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Chapter Fifteen
At last, the lock clicked open and Gerard opened the door. He initially seemed surprised to see Thomas, but a smile quickly replaced the look of confusion. “Thomas! I wasn’t expecting you. Please, come in.”
Gerard motioned him inside. Thomas followed, taking in the space in full for the first time. A small sitting area split off into a dining room. Everything was sparsely furnished, without an abundance of detail, but the items Gerard had chosen for his living space were not without taste. Thomas found himself idly impressed at his brother’s decorative insight.
“You must have reason for coming all this way so early,” Gerard said, moving past him to sit down on one of the ottomans in the seating area. “I would have been over at the house after the afternoon meal, after all, so what is it that’s gotten you in such a rush?”
Thomas had the sudden odd sensation of feeling as though he was in the wrong place. It was a ridiculous notion, considering the only other person here was Gerard, with whom he’d always felt completely comfortable.
Yet this was Gerard’s own apartment. Not the family home where they had grown up together. Things felt…different here.
Thomas gestured to one of the chairs opposite Gerard. “May I sit down?” It was a question he never would have bothered with at Elvington Manor.
“May you?...of course, Thomas, don’t be silly! I wouldn’t insist that we carry on an entire conversation with you idling awkwardly in the threshold.”
Gerard gave him a jokingly scandalized look. It did little to ease Thomas’ tension.
Perhaps this situation between Father and the Duke of Alderleaf has done more of a number on me than I’d initially thought.
Resolved to quit beating around the bush and resolve the matter at hand, Thomas took the seat Gerard had gestured to and forced himself to sit tall. “Gerard, I am in need of some clarification, and I’m hoping you can help me.”
“Oh? How so?”
“Last night—and I will trust this information will stay strictly between the two of us—I met with Lady Evelina, the Duke of Alderleaf’s daughter.”
Gerard’s eyes went wide. “Thomas, I thought I asked you to stay away from the Duke of Alderleaf and his family.”
“I know. But Gerard, please understand—my feelings for Lady Evelina are strong. I do not want to give up on the potential between us without concrete proof of wrongdoing.”
“You’re willing to risk your life, then, is that it?”
“No.” Thomas wished Gerard would not be so quick to jump to conclusions. It seemed out of character, given what he knew of his brother’s eye for strategy. “I’m merely trying to get to the bottom of the situation. If the Duke of Alderleaf were to be behind Father’s death, wouldn’t you want justice to be served as well?”
“So, it’s justice you want, then?”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Thomas asked. Gerard was speaking as though justice for their father wasn’t important, or worse, that Thomas was operating under some sort of selfish, ulterior motive.
Gerard must have realized he was sneering, for he shook his head and shifted his face into a look of cool impassivity. “Nothing. I apologize. Please, continue to explain. I would like to better understand the madness that has consumed my usually intelligent brother.”
Thomas wanted to bite back, but he forced himself to calm down and speak evenly. “I did not come here to fight. Merely to inform you that after speaking to Lady Evelina in depth, I do not believe she had any involvement with whatever played out between our fathers.”
Gerard’s face remained cool. “You are saying that you have been so entranced by this woman, you are incapable of seeing reason.”
A wave of frustration washed over Thomas. He fought the urge to raise his voice. “I am merely trying to understand everyone’s side of the matter. What excuse for reason are you operating under, to suspect Father’s death was foul play and do nothing about it?”
“Pardon my honesty, Thomas, but is this truly about Father? Or is your only actual concern here pursuing courtship with a comely woman?”
“Do not speak of Lady Evelina in such terms.”
Gerard looked as though he wanted to say more on precisely that matter, but schooled his expression once more. He sat back and sighed, looking as though he had aged a decade. “All right, Thomas. It seems as though you will not drop this. What would you have me do?”
Thomas opened his mouth to respond, but found the words would not come. What did he want from Gerard? “I want you to walk me through all of the information and records you have regarding what played out between Father and the Duke of Alderleaf leading up to the accident. With Lady Evelina’s help, in addition to our own insights, I am certain we will be able to come to the truth.”
“Why place such trust in Lady Evelina? And do not say ‘I simply do,’ because that is not reason enough.”
Thomas studied his brother. Gerard, despite beginning their conversation looking sharp and ready to face the day, now appeared rumpled and tired. He felt a pang of regret for the bullheaded way he’d gone about discussing the circumstances of their father’s death. Gerard had apparently held these suspicions long before sharing them with Thomas, and they’d undoubtedly come to weight on him a great deal. He knew Gerard only had his best interests at heart with these questions.
“Brother.” Thomas leaned forward earnestly, bracing his elbows on his knees. “It is true I have not known Lady Evelina long. But I have never met someone with whom I can converse so freely. It seems as though we have known one another our whole lives.”
