Chapter Two
Five Weeks Later…
Mayfair, London
Nate Squires sat across from his brother, the Earl of Westerly, and wondered how two people who shared both a mother and father could be so different.
Only four years Nate’s senior, Edward’s blond hair was already thinning, which made him look years older.
His tall, wiry frame, pallid complexion, ice-blue eyes, and almost transparent eyebrows and eyelashes were the opposite of Nate’s thick, wavy black locks and midnight-blue eyes, which took shelter under long black lashes and dark eyebrows.
Like Edward, Nate was tall, but, unlike his brother’s shoulders, his shoulders were broad and his body muscular.
Edward was a stiff man. He had a stiff posture, a stiff expression, and he lived by stiff rules. The man had been born uptight. Nate would not have cared what rules his brother chose to live by, but it irked him that he expected Nate to follow his rigid ways of thinking and living too.
“This is the last straw, Nathaniel.” His brother sat, back straight and hands intertwined, behind his mahogany study desk, upon which neat piles of books and papers were stacked.
That was another difference between them—Edward liked things orderly and perfect, whereas Nate enjoyed a little chaos. It made him feel alive.
“I’ve warned you ample times before,” Edward continued in the irritatingly authoritative voice he liked to use when talking to Nate. “Your philandering and gambling have got to stop. It’s time you contributed to this family’s well-being.”
Nate raised an eyebrow. “For someone who enjoys gambling as much as you do, I find that statement quite hypocritical.”
“When I gamble, I win.” Edward assumed a look of superiority. “Unlike you.”
Nate nodded. He had to admit that Edward had a point. They both enjoyed gambling, but Nate lost more often than he won.
“As I said, it’s time for you to grow up and do your part for this family.”
Nate snorted. “Are you suggesting I get a job?”
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
“Well, if you’re thinking of sending me off to some rural estate that Father had hidden away, think again. I won’t go.”
“Actually, I’ve decided it’s time for you to marry. It’s been two years since your failed engagement to Miss Morley—two years filled with nothing but debauchery, I might add—and I’ve decided it’s time for a change.”
“You’ve decided!” Nate laughed, although inside, he was boiling. How dare his brother mention Miss Morley? He got up and went to pour himself a brandy.
“For God’s sake, Nathaniel, it’s only ten in the morning.”
Nate downed his brandy, poured himself another, and returned to his seat, brandy in hand.
“I am not your younger sister, Edward. It’s not your responsibility to ensure that I secure my future by making a good match—or any match, for that matter.”
“Nonetheless,” Edward said, his stony expression back in place, “I have arranged a fine match for you—one that will enhance our family’s fortune and reputation.”
Nate placed the glass of brandy on a small table next to his chair. His brother was an arrogant pillock. It amused and annoyed him to think that Edward believed he could command him to marry. But seeing an opportunity to ruffle Edward, he decided to play along.
“Is the young lady in question at least beautiful? You know how much I enjoy the company of beautiful women.”
Edward’s eyes narrowed a fraction. “She’s the daughter of Viscount Eamont—the very rich Viscount Eamont,” Edward added.
Nate laughed. His brother truly had gone mad. “You want me to marry Adelia and Lydia Eamont?”
“Not both of them. Only Adelia.”
“There’s no such thing as one Eamont sister.
They come as a pair. They are identical twins in both their looks and their irritating personalities.
Did you know they speak in unison? Have you asked yourself why they are in their third—or is it fourth—season and still unmarried, despite their large dowries?
” Nate picked up his brandy glass and swallowed the contents before slamming the glass back down just to irritate his brother, which he sorely deserved.
“Well, brother, this has been lovely. Thank you for considering my future, but if you don’t mind, I quite enjoy the bachelor lifestyle, so I’ve decided not to marry at all. ” He started to get up from his chair.
“You will marry. Because until I am blessed with a son, you are my heir, and it’s time you behaved accordingly.”
Oh, bollocks. Nate settled back in his seat. “I’m not sacrificing my freedom lest you don’t have a son. It’s not my fault if you can’t do your duty.”
Edward’s jaw tightened, and a vein pulsed in his neck.
The sight brought a smile to Nate’s lips.
It pleased him whenever he could rouse any expression from his stony brother.
“Don’t be unreasonable,” Edward said. “It’s not as if you cannot continue whatever you enjoy doing after marriage.
You merely need to be discreet about it. ”
Nate cocked his head. Sometimes, Edward disgusted him. “Is that what you do to your wife?”
Edward’s face remained stony. “I’ve arranged for you and Miss Adelia Eamont to meet this Saturday. You’ll take a ride in Hyde Park at ten. She’ll be chaperoned, of course. Still, I expect you to treat her with the utmost courtesy.”
“Until we’re married, of course. That’s what you mean, isn’t it, Edward?”
“What happens between a man and his wife is no one else’s business but theirs. Now, make sure you are on time for this meeting. I don’t want Miss Eamont kept waiting.”
“No, thank you, brother.”
“What?” Edward said.
“I said, no thank you.” Nate raised his voice slightly.
“I heard what you said, but perhaps you don’t understand that this isn’t a request.”
“You’re ordering me to marry?” Nate smirked, more amused at his brother’s cheek than angry.
“I’m telling you that I have arranged this marriage, which benefits the family, and since you live entirely off the substantial allowance I give you, it will behoove you to do as I say.”
“So, you’re threatening to cut me off, are you?” Nate leaned forward, confronting his brother.
