Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
“Algernon!” Henry roared.
Algernon scanned the crowded seating room in White’s and smirked as he saw his little brother.
It only took one look to see that Henry had not waited for him to start drinking.
His little brother had a lopsided grin and dazed eyes as he lifted his cup with one hand and waved Algernon over with another.
“Started without me I see,” Algernon mused as he reached Henry.
“Just a cup or two,” Henry said, slurring slightly as Algernon moved him back into his seat. “Here! I already ordered yours. Catch up, big brother!”
“Well, it is a relief that you are no longer angry with me,” Algernon retorted, taking the seat beside his brother.
Henry giggled as he picked up the tall glass of ale and pushed it into Algernon’s hands; its contents sloshed over the side as he used a little too much force.
“You know me,” Henry said with a dramatic sigh as he leaned back into his cushioned armchair. “I cannot stay mad at you for long.”
As Algernon took a long gulp of the ale, finishing half the glass in one pull, Henry looked over at him with affection.
“You are my big brother after all. It is your duty to look after me.”
Algernon sat his glass down and leaned over the arm of his chair as he folded his hands together.
“I am glad you understand that, brother,” Algernon stated, his tone serious. “That is indeed what I am here for.”
“Though you do understand, Auggie, that you are more meddlesome than most,” Henry retorted, looking at him with a raised brow.
Algernon could not tell if his brother was actually irritated or was just trying to pretend to be as such. Either way, he was going to persist.
“Even if I am, it is only out of your best interest. I want your life to be good, Henry,” Algernon stated.
Henry clucked his tongue as he waved a hand around the crowded gentleman’s club. Algernon did not miss how Henry winked at one point as he did so, but he did not say anything.
“Take a look around, Auggie,” Henry insisted. “Life is good. We are noblemen. We are rich. We are unattached. We can have anything we want!”
“Almost anything we want,” Algernon corrected.
Henry rolled his eyes then looked up at Algernon through his lashes as he slumped lower in his chair. Now there was no confusion. Henry was irritated with him.
“I do not say this to dull your enjoyment, brother,” Algernon argued, “And you are right. We are men atop the world. Which is why, if you are careful, you may have the ability to have your piece of cake and eat it too.”
“What do you mean?” Henry asked in a bored tone.
“I mean you should take more consideration of Lady Beatrice,” Algernon insisted.
Henry’s eyes narrowed.
“This again?” he asked boredly.
“She is a good woman, Henry,” Algernon pointed out. “Even from the brief time you spent with her, I know you saw how kind and open-minded she is. You need that in a wife.”
Henry slowly drew his eyes toward the crowd of men surrounding them.
“Why do I need a wife at all?” Henry asked. “It is you that must produce an heir, not I.”
“I will take a wife in time,” Algernon promised. “However, I am not the one dancing on the outskirts of scandal. You are, little brother.”
Henry lifted up his empty glass. Right away, a manservant appeared with a silver pitcher to refresh his ale. Algernon reached out and took the glass before the man could even bend over to pour the brew, and he sat it down on the small table between them with a hard thud.
“He has had enough,” Algernon growled.
The manservant grew pale and scurried away without a word.
“Killjoy,” Henry muttered then swiped Algernon’s glass, draining the rest of its contents in a second.
“Maybe so,” Algernon begrudged, “but that doesn’t mean my insistence on having a little more social protection is any less important.”
“Protection?” Henry chortled. “How does me having a wife give me protection? I am not going stop living my life if I have a wife. I will not desist going to parties or functions. Unlike you, I am a social creature, brother, and I thrive in attention.”
“If you have a wife by your side, it will stop you from giving into your whims in public,” retorted Algernon gruffly. “You will remember to limit your… ‘cravings’ to the privacy of your home.”
Henry tsked his tongue.
“And pray tell, how would such a wife feel if she knew I was imbibing in such ‘cravings’ in our home?” Henry asked.
“That depends on how you treat her,” Algernon explained. “Do well by her, and she may be kind enough to turn a blind eye. Making her a friend could do wonders.”
“I see,” Henry stated, his tone bitter as his eyes once more roamed the sea of men surrounding them. “And what sort of lady would prefer having a ‘friend’ to a true husband?”
“The one I found for you,” Algernon growled, growing impatient with the conversation.
He reached out with quickness and captured his brother’s jaw, forcing Henry to look at him.
“You will give this a chance, brother,” Algernon commanded.
Henry roughly pulled out of his grasp.
“Or what?” he bit out.
“Or I will remove your name from our accounts,” Algernon threatened.
Henry bristled but did not retort.
“You want to keep living your lavish lifestyle? Be dressed in all the latest fashions? You need money for that. Money that, up until now, I have provided. Might I remind you, brother, that you have not sat in on an investor’s meeting in ages.
You have no idea how I am making money anymore, nor do you have the education to participate in the work required to gain it for yourself. ”
Henry stared at him for a long time though, eventually, some of his hatred faded from his sage green eyes.
“You can be so cruel sometimes, Auggie,” Henry finally stated in a defeated tone, sinking back into his chair.
“Maybe so,” Algernon admitted. “But it is only for your best interest that I am. Meet with Lady Beatrice again. Get to know her better. Then you may start to see the kind of opportunities she can provide you.”
Henry drew in a deep breath through his nostrils as he continued to stare coldly at Algernon.
“Very well,” he agreed at last. “Set the meeting.”
Algernon exhaled his held breath, relieved, then stood up.
“I shall host another dinner,” Algernon explained. “I shall invite some other people, so it does not feel as intimate as before.”
“I cannot wait,” Henry muttered.
“I am taking my leave now,” Algernon stated. “This place is far too crowded for me. Are you coming? Come back with me to the house, and we can have a drink there.”
Henry remained in his seat, even made a show of settling in more.
“I am afraid I shall have to decline your invitation, brother,” Henry stated bitterly, lifting his empty glass into the air again. “If you are going to soon strip me of my freedom, I shall need to revel in whatever I have left.”
Algernon looked, really looked, at his little brother.
He might be acting a fool and straining against his will, but Algernon knew him.
Knew that he was a good person. He was not as irresponsible as he wanted everyone to think him be—but he was flailing.
Drawing dangerously close to an irrevocable mistake. A mistake that could get him killed.
“I love you, Henry,” Algernon said wearily.
Henry glanced up at him as his shoulders drooped.
“And I love you,” Henry muttered. “Now go. Before you see something that sours your stomach.”
As he said so, a young gentleman Algernon did not recognize took the seat he’d just vacated.
He was young, probably around Henry’s age, with sky blue eyes and well-styled blonde hair.
He was dressed in the latest men’s fashion just as Henry was, and his smile was wide and inviting as he drew Henry’s attention.
“Fancy another drink, my lord?” the gentleman asked.
Henry’s answering smile was warm as he looked at the man.
“Such a talent you have to read a person’s mind,” Henry replied playfully.
Wanting to hear and see no more, even though he thought Henry had drunk enough that night, Algernon turned his back to them and left White’s.
On the carriage ride home, Algernon’s thoughts bounced from his brother to Beatrice.
Her kiss had been perfection. It had both taken his breath away and given him a shock of life at the same time.
It bothered him greatly how much he’d been affected by such a kiss.
A kiss like that could make any man fall for her—even him—and that would simply not do.
Yet even as he thought so, he wondered if Beatrice would even be given the chance to try her kiss on Henry. Algernon pictured it and grimaced as a surprising feeling of discomfort shot through his chest. He rubbed at it, thinking it was a physical pain, and shoved the thought away.