Page 97 of Stolen By the Heartless Duke
“I counted four separate frowns during this conversation alone.”
“You were counting?” Hector smirked in spite of himself.
“I become bored when you lie to me.”
Hector rubbed a weary hand across his jaw. “I have no objection to Lady Jane.”
“No?” Ambrose raised an eyebrow.
“I enjoy her company. In fact, I have been giving her self-defense lessons.”
“Have you?” Ambrose asked.
“I have,” Hector affirmed. “But I cannot think of her in any other way while Evan is missing. And her brother for that matter.”
Ambrose watched him carefully over the rim of his glass. “And yet, you are upset over her.”
Hector remained silent. The fire cracked softly. Finally, he said, “She deserves stability, protection, and a husband who can give her peace.”
Ambrose nodded. “I agree with all of that.”
Hector stared into the flames. “I cannot offer those things.”
The admission escaped him before he had intended it to. Ambrose’s expression softened almost imperceptibly. “You’ve already decided that for her?”
“I’ve decided it for myself.”
“They are not the same thing.”
“They must be.”
Silence settled between them again. This time it carried more weight. Ambrose swirled the whiskey in his glass.
“You know,” he said quietly. “When we were at Cambridge, every man wanted something.”
Hector arched an eyebrow. “What an astonishing observation.”
“Allow me to finish. Some wanted titles, others wanted fortunes.”
“Or mistresses,” Hector added.
“Or political careers,” Ambrose retorted.
Hector nodded. “And you?”
Ambrose smiled. “I wanted all four.”
“I’ve no doubt.”
“But you…” Ambrose’s smile faded. “…you only ever wanted one thing: to take care of Evan, to ensurehishappiness. You’ve spent your entire adult life making certain your brother had opportunities you never believed you deserved.”
“He deserved them.”
“I never said he didn’t,” Ambrose said.
Hector looked away. He remembered their father. The impossible expectations. The relentless discipline. The certainty that failure was weakness.
He had accepted responsibility before he’d properly understood what it meant. Then their parents had died. And suddenly, responsibility had become everything.
