Chapter Eighteen
Up before the rest of his household, Tobias strode out into the garden, heading towards the spot where he had been sitting with Grace the evening before. Even from across a wide expanse of lawn, he could see feathers on the grass, which boded ill for the little bird Grace had been keen to protect.
Picking up speed, Tobias found no evidence of a body, but strong proof that the animal had not lasted the night. Muttering curse words under his breath, he began picking up the tiny feathers, not stopping to question what he was doing, or, more importantly, why.
‘An interesting pastime,’ said an unwelcome voice. ‘Do you want to share with us what you are doing?’
‘Us’ was an even more undesirable word. ‘Cleaning,’ he said in response, hoping that would be enough to send Freddie and whoever else was with him away.
‘Cleaning,’ repeated Edward, which meant there were at least two brothers behind him. This morning was going from bad to worse.
Ignoring their presence, he scooped up more feathers.
‘Correct me if I am wrong, but I understand there are groundsmen whose very job is to look after the grounds of Glanmore Park,’ said Christopher, meaning all three of them were there.
Tobias would stop, and try and claw back some dignity, but Grace had also been walking in Hyde Park early that first morning, which suggested she was, like him, an early riser.
If she saw this evidence that the bird she had wanted to protect, and which Tobias had persuaded her to leave, had met its demise, well, her good opinion of him would be shot to pieces.
Still not sure what exactly it was that he wanted from Grace, he knew it was not for her to associate him with bird death.
Therefore, it was imperative to ignore his brothers and carry on with what he was doing. Namely, getting rid of the evidence that the bird had not survived the night.
‘It is almost as if he has lost his mind,’ said Freddie.
‘I do not think there is any almost about it. What do you think was the moment that broke him?’
‘Perhaps, Christopher, it was the way you played the violin last night,’ said Edward. ‘Although, “play” is a rather generous word. I thought hamsters were dying.’
‘It almost broke me,’ Freddie agreed. ‘I am pretty sure my soul was bleeding at one point.’
‘I do not know what you are both talking about. I am excellent. Sophia says so.’
‘Ah, well, if your wife says…’ Freddie’s sarcasm was heavy in the morning air.
Edward snickered, but Tobias continued to pretend they were not there. Perhaps if they bickered amongst themselves, they would forget about his strange behaviour and move on. An unlikely scenario, but a pleasant fantasy nonetheless.
His hopes were dashed almost immediately. ‘Besides, turning on me is irrelevant to this, whatever this is. I thought we were commenting on Tobias’ behaviour right now.’
‘Good point,’ said Freddie. ‘We were. So, Your Grace, may we enquire as to what it is your fine person is doing?’
‘He is cleaning. He told you that,’ said Edward, which sounded supportive, but which Tobias knew would not remain so. ‘It is quite the go for dukes to get out of bed early and partake in removing feathers from their garden.’
‘If you wish to be useful,’ said Tobias, ‘you could help.’
‘I would love to.’
‘As would I.’
‘Me too.’
‘However,’ said Freddie, ‘we would want paying for such an endeavour, would we not?’
Tobias heard murmurs of agreement from each of his brothers.
He forbore to point out that they had all been living at his expense for the better part of two years now.
Instead of responding to them, he straightened and surveyed what he had done so far.
There was an ache in his lower back and only a quarter of the area was clear.
Speeding up was of the essence, because he would be damned if he asked what payment his brothers wanted. They told him anyway.
‘I think,’ said Freddie, ‘we would all be very willing to help, if we knew why removing these feathers was desirable.’
‘It will look neater,’ he said, hoping to at least appeal to Edward, who liked things to be ordered.
‘It is a bit…’
‘No, Edward. Be strong.’ Tobias heard rather than saw Freddie grab Edward’s arm to stop him from beginning to help clear the area. ‘Wait for the truth.’
‘Perhaps the truth has something to do with Grace,’ suggested Christopher, in a tone that was far too innocent to be real. ‘I believe I overheard her talking to Sophia last night about an injured bird in the garden.’
‘But if it was that, there would be no reason for our esteemed older brother to keep it from us. We all want Grace to feel part of the family. No one wants her upset.’
The ache in Tobias’ lower back was becoming a throb.
He really ought to spend more time doing activities if this simple job was causing him this much discomfort.
If only wrestling Freddie was a legitimate and dignified pastime, and he wasn’t under pressure to get this done as quickly as possible, he could do that now.
He straightened and turned to find all three brothers grinning at him, arms crossed over their chests, looking more alike than he had ever realised.
‘Fine. I do not wish for Grace to be distressed. This is a difficult situation for her to be in already. If she found these—’ he gestured to the feathers on the ground ‘—I think she would find it upsetting. I do not want that.’
Freddie’s smile faded. ‘Right you are.’
And without any further argument, his brothers began to pick up the fine feathers from the grass. He watched them for a moment, bewildered by the sudden change of pace. They had been teasing him one minute and helping him without question the next.
‘Am I really that bad at the violin?’ asked Christopher, after a few minutes’ silence.
‘You just need a little more practice.’ Christopher sounded so sweetly earnest that Tobias didn’t have the heart to tease him.
