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A pang of guilt hit Anthony square in the chest. The truth was that Kent didn’t really know all there was to know about Anthony, only details of his life that Anthony had carefully decided to share. “Then you would agree…I’m not the right gentleman for Minerva. She deserves someone who can fulfill her every dream. Her every wish. A gentleman who would make her life fuller.”
Kent’s shoulders stiffened. “No. In fact, I was going to say, while I have excellent recall, dating back to the day I first met you at Eton, I don’t know much about your past. You never speak of your deceased parents. You never talk of any family relations; you treat your staff like family and not like hired help. I love you like a brother, yet I sometimes feel like I don’t really know you, and that is what worries me. It is what prevents me from encouraging you to challenge Minerva.”
“I’ve never hidden the truth from you.” It wasn’t a lie. Anthony merely avoided certain topics.
He walked over to the sideboard. If he was going to discuss his past, he needed a drink. He splashed brandy into two tumblers. Anthony downed one quickly before refilling his glass, then returned to hand Kent his. “You could have simply asked, and I would have told you.”
“Well then…I’m asking now, what were you like prior to us meeting? What of your family? I want to know it all.” Kent, mercifully, glanced down at the beverage in his hand and swirled the amber liquid around and around.
There was no good reason to not answer Kent’s questions directly, except if Anthony’s reply wasn’t carefully crafted, Kent would be privy to the source of all his insecurities.
He inhaled and began. “Very well. My mother died during childbirth, not a unique tragedy, and my father went to his maker when I was five. My uncle Liam became my guardian, and it was he who raised me until he shipped me off to school, and a year later, he too left this earth. At that time, I inherited the title Earl of Drake and simultaneously became Laird MacMillian.”
Anthony left out the detail that his mother had been the third wife that his father had sent to the grave, trying to provide him with an heir. MacMillians were a determined and loyal lot, though not the most fertile. Even Uncle Liam had given up on ever siring a son. Anthony’s cousins, all female, were older than him by many years and were already married by the time he was even born. He swore he would remain a bachelor, for he would not knowingly kill his wife in the vain attempt to carry on a title that was no more than a burden.
Kent raised his gaze to meet his and blinked twice. “A laird?”
“Aye. I’ve clansmen and land that borders Avondale’s estate to the north, in Scotland. Avondale and I have not always seen eye to eye as neighbors.”
“That explains why Avondale denied you an invitation to his house party, and why you were still able to report on my sister’s activities.” Kent drained the last of his drink, reached out to take Anthony’s empty glass, and strode to the sideboard.
“Exactly. But I’ve not asked you here tonight to talk about Isadora or your future brother-in-law Avondale.” His annoying neighbor’s name left a bitter taste on Anthony’s tongue.
“Then why have you asked me to come?” Kent returned empty-handed and remained standing, devoid of any sign of his prior self. Prior to marriage, the man would have overfilled the tumblers and made himself comfortable in one of the wing-back chairs, intending to stay until the first rays of sun rose over the horizon. Yes, Kent was a changed man, and that was what Anthony was counting on.
“I need you to talk some sense into Minerva. She has plans to leave, to venture to America in a month.”
“In a month, you say.” Kent’s brow creased. “I was not aware she and Aunt Adelaide had planned to leave so soon.”
“You knew she was to venture abroad?” Impossible! Why would Kent permit such a thing? Ugh. Minerva and her mind tricks. Her ability to convince others to yield to her plans was damn annoying.
“Of course. We Malbury siblings don’t keep secrets from one another. She has tickets to board theQuarter Moon,” Kent boasted.
“And you fully support her venturing across the pond? Wait…did you say theQuarter Moon?”
“I did. I spoke to the captain myself. Captain Bane assured me the journey was perfectly safe, one he’d completed many a time.”
“Bloody hell! It takes six months to reach either location—”
Kent interrupted, “And?”
“And…either Minerva’s plans are a farce, or I’m not being sent to India… We can’t both be boarding theQuarter Moon.”
“Why are you so surprised? You know my sister Minerva always has several plays in action. No one really knows which is her real plan.” Kent shrugged into his coat. “My thanks for trying to warn me of my sister’s wayward plan, but now that the whole family is in London, we shall ensure Minerva is happily wed before she can even consider executing whatever devilish plan she may have.”
Kent opened the window and crawled out. They were no longer young bucks sneaking about Town, yet Anthony appreciated the nod to the times when they were both reckless and carefree. To be fair, Kent was the reckless one, while he was considered carefree. How quickly things could change over a summer.
Anthony slumped into the chair in front of the fire. He should have noted the inconsistency in information. He was typically four steps ahead of most, but when it came to Minerva, he became a total dunderhead.
Chapter Two
No matter howlong she stared at the window, it wouldn’t make the man she longed to see appear. Minerva punched her pillow twice and then laid her head back down. Except, her eyes refused to close. The drapes fluttered. A dark figure emerged from the heavy velvet material that would block out the daylight in a few hours. Who dared to enter her rooms in the middle of the night? It wasn’t Anthony, for the skin on the back of her neck didn’t prickle and her heartbeat remained steady.
Minerva slid her hand around her pistol under her pillow. “Halt, or you won’t see the morn.”
“Phyllis will not be happy with you if you shoot me dead.”
Blasted brothers.“Benedict!” Minerva jumped out of bed and launched herself at the dark figure. She wrapped her arms tight around her brother, whom she hadn’t seen in months. It wasn’t the longest period that they had been apart, but her plans for the future loomed over her, pushing her to take advantage of every minute she had left with her siblings. “You know better than to sneak into my chambers.” Why had her brother entered via the window and not through the house?
