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Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

" In her dreams, Psyche still saw Eros, but the reality of their separation was a cold and lonely awakening. "

Lucius Apuleius, Metamorphoses

A s soon as their guests had left, suspicions over Simon's false alibi obvious, John demanded they discuss the news. Simon was still reeling at the questions that unknown heirs posed, but was forced to sit in silence while his family gathered to discuss what had happened.

Molly was the first to arrive, removing her bonnet with an expression of alarm. Being summoned to the study was an unusual occurrence, and it was clear she was worried. Nicholas was roused from his sleep, and it took twenty minutes for him to finally appear in a state of dishevelment as if he had dressed in a hurry.

They remained in the study, on the extra chairs that had been brought in, and John informed them of the news. It was, he had reasoned, imperative they hear about it before scandal broke in the news sheets or amongst the ton .

After his mother's heroic intervention, she had settled back into an opioid daze. Simon would have checked on her, but he was in somewhat of a daze himself, albeit for different reasons.

"So some Italian brats are now in line ahead of me? I am no longer the spare, but the damned third spare? How could my circumstances have worsened even further!" Nicholas's plaintive tone would have grated on Simon's nerves, but he thought he might be in a slight state of shock because he did not feel much of anything. Logically, though, it was he who was most affected, not Nicholas. The meaning of his life, his adherence to duty, had all been for naught. He had sacrificed everything he had wanted for himself and was now betrothed to a girl he did not know, or particularly like, in the pursuit of family unity. He knew what he would do if he had been a free man. Return to Madeline and beg her to forgive him for his neglect.

But I am not a free man.

John thumped the desk where he was still seated. "Can you think of no one but yourself?" Simon thought for a moment his older brother was addressing him until he noticed John was glaring at Nicholas. Simon experienced a moment of sentimentality that John defended him so, which was quickly set straight when his brother continued speaking. "What of me! I have to bring some European clunches into our family home as honored guests! We have no knowledge of their breeding or education! Do you have any notion of the crisis that this has created for me?"

Simon drummed his fingers on his knee, attempting to keep himself together as best he could until he was left alone with his thoughts. John had not always been so self-absorbed. It was a characteristic that had come to light after he had become ill, and Simon could understand that his brother had not the energy to think of anyone else when he was so sick.

"Your father would be so ashamed at such a development," proclaimed Isla without any sign of emotion. "He so wished to elevate the family bloodlines, and these accusations are deeply insulting."

Simon did not think the statement helpful, but he was inclined to be charitable, considering his mother had stepped in to help him with an alibi. He was still rather taken aback at the decisive action she had taken to protect him. Isla wandered through life in a soporific state, so the fact that she somehow noted what was taking place in the study and presented herself on cue had been the singular fortune Simon had experienced in recent weeks.

He could not credit that he had been accused of murder. What alarmists their guests had been. What on earth could lead them to make such an assault on his character? The baron must have been killed by someone in his own household, considering the news sheets had reported his death to be late evening while he was in his study. Their family was distantly acquainted with the murder victim at best. Perhaps Filminster had caught his steward altering the account ledgers for his own gain and been bludgeoned for his troubles?

The bickering continued, each Scott insisting they had been the most wronged by the earlier visit. Simon held his tongue, contemplating his predicament as the drama played out without his intervention. He was jolted from his woolgathering when Molly suddenly sprang to her feet.

"I appreciate all that you have done for me, I do! But I feel compelled to point out that Simon is the one most affected by this news, and I find these unattractive remarks to be self-serving and selfish!"

He blinked, taken aback at the demonstration of support from the relation he barely knew, watching as Molly turned on her heel and stormed from the study. Simon wished he could follow her.

Molly had been summoned away by the head footman, Duncan Campbell, so Madeline was left to read her book in the afternoon light. She had her parasol crooked up, along with her bonnet to shade her eyes, but the glare on her page was making it difficult to read. Putting her book down and fiddling with the parasol to see if she could angle it to cast shade on her lap, she then picked up her novel to continue reading.

It was not a well-advised choice of book, but she had a yearning to read Waverley . Simon's family hailed from Scotland, but Madeline did not know much about their northern neighbors. The descriptions of towering mountains and reflective lochs had captured her imagination. Not a thoughtful cure to her blues about Simon's recent betrothal, but engrossing nevertheless.

Buried in her story of highland drama, she did not notice the passage of the sun across the sky until she was startled from her bemusement by a shadow cast across her peripheral vision. Flinching in surprise, she raised her head to find Molly staring at her in a state of agitation.

"Simon needs you."

Madeline frowned in perplexment at the dramatic announcement. Molly had struck her as a level-headed young lady, so it was odd to see her in a state of obvious disquiet. "I am afraid that Simon and I no longer visit with each other. We have not in quite some time."

"He has just received news …" Molly shook her head, her face displaying turbulence. "His family can think only of themselves. They care not for his distress. Heaven forfend any of the Scotts pay mind to another member of their clan." She stopped, cocking her head at this pronouncement. "Except for Simon. He never speaks of himself. I think him to be quite selfless. I almost wish he would lose his temper and assert his own rights."

Madeline squinted, closing her book and putting it down on the bench. Molly's assessment was similar to her own. Simon had been a well-balanced and considerate individual until the night of his brother's accident. That event changed him. He had been by his brother's side for weeks, obeying the physician's instructions and doing everything he could to help Nicholas recover. From that time on, Simon had been obsessed with caring for the family, speaking of duty each time she met with him, which had become less frequent over the years until he had announced his betrothal to another woman. Madeline accepted that she had lost him a long time ago, but it had been difficult to let go of her past hopes.