‘That is a very kind way of saying yes.’ Freddie did not have the same compunction.
‘I truly thought that would be my thing. Freddie is good at drawing, Edward is good at the piano, Tobias is good at being a duke. What is my thing?’
When neither Freddie nor Edward jumped in with a ready answer, Tobias realised it was his role to say something.
‘Firstly, you do not need a thing. You are Christopher. That is good enough. If you want to play the violin, then ignore your more annoying brothers and just do it. You do not need to be good at it. Enjoy it or move on to something else.’
Silence greeted his statement. His brothers kept on working. At this rate, they would be done quickly. Perhaps he should have gone to them for help sooner.
‘What is secondly?’ asked Christopher after a while.
‘I beg your pardon?’
‘You said firstly, which implies a secondly should follow.’
‘That is true,’ said Freddie, straightening briefly to rub his lower back, before resuming his task.
‘Oh yes. I was going to say that being good at being a duke is not a thing, as you phrased it. It is not a talent like being musical or having the ability to draw. It is a title that I was handed by accident of birth. Any one of you would have been equally as good.’
If he’d have thought about his words before he uttered them, which, surprisingly, he hadn’t, then he would have expected his brothers to find something amusing to say in response. To find something to push or to poke at. The silence that followed his statement was unnerving.
‘Do you really believe that?’ asked Freddie.
Tobias flicked his gaze around the patch of ground.
He couldn’t see any feathers left. Straightening, he found his three brothers watching him, various levels of frowns on their faces.
It took him a moment to remember what they were talking about.
‘Yes. Any one of you would probably be much better than me. Freddie, you would be charming and…’
Freddie held up a closed fist. ‘I cannot read, Tobias. One hour of me in the role and the dukedom would be in complete ruination.’
‘That is not an exaggeration,’ said Edward, quickly dodging a punch from Freddie. ‘But he is right. None of us would have the patience to wade through the work that you face on an hourly basis.’
‘We would not have the gravitas to pull it off either,’ added Christopher.
Tobias should be pleased. In less than twenty-four hours, both Grace and his brothers had complimented him.
On one level, it was good that they held him in high esteem.
But the descriptions used were not of a man who was going to set the world alight: patient, hardworking, dignified, thoughtful and kind. He sounded dull.
Before he could voice his thoughts, he caught a flash of pale blue in the corner of his eye. ‘Grace is coming.’
All four of them snapped their hands behind their backs, looking uncommonly like naughty schoolboys who had stolen a sweet treat.
‘Good morning,’ said Grace, smiling at the four of them.
In her right hand, she was holding a wooden box, and Tobias did not have the heart to tell her it wouldn’t be needed.
If Tobias’ smile was anything like his brothers’, then it was unconvincing.
A tight band was making itself felt around his middle.
His palms were sweating, the little feathers sticking to the skin.
‘Is everything quite all right?’ she asked.
‘Excellent,’ said Tobias, when none of them said anything.
‘I came to check on the bird.’
All four of them nodded.
Grace bent at the waist, peering at the bush. ‘Oh look, he is still there.’
‘He is?’ said Tobias. Sweat trickled down the back of his neck.
She crouched down and opened the lid of her box. ‘Yes. I know you said it would be cruel to contain him, but I will not keep him in here for very long.’
Grace reached under the leaves of the bush and scooped a small animal into the container. Tobias was too far away to see whether it was the sparrow from yesterday, but he had to surmise from Grace’s happy hum that it was.
She straightened, frowning slightly when she saw that the four of them had not moved. ‘Are you sure everything is all right?’
‘Yes,’ said Tobias.
Worrying her bottom lip with her teeth, she did not appear convinced. It may have been the false smiles on all of their faces, or the rigid way they were holding themselves, or maybe it was the way they all still had their hands behind their backs, but they did look highly suspicious.
‘I will take my leave of you, then,’ she said, shifting on her feet now.
‘I hope you enjoy your morning,’ said Tobias.
She smiled uncertainly at them, before turning and walking away. It was a measure of the hold she had over him that he watched her until she was out of sight, even with the feathers still clutched in his hand.
‘I feel,’ said Freddie, when she was out of earshot, ‘as if I have just woken from an incredibly strange dream.’
‘I will never be able to hold my child when he or she is born,’ said Edward, ‘because my hands are now permanently covered in feathers.’
‘You always exaggerate.’ Christopher was grinning, brushing his hands together to try and clean them; he was having limited success.
‘It is true. The sheer amount of sweat has created a stickiness not found anywhere else on earth. I am half bird at this point.’
His brothers bickered amongst themselves, as the four of them ambled back up to the house. He knew why he was moving slowly; he did not want to bump into Grace and explain why his hands were covered in feathers, but he wasn’t sure why they were.
‘What is on your mind, Tobias?’ asked Freddie, when they were only a few steps away from the house.
A lot was the true answer, but what he said was, ‘I do not understand what happened with the bird. Are the grounds of Glanmore Park some sort of wild, small bird-slaughtering place? How can one bird have met its end in the exact same place as one that was injured?’
As they crossed the threshold, the theories as to how the feathers came to be all over the grass grew wilder and wilder until all four of them were laughing in a way Tobias could not remember happening before.