Chapter Twenty
The storage room Christopher and his brothers were crammed into was small.
So tiny, his right side was pressed up against Edward, who was squashed between him and Freddie.
A squat box was digging sharply into Christopher’s left calf, but he couldn’t really complain.
At least he wasn’t Tobias, who was almost doubled in half by virtue of a low-hanging shelf.
All four of them were staring in silence at the ground as if they were waiting for it to start talking and reveal answers to a recent mystery.
‘Just because a window is broken,’ said Freddie after a while, ‘it does not necessarily follow that there has been an attempted break-in.’
Edward made a strangled noise, deep in his throat, sounding a little like a wounded animal in its death throes.
He loathed mess, so his pained reaction could either be because of the glass scattered across the floor, or caused by fear of what this event might represent.
Ever since they had received the news that it was likely their brother’s death had been a result of foul play, they had all been on tenterhooks expecting something like this to happen.
They had gradually stopped jumping at unusual sounds, but that was likely to start up again after this.
It would be especially bad for Edward. Last night he and Kate had announced that they were expecting their first baby and, as Edward was a man prone to worry at the best of times, this unexpected event would likely see him turn wild with anxiety.
No doubt Christopher would have to pretend not to know his older brother was prowling the house at night, checking that every door and window was secure over and over again.
Sometimes it was hard to remember all the things he was not supposed to know about.
Tobias was unnaturally still, especially for a man hunched as he was in such an awkward position.
It was almost as if he had turned into a marble sculpture of himself.
From his facial expression it was impossible to guess what he was thinking.
But, as was the wont of Tobias, he did not utter a word.
Instead, he suddenly broke the statue illusion by turning on his heel and striding away.
It was odd behaviour even for a man prone to being strange.
‘Most likely a wild animal did it,’ said Christopher, who immediately regretted speaking when his two brothers turned to him with almost identical looks of incredulity.
‘Oh, yes,’ said Edward. ‘Badgers are known for scaling walls, smashing windows and then disappearing into the night.’
‘It could have been a bird, you sarcastic nincompoop.’ Before children had come into their lives, Christopher would have sworn at his brothers.
Now all four of them made an effort to keep their language clean at all times.
Christopher found he rather liked the tamer insults; they were somehow more disparaging.
‘Then why is there not an injured bird in here?’ asked Edward, his voice dripping with anger.
‘If it smashed the window, it stands to reason it would have been moving forward and yet the room is empty of any type of wildlife.’ He ran his hand through his hair, leaving it standing on end.
‘Besides, birds do not fly around at night, you muttonhead.’
‘Perhaps one got confused in the dark.’ That was unlikely to be the case, but he was irritated now, and he was not going to back down.
‘They are not going to be flying at night, Christopher.’ Edward’s lips were a tight line across his face, his skin pale. ‘It just does not happen. Unless said bird is an owl and adapted to darkness and would therefore not careen into the wall of our house.’
‘If this was done by someone intending harm, why smash a window not big enough for an adult to fit through? It does not make sense, Teddy.’ Using a moniker his brother hated was perhaps unkind, but being condescended to was as annoying as hell.
‘Christopher makes a good point,’ said Freddie.
‘I do,’ he agreed.
But Edward was shaking his head, not willing to even consider that either of his brothers might have displayed sound reasoning.
‘Someone could have come into the garden and smashed this window to assess what level of security we have here. If we did not notice, they would know they could come and do something bolder.’
‘That is even more absurd than your badger comment,’ said Christopher. ‘If someone is out there testing us, then they would surely realise that this will alert us to their presence and we would therefore increase our security. It does not make sense for this to be sinister.’
His words did not calm Edward down. ‘Are you forgetting that someone murdered our brother?’
Christopher’s blood thundered in his veins.
It had been months since he had a falling out with one of his brothers, but it seemed it was about to happen now.
‘As if I could forget such a thing. It never leaves my mind. But comparing what happened to Sebastian to this is like comparing cheese to water. It is not the same.’
