Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
“You had better calm yourself, Henry,” Algernon warned, shooting up from his chair. “This is the best option for you, and you know it!”
From the corner of his eye, he saw Beatrice flinch.
He was surprised at how quickly he wanted to assure her, but he ignored the strange and sudden urge to protect her and remained focused on his younger brother.
Henry rose from his chair, his sage green eyes darkening as he stared at Algernon in challenge.
“This is my life, brother,” Henry gritted out, pointing to his chest. “Mine! And you have no right to dictate how I lead it!”
“I do if your way puts our family name in danger!” Algernon shot back.
Immediately Henry paled, but his expression of rage did not waiver.
“You need a wife,” Algernon commanded. “Someone who is kind and understanding, and Beatrice is such a woman.”
“Is she?” Henry asked, sending an accusatory glance toward Beatrice. “Because every time I have attempted to ask about her life, you have cut off such questioning with a quickness. Who is she, brother? I have never heard of a Lady Beatrice Cooper among the ton’s talk. Where did she come from?”
Algernon glanced at Beatrice. A sliver of guilt shot through his chest as he watched her cheeks turn crimson and her gaze fall to her plate.
“Where she comes from is of no importance,” Algernon retorted. “What matters is that she is willing to accept your proposal.”
Henry let out a bitter laugh as he walked around his chair and gave it a gruff shove.
“Well I am not offering it!” Henry shouted. “I am not marrying, brother! You are the eldest, and we have no other siblings, therefore society does not require my participation in the marriage mart! It is you that needs to produce an heir, not I. You marry her!”
“I am not the one at risk here, Henry!” Algernon roared, losing his temper. “What do you think would have happened if someone else would have seen what I saw? You would have been ruined!”
Silence exploded through the room. Henry went inhumanly still as he stared intensely at Algernon, his gaze wide and unblinking for an inordinate amount of time.
“I was in the privacy of my own home, brother,” Henry finally stated, his tone low and full of hatred. “No one would have seen if you would have kept your nose in your own business instead of being worried about mine.”
Algernon drew in a deep breath, trying to even out the rage pulsing through his veins. Why couldn’t everyone just obey him? Don’t they see how much easier life would be if they did?
“It is only a matter of time, brother, before someone else catches you in your poor habits,” Algernon gritted out. “At least with a marriage, you would have the excuse to stay out of society.”
Algernon heard Beatrice draw in a breath at his words and snapped his teeth together, urging himself to calm down. It was close, too close, to letting someone else know the truth.
“Beatrice, I thank you for joining us for dinner this evening, but I believe it is best that you retire to your room for the night,” Algernon suggested, his tone straining to be polite.
Beatrice nodded as she rose from her chair, but Henry rounded the table in an instant and snatched her wrist.
“Unhand her!” Algernon snapped, taking a warning step toward his brother.
“Who are you?” Henry asked her, ignoring his brother as he stared into Beatrice’s wide eyes. It was apparent she had been frightened into stillness, and the sight did not settle well with Algernon.
“What did he promise you, hmm? What are you getting out of this? What sort of trouble has my brother promised to help you out of?”
“I—” Beatrice shakily replied.
“Enough,” Algernon growled. He grabbed Henry’s wrist and squeezed it until he let Beatrice go, then Algernon stepped in between them.
“This lady has done nothing but try to be accommodating in this very troubling situation. A situation you caused!”
“I have not caused anything!” Henry roared. “What I do in my private life is no one’s business but my own!”
Algernon gritted his teeth then turned his back to his brother. He placed gentle hands on Beatrice’s shoulders and found her trembling.
“Go upstairs, Beatrice,” he calmly commanded. “We will speak later.”
Beatrice looked at him questioningly for another moment then she looked over his shoulder.
“I am sorry if I made you uncomfortable, my lord,” she said, her tone so soft it made Algernon’s heart quiver. “It was never my intention, and I am sure it was not His Grace’s either. Whatever is going on, I am sure he was only trying to help you.”
Algernon froze for a moment. No one had ever come to his defense before. He’d always had to act alone, to take control over every situation. Yet this woman he’d only met the day before was trying to come to his aid.
He let go of her shoulders and turned to look at Henry. He still looked enraged, but at least now, he was taking deep breaths, as if trying to calm himself.
“You are kind, Beatrice,” Henry acknowledged, “but I am afraid you do not know what you are speaking about. It was nice to meet you.”
Algernon stepped back just in time to see Beatrice drop into a curtsey toward them both, and without another word, she turned and left the dining room. For a long moment, the two brothers just stood there, staring at one another in distrust as the sound of her footsteps faded.
“Who is she, brother?” Henry asked again.
Algernon shook his head once.
“Someone who is clearly willing to help you,” he replied. “Why do you not let her?”
Henry shook his head and took another step back.
“When are you going to understand, brother? I am not a child anymore. We are not young boys orphaned by our parents and left with their mistakes. You do not have to look after me anymore. I can make my own decisions.”
Algernon frowned as he took a step toward Henry and poked his pointer finger into his chest.
“I will always look after you,” Algernon stated, his tone gruff with desperation. “I have always kept you from harm and will not stop. Even from yourself. You are playing with fire, little brother, and if you keep it up, you will get burned.”
Henry swatted Algernon’s hand and took another step back.
“And if I do, it shall be the sweetest fire I have ever felt,” Henry retorted, straightening his jacket. “I will not be like you, brother, or any other miserable member of this pompous society. I will live my life the way I wish to or die trying. That is my decision to make.”
Henry turned and began to walk out of the dining room, but despite his decree, Algernon went after him. He could not give up. Not yet.
“It is horrible enough that we lost our father the way we did,” Algernon said, following Henry as he made his way to the door, “It was even more so when we lost our mother. It took years to recover and build up our family name and fortune after that was nearly lost as well. Now, you are asking me to accept losing you? You are the only family I have left, Henry!”
Henry’s hand paused on the knob of the front door. He bowed his head as shoulders sagged, and for a moment, Algernon thought he was finally getting through to him.
“I know you think I am controlling,” Algernon went on, “but I am this way to protect us. Please, Henry. Let me handle this!”
Henry drew in a deep breath and let out a weary sigh.
“You cannot control everything, brother,” Henry said quietly, turning the knob. “At some time, some place, you will lose it, and you will have to accept it. That time is now.”
Algernon stepped forward, ready to grab at Henry’s shoulder, but before he could make purchase, Henry rushed out the door, slamming it shut behind him. Algernon’s hand slammed into the door with a loud bang just as it was drawn shut, sealing him off from his brother.
For a long moment he simply stood there, stunned and enraged over how poorly his plan had gone.
The rage he’d been trying to keep inside bubbled over, and with a savage growl, he slammed his hand into the closed door once again.
Turning on his heel, he stormed away and headed for his private boxing room, determined to not stop hitting the bag until it burst.
Henry was wrong. Algernon would take care of the situation Henry had found himself in. He was not giving up yet. Not ever. He would keep his brother safe.