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I can't fucking believe fucking Benedict is fucking the fucking nanny.
I focus on my sister instead, trying not to let my gaze be pulled back toward her. The nanny.
The stupid nanny.
"It's so good to see you both again, Lord Noah, Lady Ruby," Mrs. Harris says, lying through her teeth. She hates me and that's fair. I've made her life difficult. Well that was old Noah. New Noah has responsibilities that old Noah would have paled to even think of.
She curtsies and Ruby nods and smiles, glancing across the gathered staff.
"We've readied your rooms," she says, and I clear my throat.
"In the women's corridor?" I ask, glancing at Ruby. "There's a slight change of plans. I will be staying in the rooms next to my sister." Mrs. Harris gives me a blank look, before her brow furrows in irritation.
"I beg—"
I hold up my hand before her words can betray how annoyed she is.
"My sister has had a difficult journey back to the family set, and I want to ensure that I'm available for her every need."
Ruby is fidgeting, her breath becomes rapid and shallow as I speak, and I step closer to Mrs. Harris, jerking my head to indicate she is to step away. Now.
She is too well-trained, too loyal, to scowl at me, but her whole body stiffens. We take ten paces away from my sister and I pitch my voice down.
"Lady Ruby had a scare while we were abroad," I say, letting my meaning color my words. Mrs. Harris pauses, and frowns, glancing over at my sister. She's not looking at either of us, instead gazing up at the tall bulk of our home, the magnificent profile it cuts across the sky. I've missed it, but not the shadows that haunt its hallways. My brothers and their petty feuds. Now that I'm home with my twin, I'm putting an end to all of it. I'm not the boy I used to be. I'm a man now, and they'll listen to me.
For Ruby's sake, they'll have to.
"Of course, my lord," Mrs. Harris says after long strained moments, and I can see the ripple of surprise on the faces of the gathered staff. They'd been expecting to greet us, the returningchildren, and instead had found two grown adults ready to face every complication.
My gaze slides over them and comes to a stuttering stop onher.
The nanny.
Immediately a flare of rage lights up in my gut, ripping up my spine. I can see the resemblance. The hair, the shade of her eyes, of coursehepicked this one. My jaw tightens. This farce, this… scandal, will end now that I'm home.
My brother will hear me.
And he will get rid of her.
"Come, sister," I say, turning to Ruby. She tucks her hand around my bicep and I lead her inside, the staff following us like ducklings. The halls greet us, their cool air immediately enveloping us, the shade a relief from the hot, punishing air outside.
"I'm tired, Noah," Ruby murmurs to me as we step into the entry hall, the grand staircases soaring up into the darkened rafters, leading to our floors.
"A rest would be appropriate. Do you want me to see you to your room?" I ask, knowing what her answer will be. But I want her to have a choice.
"No," she replies, an exhausted smile on her face, weak and flat. "I'm fine." She leans in and kisses my cheek before leaving my side, taking to the stairs that will lead to the ladies' corridor. I watch her go, feeling the clutch of staff gathering behind me, waiting for orders, or perhaps an indication of what I'll do next.
"If you would be so kind as to prepare my rooms next to Lady Ruby's, Mrs. Harris," I say without looking at the housekeeper. "I need to speak with my brothers. Where are they?"
"His grace has not returned from his travels yet, but we are expecting him later today," Mrs. Harris says from behind me, and I hear the rustle of fabric as the lower staff start to move away, putting into action my commands. "His lordship is in the Green room; I believe he has company, however."
My resolve stiffens. I want to know what Benedict knows about the nanny, about our eldest brother's plans.
"Thank you," I reply and stalk toward the room with the billiards table. Behind me, I hear a soft murmur.
"So that was the third brother?" It's her voice. I know it. It thrills along my skin, lighting up my veins with purpose, and I will have her thrown out of this house, out from under our roof, before the end of the night.
Mark me. I may be the third in line to the dukedom, but I have never been denied anything I've asked for in life, and I'm not going to start now. My brothers know better than to cross me.
