Chapter 1
Chapter One
The allure of London was something that Leonard would never understand.
It felt cramped, overcrowded, loud, busy, and altogether suffocating.
His current residence here was only to appease his father, who, despite Leonard’s adamant protestations, insisted this was the only place to find a decent bride.
In other words, London would procure the wealthiest of young ladies who had been trained for this very moment.
Years of practice in dancing, manners, how to hold their head just right to appear demure yet enticing to gentlemen, all to showcase them during a season in London.
It seemed rather silly to him, but Leonard’s father insisted that this was the place to be until he ‘stopped acting like an immature buck’ and decided to settle down.
And Leonard had tried to find a wife—though, admittedly, half-heartedly. It was rather humbling when a woman took a passing glance, then chose someone with a cheerier disposition to converse with. Humbling, but understandable.
“Leonard!”
He jerked his head toward his friend’s voice. “What?”
Mr. Langford, or Andrew to those who had worked with him for a number of years, heaved a weary sigh. “You are not focused.” He brushed a dark strand of hair that had fallen out of place back into order.
Leonard huffed a breath and took a passing glance about his friend’s office.
Andrew sat behind his desk, centered in the room with bookshelves towering behind him and anchoring the space.
Dark paneling covered the lower half of the other three walls, with a green papering above which boasted some sort of print.
Leonard really wasn’t good with such things, though he was sure Andrew knew the precise name for it.
“I apologize, Andrew,” Leonard replied. “My mind keeps wandering to other matters.” Like the idiotic wager his friends had forced upon him.
Andrew being one of them and the second of them to procure a wife.
Now all the men were married, leaving Leonard the one holding the bill.
“Can you please say it in terms that are straight forward? I fear my mind is not up to the intricacy of numbers today.”
Andrew rubbed at his brow. “As I was saying, I do not think it prudent to remove funds from your investments at the moment. They are doing well, and if you withdraw them, it will take some time to rebuild to what you previously had. Especially that large of a sum.”
Leonard gritted his teeth, his boot bouncing on the floor. “I need six hundred pounds. You know this better than anyone. And I don’t know how else to get it.”
“You could ask your father.” Andrew’s tone was as dry as a week-old biscuit.
Ask his father indeed.
Leonard gave his head a hard shake, then rubbed his mouth. “You know that is not an option.”
“Yes, because you are a very stubborn man.”
He rolled his eyes. “You know he would hold it over my head. Or, worse, make me beg.”
“Your father?” Andrew scoffed, though a smile cracked the facade. He leaned onto his desk, resting his forearms on the soft leather pad. “Yes, he probably would. But what other choice do you have?”
“That’s what I’m asking you. And you haven’t been very helpful.”
Andrew’s eyes narrowed, and he steepled his fingers together. “Perhaps I can speak with everyone else about getting out of this obligation. I hate to see you in a bind.”
“No,” Leonard said, waving a hand. It was just like Andrew to try and help, but this was Leonard’s burden to bear. “I will not back out. That would be humiliating.”
Andrew tossed his hands up as he leaned back in his chair. “The only other thing I can recommend past ruining your investments would be to find something of value and sell it.”
Leonard sat up straighter in his chair, his hopes lifting. “Now that’s a thought.” One he hadn’t considered but was much more appealing than running off to his father for help.
“And you just happen to have a piece of jewelry sitting around?”
As a matter of fact, Leonard did. He snapped his fingers. “My great-grandmother’s diamond ring.”
Andrew’s eyebrows rose.
“With its size and rarity, I’m sure it would fetch a good price.”
“And you would rather sell a family heirloom than ask your father for a loan?”
He scoffed. “Without a doubt.”
“Come now,” Andrew all but pleaded. “That seems quite drastic.”
“Please. You and I were not so very different once upon a time. It isn’t my fault that you went and fell in love and now look at the world through rose-colored lenses.
” Andrew was a second son as well, though their situations did differ in some regards—such as, Leonard was expected to fulfill the role of eldest, without actually being one.
Andrew watched him, his gaze unconvinced.
