelming anguish that he struggled with on a daily basis. At times, it threatened to consume him, taking away every last ounce of happiness that he possessed. Which wasn’t much.
Oliver’s voice broke through his musings. “What I wouldn’t give for a hackney right now,” he joked.
Baldwin chuckled, grateful for the change in topics. “I agree. It is a shame that hackneys don’t operate this deep in the rookeries.”
“Fortunately, we are only a few blocks away,” Oliver commented as his alert eyes glanced at the men loitering in front of the buildings. “Let’s hope we get into a fight on our way there.”
“You’re looking for a fight?”
Oliver smirked. “No, but I wouldn’t mind if one found us.”