Edward’s long, thin fingers turned white as he squeezed his hands together. “The choice is yours,” he said.
“Very well, then.” Nate leaned back in his chair. “I shall have to get a job. I wonder what people will say when they hear that the Earl of Westerly’s brother has had to resort to teaching French to schoolboys. What a stain on our family that will be. Papa would turn in his grave.”
“You won’t do that. We both know you are far too lazy and spoilt to work. You’ve never worked a day in your life.”
Nate crossed his legs. “You’re right, brother. I certainly wouldn’t make a good role model for young boys. However, I’m an excellent lover, and the Dowager Reeves has been begging me to move in with her. She’s already ostracized from society, so the gossip won’t bother her.”
“It might interest you to know that the Dowager Reeves moved to France two months ago—with her newest lover.”
Nate felt chagrined. How had he not known about that? “Well, I’m sure I can find another desperate widow who will take me in,” he said coolly.
“It’s time you stopped this foolish talk,” Edward said. “I will not allow you to disgrace our family name. Now, I expect you and your horse to be at Rotten Row on Saturday morning at ten o’clock sharp, do you understand?”
“Sorry, Edward.” Nate stood up. “But I really must go now. If you are to cut off my allowance, then I need to take the money I have left to the gambling tables and triple it.”
“We both know that’s a losing battle for you,” Edward said dryly. “Now, why don’t you sit down so we can finish our discussion.”
Nate moved toward the door.
“Fine. If you refuse to marry, then I have one other proposition for you.”
Nate turned. “What is it?”
“I recently acquired a property that needs managing. It’s rather large to my understanding—a great deal of land. I haven’t had time to see it.”
“A recently acquired property you haven’t even seen? How so?” Intrigued, Nate returned to his seat.
“I took possession of it from a gentleman who could not pay his debts.”
Nate blinked. “Do you mean to say—was it that chap who put a bullet in his head with his own pistol?”
Edward shifted in his seat. “He chose to sit down at the card table and gamble his home. Then he lost. What do you think I should have done? Forgiven his debt? He played as a gentleman, and gentlemen pay their gambling debts.”
“Well, you could have shown some mercy—worked out some sort of payment plan. It’s not like you need the money.”
“No, I don’t. But the property is now making itself useful.”
Edward’s coldness was vile. “I won’t manage it for you like some servant,” Nate said.
“It’s not for me; it’s for you. I am prepared to sign over the deed to you.”
“You want to unload your bloody acquisition onto me to rid yourself of the shame?”
“I have no shame over collecting what is owed to me, brother. Now, if you don’t want the property, then you always have the option of marrying. But if you refuse both propositions, know that you will no longer have access to the Regent’s Park townhouse.”
“You can’t throw me out of my home. It’s scandalous. People will gossip.”
“That is why I am partially gifting you a new home.”
“Partially gifting? How do you partially gift something? Isn’t that an oxymoron?”
“You will own ninety percent of the property, and I will retain ownership of a mere ten percent. That will ensure that I can go to the property whenever I wish. But more importantly, it means you will not be able to sell the property without my consent. Moreover, you must agree not to return to London without first asking my permission, which I will only grant for extenuating circumstances.” Edward’s face was a marble slate.
Did his brother possess any feelings at all?
“So, you intend to banish me for life?”
“Not at all. You decide your future. For instance, if you decide to marry Miss Eamont, you will be free to live in London, and you will have all the wealth you desire.”
“And if I continue to refuse? How long do you think you can keep me prisoner for?”
“I’m not a monster, Brother. I only want what is in your best interest. That said, I’d be willing to revise the situation in five years.”
“Five years! Did you simply pick an arbitrary number out of your top hat and decide, that’s the amount of time I’ll banish my brother for?”
“I believe that ought to be enough time for you to mature and come to your senses. And why do you keep saying ‘banish’ as if you mean ‘abandon’? I am gifting you a valuable property and allowing you to keep your allowance. I would say that is quite generous of me.”
Of course, he would see it that way. “Where is it?” Nate asked.
“Northwest England. Westmorland, to be exact. I understand it is quite beautiful there. More and more people are being attracted to the area.”
Nate went cold. The Lake District? He’d imagined that he’d be sent to the countryside in Kent or Yorkshire, or even Cornwall, but the Lake District? What was there? A few scenic lakes and a handful of poets? “I told you before, I won’t go to some remote estate.”
“And I told you that you have a choice. Marry Miss Eamont or leave London.”
Nate chortled. He knew what game Edward was playing. He was threatening to banish him from London in order to force him to submit. That was exactly the type of manipulative game Edward liked to play, but two could play the same game.
“Your little scheme isn’t going to work.” Nate folded his arms. “I have no intention of getting married, especially to a woman you have chosen for me.”
Edward shrugged and pushed the deed and a quill pen toward Nate. “The choice is yours.”
Nate forced a smile. “Very well, if you insist on gifting me a property, I’ll take the house, but I want all of it.
One hundred percent. If you only wish to retain ten percent to stop me from selling the property, put a stipulation in the deed that says I agree not to sell without your permission for five years. ”
“Seven,” Edward said.
Nate looked into his brother’s cold blue eyes, and then, making his decision, he stood. “Very well, have the papers drawn up, and I will sign them.” Then he took a deep breath and strode out of his brother’s study. He would go to the remotest ends of the earth before he let Edward control him.