Chapter Forty-Eight #2
“Which was telling. You share nearly a fortnight with her, constantly by her side, and you described your journey as if it was no more eventful than crossing the street, until you arrived in Scotland.”
“It was uneventful!”
Even this statement earned a look of disbelief from Avery, who also snorted. Avery did not snort. He barely had humor. He was the least expressive of his brothers.
“If anything, you should have complained about her, as you had done with your objection to leaving. You thought her foolish. Such a woman should have driven you to madness and you would have returned home, blistering our ears with the complaints and frustrations of having made the journey with such a woman, yet you did not,” Sterling reminded him.
“Go to Carrera. Win Georgie,” Jules insisted.
“That will require that I be away from Trade Wynd for at least two months and likely longer.”
“Make it a year,” Sterling suggested.
“A year!” Was he mad? Damian could not be gone from Trade Wynd for so long.
“I was gone that long.” Sterling took a drink of his wine and looked to each brother. “Our father raised us to be exactly what he expected without ever asking.”
“You do not have a choice given you were born first,” Avery offered.
“True, but he would have had me tied here, or in London when Parliament was in session. Here or there, nowhere else.”
“Yet you traveled,” Jules reminded him.
“Because I knew that it was time that I settle on a wife and beget an heir and a spare, but before I did that, I wanted to travel, and used Trade Wynd to justify my departure from England.”
Damian had not expected such a confession from Sterling.
“Jules is the only one who has not done as told. First, he became a footguard and second, he has rejected the notion of taking over the management of Wyndview Farm to remain here and sculpt.”
“As for me, I happen to be interested in something that Father would approve, thus will suffer no guilt, unlike you and the reason you will not step away,” Avery offered.
“That is not why,” Damian argued, but wondered if that was part of the reason. It would leave the burden of Trade Wynd on his brothers and that really was not fair to them.
“You may be doing what you want and I hope that it makes you happy, but I can promise that I was not truly happy until I met Caroline. It wasn’t immediate, but something deep down recognized her as being important.
I tried to convince myself that it was desire because I had been on a bloody ship and traveling, but it was more and it took time for me to face the fact that I had fallen in love,” Sterling explained with a strength and determination that Damian had not heard in his tone in a very long time.
“Caroline was my lover before I realized that I loved her. The attraction and desire had been instant; for her it was the same. We also assumed that once I fulfilled my duties that I would leave and she would remain there, so we believed that our relationship was temporary. But I could not leave her. I was going to sail away, and then Elliot found me.”
Ah, yes, he recalled Sterling telling how Elliot had gone to Cape Colony to visit their mother.
“Had I left without Caroline or without telling her that I loved her, I would have spent the rest of my life as a miserable fool, no different than our father.”
“Do not assume that Georgie will be waiting for you when you are ready, or worse, that your life won’t be altered to deny you a future with the woman you will always love but never have,” Jules said quietly.
They knew that Jules spoke of Adeline, who they had all assumed he might marry one day.
“Sail to Carrera and tell Georgie the truth. After, visit Elliot, then mother. If all goes well, Georgie will accompany you as your wife. If not, still take a year, as I did, and find out what else you might discover for yourself instead of doing what was expected from a man who no longer has control over our destinies.”
The temptation was so great that Damian was hard pressed not to start packing immediately, but he never rushed into any decision. He needed to weigh the potential consequences, one of them being Trade Wynd. “Who is going to run Trade Wynd in my absence?” He knew that it would not be Jules or Avery.
“I will,” Sterling answered.
“With my assistance,” Caroline said from the entry to the dining room. “I had assumed the conversation was complete, but perhaps not.”
“You would assist Sterling?” he asked.
“I managed the whole of Wyndview Farm for nearly three years for my father while he tended the grapes. I am certain my knowledge and talents can be used to benefit Trade Wynd.” She pulled a chair out from the end of the table and sat.
“Besides, I grow bored with nothing to do but pay calls or supervise the staff.” She looked pointedly at Sterling.
“We cannot have that.” He smiled at his wife before returning his attention to Damian. “Take the year. I promise that Trade Wynd will not collapse in your absence. Caroline would never allow that to happen.”
Did he dare leave the company in the hands of Sterling and Caroline?
It was supposed to be his responsibility.
Supposed to be as it was dictated by a man no longer with them and who had never once asked their opinion or if they wanted to do something else.