Chapter 1

One year had passed since the arrival of Scott, and William could hardly say that he was surprised that there was no apparent sign of that changing any time soon.

Fortunately, he had gotten his late father's affairs in order in spite of the consistent issues his younger brother brought with him. He had considered telling him to leave on more than one occasion, but he had never managed to go through with it. He had protected him against his father for years, and so it had become second nature to let him do as he pleased.

That day was as most of them were, with William shut away in his study whilst his darling little brother had his friends in the drawing room discussing matters that did not interest William in the slightest, not that he had ever engaged in any form of conversation with them.

"Do not destroy the drawing room before I return," he said firmly as he was leaving, "And do not allow this group to venture into any other rooms."

"Where are you going?" Scott asked, ignoring the warnings as he so often did.

"Did you hear me?"

"Yes, of course. No destruction and no exploration."

"Then I shall tell you," William nodded, "I am going to see Hodgkinson."

"The solicitor? Does he not usually come here?"

"He does," William said shiftily, "But I thought it may be a nice change of pace."

"And it is not because you do not wish for me to hear your conversation?"

"I knew that you had been eavesdropping!"

"Only on occasion, and only to ensure that you weren't discussing my staying here."

"Believe me, the time for such complaints is long gone. You are practically a part of the furniture now."

"Wonderful. In that case, why are you going over there?"

"It is as you have been saying of late. I have spent too much time in that study and I require some time out of it. Out of the house, even."

"In which case, have a wonderful time!"

"It is a meeting with a solicitor, Scott. It is hardly a holiday."

"Then when you return you might wish to take an actual break and join us?"

"I shall see," he said quickly before rushing out of the door.

The answer would be, of course, no.

"Ah, Your Grace," Mr. Hodgkinson said brightly upon William's entrance, "I hadn't been expecting you today. Is everything alright?"

"I arranged this meeting a week ago, did I not?"

"Not unless your letter was misplaced, no."

William tried to think back to writing his letter and sending it off to him, but suddenly he could not remember doing so. His thoughts had been rather scattered of late, and it was entirely possible that he had forgotten.

"My apologies," William replied, "If it is not a good time, I can reschedule-"

"Nonsense, I have been hoping to speak with you, Your Grace."

"Oh? Why might that be?"

"Well, your concern for your late father's affairs need not be so heavy now. I was looking at your papers, and it appears that you have everything in order now."

"What? But I have only been in charge of all of it for a year and a half. I was not planning on it all being fixed for another few years."

"I don't suppose you were expecting to work as intensely as you have, either. Truly, it is as though you do not leave yourself any time to enjoy your life."

William laughed gently, but it was only to cover the fact that his solicitor had been exactly right.

"Then it appears it might be time to step back from it all," he nodded, "Very well."

"You do not sound pleased with the prospect of that, Your Grace. I do not mean to speak out of turn, but it is rather strange that you so crave work. One would think it a privilege."

"You are right, and it is strange that I cannot honestly say I am pleased that I shall now have the usual amount of work to do. I suppose that I like to feel useful."

"In that case, your town shall be a fortunate one. Have you paid a visit to it of late?"

"No, I prefer to stay in London. It has been far easier to see you this way, and heaven knows I have needed that."

"And now?"

"Now I must prepare for the season. I am always occupied when the ton descends upon London."

"A terrible time of year, truly."

"I am more than aware of that. All eyes on me, mamas on every corner. It is dreadful, and with my two fellow dukes no longer available, it is my expectation that it shall be even worse this year."

"I do not envy you in that respect. Now, as for your brother-"

"What damage has he done to my accounts?"

"Well, this friend of his that is staying in the lodgings you gave to him does not seem to show signs of leaving any time soon, but your brother ought to find a way to stand on his own in another way soon. He has been draining your funds, there is no kind way of saying it."

"I was afraid you would say that," William sighed, "I cannot say that I am surprised though. It feels as though every night he has another party. He is utterly out of control."

"You must find a way to control it, else your work to fix what your father did shall quickly have been for nothing."

William hated hearing it, no matter how true he knew it to be. He had been slaving away for a year and a half in an attempt to restore his family's situation, and instead of showing even the slightest hint of gratitude his brother was throwing it all away.

"I understand," he nodded in response, "Thank you, Mister Hodgkinson."

"It is no trouble at all, Your Grace," the solicitor smiled sympathetically, "Younger brothers can be a handful, but I assure you it isn't deliberate."

"Do you have one?"

"I am one," he laughed gently, "Believe me, he will find his way eventually."

William could only hope that this would be the case.

The echoes of the guests still ringing throughout his home upon his return, however, confirmed that it would not be for a while at least. He wanted to tell them to quieten down, but he couldn't bring himself to. For one, he was in good spirits knowing that his work was done as far as his late father was concerned, but for another it was simply because he did not wish to engage with them.

"Brother!" Scott's voice rang out from behind him suddenly, "Join us!"

He did not respond, instead continuing on his way and hiding in his study. He did not need to work, but it was the only sanctuary he had. It was the only place that he could go to that would grant him peace, which was a luxury that even as a duke he could scarcely afford to have.

