CHAPTER 9
“Do you see me as an honest man?”
Benjamin gave his brother in law a questioning glance, “Miles, you have been completely honest about your feelings regarding Hazel and I’s courtship. You bloody well shot me when I was unarmed and I do believe that you threatened violence at our wedding. And for that reason alone, I feel it necessary to avoid whatever heart to heart you may have in mind. You do not like me, remember?”
Miles scoffed, “I like you, Shore, I’ve always liked you. I was just irritated that you had turned my home into a den of iniquity.”
Benjamin laughed, “If that is you being irritated, I would hate to see you angry.”
Miles felt a small smile grace his lips, “I was rather angry with you. However, Hazel has never been happier than married to you. So, I no longer see you as the enemy.”
Benjamin choked on his drink, “I am gratified?”
Miles nodded, “Now that we have that taken care of. Do you see me as an honest man?”
Benjamin narrowed his eyes, “In what respect?”
“I have been told by two separate individuals that I am not being honest with myself about a certain individual.”
Sighing, Benjamin put his drink down, “Would one of those individuals happen to be my wife?”
“Perhaps,” Miles consented.
“Miles, you are a good man, with a strong sense of right and wrong. You make high-stakes investments without batting an eye. I have seen you level a grown man with your fists. And it would be fair to say that you are not afraid of anything. So, level with me, what is this about?”
“It’s that Moberly girl,” Miles grumbled. “I cannot seem to get her off my mind. She even plagues my sleep. We argue every time we are in close contact. And in the past I felt irritated in her presence. But lately I have come away from our exchanges, invigorated. I almost want to rile her, just for the interchange that might result from it. I find that I am looking for her at every social event.”
Benjamin’s eyebrow raised, “You have an affection for her?”
“Nonsense!” Miles replied immediately, “I am not one to fall for a woman.”
Benjamin’s lips twitched, “You cannot stop thinking of her. She is affecting your sleep. You enjoy speaking with her, and find yourself seeking her out. But you are not in the slightest bit interested in her?”
“Not one iota,” Miles added with sincerity.
Benjamin shrugged, “I take it back.”
Miles swirled his drink around the glass, “You take what back?”
“You are afraid of something,” Benjamin took another swig of his scotch. “And I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Hazel was right.”
“Damn it all to hell!” Miles plonked his glass down, “Do you realize what this means?”
Benjamin laughed, “That you are just as human as the rest of us poor fellows? And that there is a heart beating in that cavernous chest of yours?”
“Miles has no heart, I have that on high authority,” Daniel Moberly, Viscount, entered the room of their favorite gentleman’s club. “What has you in a dither, Miles, you look positively ill?”
Miles had never been an overly religious man, but at that moment he prayed to God that Benjamin would keep his mouth shut. The last thing he needed was for Henrietta’s older brother to catch wind of his current preoccupation with her.
Benjamin would have every right to throw Miles under. And if the roles were reversed, Miles knew that he would have gladly scarified Shore. He just prayed that Benjamin was a better man than he had been.
Benjamin motioned for the servant to bring another bottle of scotch, “It’s nothing, we were only discussing a shipping venture I had just become aware of. Chambers promptly shut down any hopes that I had, apparently, it is a scam that any fool could see through.”
Miles could have kissed Benjamin’s feet. He had misjudged the man. And he felt guilty for all the grief that he had given Shore and his sister. It was clear that Shore would remain loyal to him. His sister had excellent taste in husbands.
Daniel laughed, “Well Shore, we can’t win them all. That is unless your name is Miles Warner. And you are just damn lucky or terribly intelligent, Chambers, I haven’t decided.”
Benjamin smiled and tipped his cup in a mock toast. He took the ribbing good-naturedly, from Moberly. Miles would owe him for this, and it was worth it. He hoped that Daniel or for that matter his younger brother Sinclair gave Miles everything coming to him.
Karma had come full circle, and Benjamin was loving the change in tides. He couldn’t wait to speak with Hazel, it would seem her suborn older brother had finally met his match.
Now all they had to do was sit back and watch as nature took its course. And if the timing was right, Benjamin would more than happily throw a few hurtles into the mix. After all, turnabout was fair play, was it not?