“You must understand,” Leonard continued. “It’s either sell the ring or remove my investments. Now, which would you recommend?”
Andrew drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair, lips puckered in a silent battle of wills as Leonard gave him a challenging look of his own.
Finally, Andrew looked at the ceiling with a huff, one eyelid narrowing as his mind likely whirred with figures.
“Over time, pulling the money from your investments will cost you more. But that is not calculating in the worth of a family heirloom. The jeweler will simply look at its practical value and give you the assessed sum. So, assuming you do not care about the sentimental value—” He looked down and met Leonard’s gaze in question.
“No, I thought not.” He propped his arms on his desk, tapping a knuckle and creating a soft thumping sound as he finished with his thoughts.
“Then it makes sense to sell the ring, assuming you are only concerned about the financial aspect.”
Leonard met his gaze, even surer now of his decision. “Yes, that is the only thing I am concerned about.”
Leonard left the bank and his friend’s sentimentality behind, for now he had a trip to make.
Without wasting time, he sent his man of all trades, Fitzroy, to fetch his horse.
The weather was well enough, being as Stoneside Manor was only a thirty-minute ride out of town.
And he would be needing no luggage, as he had no intention of staying longer than necessary.
Though . . . Leonard stopped in his tracks.
He would at least need to stay for dinner, or else his father would be suspicious and inquire as to what Leonard was looking for and the purpose of finding it.
While his father would not care one whit about the sentimentality of the ring, he would certainly balk at selling something of such value.
Perhaps he should take the carriage after all.
The ride was soothing, but Leonard’s nerves balled in his stomach as they always did when he made the trip home. Feeling obligated, he did so once a week to check on everything, along with performing odd jobs at the request of his father. His mother just appreciated seeing that he was well.
As the ride lulled him, he thought about the wager which was causing this whole ordeal.
One by one his friends had fallen in love over the last nine months—some more reluctantly than others.
Their friend Charles had even been tricked into matrimony by his meddling mother.
Apparently, with Charles’s vagabond ways, she’d sent her explanatory letters to Leonard’s residence instead of Rowan Ashworth’s, where Charles had been residing.
By the time Leonard had figured out the mistake and sent the letters on, it had been too late.
Poor man. While Leonard’s father breathed down his neck and pulled the strings, at the end of the day, Leonard couldn’t imagine he would do something quite that drastic.
Though, perhaps he just wasn’t desperate enough yet.
Everyone had their limits. And in the end, it had worked out.
Charles and his wife fell in love and now live happily married.
Leonard would have to keep that secret so that his parents didn’t get any ideas of their own.
Before he was ready, the carriage rolled to a stop at the top of the U-shaped drive, and Leonard made his way up the seventeen stairs to the front door.
He counted them each and every time, mentally delaying what would happen behind the doors at the top once he entered them.
He opted to knock, since he had not sent notice of his arrival beforehand.
It took two attempts for Evans to come to the door.
“Mr. Stanton.” Their doorman, Evans, bowed, stepping back and allowing him in. “I do not believe your family is expecting you.”
“No,” Leonard said, stepping onto the familiar white marble floors. “This was a last-minute trip. I apologize for any inconvenience.”
“I will let your mother know you are here.” Evans dipped into another small bow, then left on his search.
Before his father or Samuel could find him, Leonard rushed down the hall and to the stairs, making his way to his room.
Upon opening the door, a gust of cool air greeted him.
The room stood as if it hadn’t been touched during his stay in London.
Though he knew that wasn’t accurate, as Leonard was aware maids came in and dusted the space, even though it wasn’t currently being used.
Walking across the carpet, Leonard made his way to his wardrobe. It creaked open, and he reached for the top shelf, fingers scraping across the wood until he made contact with a small, velvet box. He drew his hand back, then opened it to be sure the contents were still there.
Sure enough, when he opened the box, his great-grandmother’s diamond ring dutifully sat within its confines.
His grandfather had left it to Leonard in his will, always having a partiality to him.
Perhaps he thought that if Leonard had it, he might find some young lady to give it to one day.
Unfortunately, his grandfather had overestimated Leonard’s likeability in the female scope of things.