‘Christopher is making sense, Teddy,’ said Freddie.
‘My name is Edward! Unless you are under the age of ten, stop calling me blasted Teddy.’
Freddie placed a calming hand on his brother’s shoulder, but Edward shrugged him off, muttering instead that he was going to find Kate, before storming out of the room, or at least attempting to.
The tight space made his exit less dramatic than he probably hoped, but he didn’t stop glaring at both of them during it.
‘The second Teddy was too much,’ said Freddie, turning back to stare at the sprinkling of broken glass that covered the floor. ‘I do not know why I said it. I could see he was getting more uptight by the minute, and I did it anyway.’
‘He was being a pig-headed goat.’
Freddie smiled. ‘There is an image I will not forget in a hurry.’
‘I know he worries, but he is being over the top. If someone wanted to break into Glanmore House, this is a poor way to go about it.’
‘Perhaps,’ said Freddie, patting Christopher on the arm, before he too walked away, leaving him alone in the room.
Maybe all three of his brothers had gone outside to look at the damage from a different angle, but it would do no harm for Christopher to take a look too. He hoped he would find a few feathers to back up his bird theory, or better yet, a highly skilled badger lurking in the undergrowth.
He found only Tobias in the garden. His oldest brother looked lost in thought as he gazed up at the window.
‘It could have been a bird,’ said Christopher, somehow less sure of himself in the face of his oldest brother’s natural sternness.
‘Most likely.’
‘Do you really think so?’ Christopher wished Edward were around to hear Tobias agreeing with him, then realised just how childish that made him. He was a grown man, damn it. He could stand to be wrong, although he was sure, in this instance, he was right.
‘The flowers,’ said Tobias, pointing to the tulips that lined the path on either side. ‘They are undamaged.’
Christopher stepped closer to get a better look.
Sure enough, none of the flowers or plants looked stepped on and there were no footprints in the surrounding soil.
Reminding himself that he was an adult and a gentleman, he did not immediately run into the house to tell Edward.
‘It is unlikely that it was an intruder then.’
Tobias shrugged. ‘In light of what happened to Sebastian, I do not think we can be too careful. But I think it is more probable that there is an innocent explanation for this.’
‘Good, good.’ Christopher rubbed his hands together. He wasn’t going to gloat, but he didn’t mind being internally smug.
‘Be kind to your brother. He is under a lot of stress.’
He glanced up at Tobias, who had one eyebrow raised. Feeling rather like a scolded schoolboy, he muttered, ‘Of course.’
Christopher continued to look at the ground, it seemed impolite to walk away now, but it was apparent that Tobias was done talking and the very air was awkward. Before he could think of a courteous reason to leave, Sutton appeared.
‘Miss Jacobs has been taking tea with Lady Blackmore and Lady Katherine, Lord Christopher. They are just finishing up and have asked to see if you are available to join them for a moment.’
Something strange was taking place in his stomach.
It was as if it couldn’t decide whether to swoop or dive and so it was swirling around in an uncomfortable circle.
He and Sophia hadn’t seen one another in almost a week, and it took all of his willpower not to run towards the Blue Lounge like a schoolboy at recess.
He had missed her company in their time apart, although they were still sending one another long letters, which went some way to keeping her in his thoughts.
He had no idea why they were doing that, only he didn’t seem able to stop.
He’d told himself that he needed to give her space to allow Robert time to try and woo her, but he didn’t want to not spend time with her either.
The letters were a compromise and if he spent hours over his drafts, then nobody else needed to know.
Sutton had left the door slightly ajar. Through the narrow space he caught sight of her before she was aware of his presence.
All evidence of tea had been removed and his sisters-in-law did not appear to be in attendance, although he doubted they were far away.
Sophia was perched on the edge of a settee, her hands rested on a parcel on her lap.
She was facing the window, a small smile playing around her lips as she watched something he couldn’t see.