Chapter Six
A knock on the door came hard and loud early the next morning, startling Nick with its urgency. The blade slipped, causing a sharp sting on his chin, but he paid it no mind. That knock could only mean one thing. He strode to the door and wrenched it open.
“Adel—” He swallowed the rest of the word as he came face-to-face with his confounded brother. “Oh. You.”
Nathaniel stared at him. “What happened to your chin?”
“My chin?” Nick felt the sting again and touched his finger to the spot. It came back red and sticky. “You happened, damn you.”
Nathaniel followed him inside and shut the door. “You shave yourself?”
Nick gave him a withering glance and put a cloth to his chin to stem the bleeding. “We cannot all be heir to an earldom. Some of us are mere misters.”
“You are such an ass,” Nathaniel grumbled. “Don’t tell me you can’t afford a valet, because I know Father offered you an allowance. It’s enough to support you quite comfortably.”
“I didn’t want his damned money.” Nick shrugged. “I’d much rather make my own.”
A look of supreme annoyance crossed Nathaniel’s face, but he shook his head. “No, I won’t let you bait me, brother. We have important matters to discuss.”
“Such as?”
“Such as one Miss Adelaide Bursnell, identical twin of my betrothed. Presumed dead until eight hours ago, when she suddenly appeared on my father’s doorstep very much alive…although slightly worse for wear.” Nathaniel crossed his arms and cocked his head. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”
“Of course not,” Nick said, deliberately making the truth sound like a lie.
Nathaniel studied him with narrowed eyes. “Liar.”
Nick grinned.
Still. As it happened, he knew very little about Adelaide’s miraculous appearance, and that vexed him greatly. Shortly after his return to Hampshire to hunt a dangerous spy—who had mistakenly attempted to assassinate Nathaniel instead—he had discovered Adelaide.
But that had raised more questions than it answered. It had been a year since the birth, and her family had believed her to be dead the entire time. Where had she been? What had she done for money? How the devil had a lady—raised to be decorative rather than useful—managed to survive for a full year on her own?
She couldn’t have.
So, who had helped her?
And, most important of all, why had she chosen now for her resurrection?
“Her family mourned her for a year. Hell, their entire town in Northumberland believed her dead.” Nathaniel raked a hand through his hair. “How will she account for that year? If anyone discovers she is alive and without a husband, her reputation will be in tatters, and she’ll take Alice’s down with her.”
“What is that to you?” Nick asked curiously. He hadn’t pegged his brother as the sort to cry off and leave a lady to the wolves of society—especially considering he and Nick had recently come to blows over that very thing—but if Nathaniel did that, he would hardly be the first hypocrite to inherit a title.
His brother gave him a baffled look. “Alice wouldn’t like it, obviously.”
“Obviously.” Nick dabbed the cloth on his chin and looked at it. No, still bleeding. He pressed it to the cut again. “Are you here to defend the lady’s honor? Challenge me to another duel, perhaps?”
“You will marry her, Nick.”
“If she asks nicely.”
His brother took a menacing step forward, and if Nick had not spent the past half decade facing down much more dangerous beasts, he might be quite alarmed. Really. Apparently, Nate was in no mood for teasing.
“I take it you are not aware of our agreement, then?” Nick waited for a response, but his brother merely watched him silently. “After Adelaide shot me, we decided that our best course of action is marriage. Upon our return to London, I will court her for a proper amount of time, and then we will marry.”
Or, better still, they would not marry. But there was no need to share that small detail.
“Why not marry now, with a special license?” Nathaniel asked, still eyeing him with suspicion. “Why wait? Why risk someone from Northumberland recognizing her in London? It is not inconceivable. Many families are here for the season.”
Nick hiked his brows. “Your own engagement was only just announced. How would it look, do you suppose, if Adelaide and I were to marry first, in all haste, while you and Alice take your time? Before either of us had set foot in a London ballroom? Do you think that would help her reputation?”
Nathaniel paused. “Good point.”
“Yes, I thought so.”
He pulled the cloth from his chin, again checking the cut. The bleeding had stopped, finally. “Was there anything else, or can you see yourself out?”
Nathaniel didn’t answer. He was contemplating the floorboards, frowning. Suddenly, he blinked and looked up. “She shot you?”
“Indeed.”
His brother rocked on his heels as he surveyed him from head to toe. “You don’t look like a man who’s been shot.”
“She didn’t do a very good job of it,” Nick said. “The bullet took more of my shirt than my skin.”
Nathaniel threw back his head and laughed.
Brothers were such annoying creatures.
“Where will you stay in London?” Nathaniel asked. “Father is in residence at Wintham House, as Parliament is in session, but there are plenty of rooms.”
“I would be happy to, with the proper invitation.” The corner of his mouth twitched. “I await my father’s apology.”
Nathaniel groaned. “It will never happen. Surely you know that. Come home, Nick. Let the past be the past.”
“I will not.”
He could not. The past would never be forgotten, nor would he wish it otherwise. Love was a weakness and could be used as a weapon as deadly as a knife to the back. Those one loved the most were often the source of the deepest wounds, the greatest betrayals. It was a lesson that had served him well during his time in France and India. If he had not learned that truth at his parents’ hand, a lover’s deception would have been far more deadly.
No, the past could not be forgotten.
“Then stay with me,” Nathaniel said. “My apartment is not so grand as Wintham House, but it is quite comfortable.”
“Thank you, but no. I may not be a viscount, but I am not so destitute that I cannot afford my own place.”
Nathaniel frowned. “That is not why I offered.”
“No, you offered so that you can keep your eye on me. You don’t trust me to keep my word to Adelaide or to you. That is why you offered.”
There was a pause. And then came the quiet reply, “Quite so.”
Which was the truth. Nick knew it was the truth. And yet, there was something in his tone that made him wonder…
He glanced sharply at his brother, but Nathaniel was already turning away.
Nick flattened his lips. Clearly, he was not the only Eastwood who could make the truth sound like a lie.