With the ring now in his possession, Leonard slipped it into his jacket and made his way back downstairs. Upon arriving in the drawing room, his brother’s head turned toward the door, a smile stretching across his face.
“Leonard. What a pleasant surprise.” He pushed up against the chair arm, even that small act seemingly difficult for him.
Leonard rushed forward so Samuel wouldn’t exert himself more than needed. “Sit, sit,” he insisted, taking a chair of his own. Samuel nodded, then sat as well.
“We weren’t expecting you,” Samuel said, his breathing labored. “Is something wrong?”
Leonard took in Samuel’s appearance—his light brown hair was neatly combed, and his clothing was pressed to perfection—but his evening jacket hung loosely over his frame.
Had he lost weight? Samuel wasn’t a thick-figured man to begin with, so he couldn’t really afford to lose any more.
Leonard wasn’t large either, but he had a healthy girth to him, which Samuel had long been without.
“Nothing is wrong,” Leonard assured him.
Samuel leaned on the arm of his chair, smiling over at him. “No parties to attend or young ladies to woo?”
“Not today, anyway.” Leonard chuckled, knowing it had been many days since he had attempted to speak with a young woman.
Now that the wager was over, there really was no point in trying.
But he would let Samuel think he was, to put him at ease.
He was still trying to please their father, while Leonard had long given up on that.
Leonard looked Samuel over again, trying to discern if he had declined even in the last week—especially since he had failed to notice the loss in weight.
“I am fine,” Samuel said, as if noticing Leonard’s study of him.
Leonard nodded, looking down at his lap. “Of course.”
“You would think you were the older brother with the way you worry over me,” he said, softening his words with a smile.
Samuel was the one thing Leonard missed when he was away.
His smile was almost ever present, despite his circumstances.
Leonard often wished their lives had been switched.
It would be much more befitting for him to be the one too ill to enjoy life, for Leonard was seemingly squandering it away, while Samuel still chose to make the most of things.
But life was often unfair.
“Leonard.” His father’s deep voice seemed surprised, and Leonard looked over his shoulder. “What are you doing here?” He stood with a book in his hands, spectacles draped over his nose.
“I just thought I’d come for a visit.”
Peering at him over the tip of his spectacles, his father scowled. “Shouldn’t you be at the Pembroke’s tonight?”
Leonard averted his gaze to the fireplace. It didn’t take long to be chastised and managed.
“They were going to have a ball, and I know you were invited, Leonard. Why are you not there?”
“I forgot.”
His father pulled his lenses from his face with a sigh, then rubbed his brow. “No, you didn’t. You simply did not wish to go.”
“Is that considered a crime?”
“It is when you have a duty to fulfill, and you keep dragging your feet.”
Leonard nearly winced, forcing himself not to look at Samuel. Leonard hated it when their father spoke as if Samuel weren’t present. Because the duty should be falling to him, not Leonard.
Walking over to the mantel, his father squinted at the clock. “If you head back to London now, you can still be ready in time. I suggest you do that.”
Unclenching gritted teeth, Leonard replied, “Suggest or demand.”
“Always one to provoke an argument, aren’t you, Leonard?” His father leveled a steely glare. “You know what you need to do. I shouldn’t have to keep forcing you.”
Leonard debated, keeping his frustrated scowl hidden in his mind so Samuel wouldn’t feel to blame.
Leonard hadn’t been planning to stay anyway, only feeling it necessary to hide his true intentions in visiting.
He also didn’t wish to disappoint Samuel and leave so suddenly, nor did he relish giving in to his father’s demands yet again.
The lengths parents would go to continue the family line was quite astounding at times.
“I think a ball sounds fun,” Samuel said, smiling. “You should go, Leonard.”
With a huffed breath, Leonard stood. “Very well. I will go. Please give my regrets to Mother.”
“She doesn’t even need to know you were here,” his father said. “Just go.”
Samuel looked at their father, then gave Leonard a gentle nod. “I will let her know. Just promise to come back within the week.” He smiled.
“Very well.” Leonard forced a grin of his own for his brother’s sake. “I promise.”