Upon entering, he noticed a letter on his desk that his butler must have left for him. He was under instruction to do so if ever he was not there to take his correspondence.

He tore it open the moment he noticed who had sent it.

He had considered sending Scott to the estate in the North on more than one occasion, only ever not going through with his threats because he knew that Scott would be unable to handle it. Seeing a letter from a neighbor of his there, Lord Coatsworth, he knew that something had to be wrong. He had shown no sign of interest in the household in a long time, and it was unlikely that his neighbor cared to hear of the comings and goings of his daily life.

"Did you not hear me?" Scott asked in the doorway, "Our guests wish to spend some time with you."

"Perhaps another time."

"You know, it is vital to our family's standing that you socialize with the ton. It does not look good if we refuse company at every turn."

"If the company you kept was worth socializing with, perhaps I would do so. Alas, they are not."

"It is not just for the sake of our social standing," Scott sighed, "It is for the sake of your wellbeing. It is not good for your health to be a recluse, and you cannot shut yourself away from the world simply because your two friends are occupied by their own situations."

"My point stands," William huffed.

"How long do you plan to be this way?"

"For as long as I deem necessary. How long do you plan to stay here without contributing to anything other than the amount of noise?"

"You are not being fair."

"I have been more than fair. I think you know that," William said firmly, giving his brother a firm glare, "Regardless, this shall not be a problem for me any longer. It appears that I am to go North."

"North?" Scott echoed, "To Mother?"

"That is correct."

"But why? Is she not in good health?"

"The letter does not say, although Coatsworth is quite clearly concerned for her."

"Why would he be? She was perfectly fine the last I saw her. Missing her late husband, though God knows why she would, but other than that she seemed quite content."

"He alleges that she has fallen into what he believes to be the wrong crowd. She has always been proper, and so he is quite concerned and has asked that I visit."

"But you haven't seen her in years now."

"I have not spoken to her since Father died," William nodded, "And even then it was only brief condolences before I left once more."

"She never deserved that."

"No, not from either of us, but what is done is done and I shall not pretend that I regret it."

"Then why are you going? You quite clearly do not care for her situation."

"That is untrue," William argued, "I care for the lady deeply. I only haven't seen her because I have not had the time."

"If that is the case, why were you never truly sympathetic to her about her husband's death?"

"Because I had been under the impression that we all felt the same way. His death was sad for those that liked him, but it was hardly a tragedy. He hated us, Scott. Why would I miss a man like him?"

"That is not what I said. I asked you why you were not sympathetic to Mother."

"Because he hated her, too. We shall never know why he did, but he did. I will never understand why she was so upset by his passing. After all, you and I were nothing short of relieved."

"It still saddened me when he passed," Scott said gently, "His life served to tell me that he hated us, to be sure, but his death? It was proof that it would never change. He died as he lived, full of hate for us. That will never be any different now, and I shall never be able to say that I have a father that loved me, or that was proud of me. Nor will you. You cannot say that that isn't profoundly sad."

"I choose not to think about it, and I am all the better for it. Regardless, you may wallow in this household during my absence, but if I return to anything being out of place then you are leaving. Do you understand?"

"Are you truly leaving for Bolton?"

"What choice do I have?"

"Well, it is just that you do not seem to believe Mother is going through any real issues. If you do not see reason to go, and you have not done so in so long, why now?"

To leave this household and not be burdened by the company you keep, William thought, but he did not say so. It would have been cruel, and not entirely fair.

"To make things right," he replied instead, "It is about time that I go to visit Mother and see what is happening and if she is truly with the wrong sort. I also require a moment with her to talk about what has happened since Father's passing and the work that is required in order to put the estates to rights."

"I thought you had all of that under control."

Scott was clueless as to just how correct he was, but William was not about to enlighten him. He wanted to leave. He wanted to get away from the ton and it's incessant need to speak with him about matters that he couldn"t care less about, and his brother that saw him as someone to fund his lifestyle and not much more beside. If that meant that he had to go to Bolton and see his mother, then so be it.

It was the only way to escape.

"The accounts were on track to being brought under control. They were, that is, until someone came into the picture and decided to spend more than he was supposed to."

"These soirees are expensive!" Scott protested.

"And unnecessary. In fact, I remember a certain agreement that you would not have them. Well, fear not, brother. You can now hold any event you wish for the time being. Unfortunately, you shall have to fund them yourself. I no longer have the means to do so, not if I am to save the family name that you seem to care so much about."

It was a lie, and he knew that it was unfair to blame it on his brother, but he couldn't help it. It was an excuse to no longer need to pay for his brother's wild ways and he took it without a second thought. After all, what Scott didn't know wouldn't hurt him and it would possibly lead to him being forced to make his own way at last.

"Very well," Scott said firmly, "In that case, I wish you well. Do not be away for too long, as I shall miss you terribly, but give Mother my regards."

"Write to her."

"William, what is it with you? Why do you not wish for us to be a family anymore?"

"Anymore? You say that as if we were ever a family to begin with."

"We were," Scott protested.

"Were we?"

Scott stared at him for a moment before shaking his head and leaving. William sighed and began to pack for his trip.

As always, acting as though nothing had happened.