She should be protecting herself from further loss, but it was difficult to ignore a plea for help. If she did not assist him in a time of need … there was no one else he could turn to for support.

Madeline realized Molly was speaking again, probably because several moments had passed without response.

"I am sorry to burden you, but Simon and I are not close. He is so aloof, and I do not know how to offer my help. I think he needs someone who knows him better than I."

He had not been reserved in their youth. Madeline suspected the aloofness was a defense against his abandoned dreams. If he dared to consider his own desires, she thought, he would come undone. He was the rock that held the Scotts together, and she did not believe he received any benefit for his efforts.

"What has happened?"

Molly walked over to collapse on the bench beside her. "His older brother, Peter, the one who died?"

"What of him?"

"He had sons! An heir and spare. Which means …" She did not complete the sentence, the announcement hanging in the air as if a cannon had been shot.

Madeline gasped as the realization hit her. "Simon will not inherit!"

"Just so. But it is worse than that. That baron who was murdered, Lord Filminster—it is believed he was killed to conceal the heirs."

Every aspect of his life was up in the air like hundreds of leaves swirling in a blustering wind.

Except for one.

Despite the revelations, Simon was still required to marry Olivia Boyle, a fact which made the walls move to box him in.

As little affinity as he had for his betrothed, she was an innocent debutante whose reputation would be sullied if he left her unprotected against high-society scandal. The demons of the ton would eat her alive if he were to break their engagement, not to mention there would be rumors that they had lain together due to the nature of betrothals. As he contemplated the regrets he had for his decisions over the last ten years, the one comfort he could cling to was that he had tried to do what was right. But, unfortunately, what was right was to honor his commitment to the viscount's daughter or else ruin her within polite society.

Simon realized that, for the first time in his life, he did not know what the future held.

In his youth, he had been committed to following his Psyche into trade. Bigsby's Stone Manufactory had been a temple of possibilities to his youthful self.

Then, after his brother's accident, Simon had pursued his obligations with the knowledge that if he were to be the baron, he would be the best damned baron he could be. He had spent his time learning and improving the holdings of the Blackwood title, despite his interests lying in a different direction—where artistry and business blended together into a stone empire.

Now … now he had no notion of who he was and what he was to do with himself. The one thing he knew was that he was a man of honor who must hold on to his integrity despite the fearsome storms of life.

He tried to calculate some way out of the muddle, but?—

A light knock sounded on the study door, which was shut after John had left and Simon had shooed the rest of the family out. Simon gnashed his teeth in aggravation before tempering his impatience to call out.

"Come in."

The door swung open, and Molly popped her head around. "Oh, good. You are here."

She disappeared again, leaving the door wide open to bedevil Simon. He jumped to his feet to cross the room when an unexpected figure appeared in her place. Simon stopped in bewilderment.

"Why are you here?" he cried.

"Because you need me," Madeline replied in a pragmatic tone.

She swung the door closed and approached him where he had halted in the middle of the room, stopping to peer up at him with concern. "Molly said you were in need of a friend, so she helped me sneak in through the garden to see you."

Simon stared down at the face of feminine perfection and thought about how he would have been free to court her if he had not signed that poxed contract two weeks earlier. Instead, he would have to settle for … friendship.

"I am …" He shook his head, grinding to a stop as words failed him.

"You are free to follow your own path. It will take a minute to work out what that is, but you are a resourceful man who will work out a new plan."

"Unfortunately, that future will include—" He could not bring himself to complete the sentence.

"Your future will include Miss Boyle."

Simon bobbed his head, relieved she understood without an explanation. Molly had been right. He needed to speak with someone who understood him. Someone he should have never deserted, who cared for his happiness and from whom he should have sought advice this past decade.

"It will."

Madeline reached a hand to touch his forearm in sympathy before remembering herself and letting it drop back to her side. "You will make it work."

She said it with such assurance, despite his abandonment of her a decade earlier. She had never wavered in her support, though she must have disagreed with his decisions. Madeline was the best kind of family, though they would never reach that destination together.

"I do not deserve you … um … your help." Simon caught himself. He was betrothed, so he could not reveal his desire to return to their previous understanding without being an utter cad to Olivia.

"We are friends, are we not? We might remain apart, but I am here when you need me." It was so sweet. Madeline had always been constant, one of the traits he admired about her, but the truth was …

I do not wish to be friends.

Which was why he must stay away from her. He was not the kind of gentleman who could have a wife while pursuing another woman. As it was, he was afraid that he would not be able to prevent himself from yearning for his Psyche in their garden of peace and moonlight.

But he intended to find a way to remain faithful to his marriage irrespective of his feelings, which meant he should listen to her advice while he had the opportunity to do so. Future interactions must be avoided, so this was his chance to hear her thoughts.

"What do I do?"

Madeline's lips curled into a smile. "If there is one thing I am confident of, it is that you will find a new plan. You are resourceful, Simon Scott. This is a temporary setback."

Simon drew in a deep breath and with it came some sense of peace in the midst of his psychological tempest. "I shall contrive a new role for myself. One of my own choosing."

Her amber eyes glowed in approval. "You shall."

"What of Miss Boyle?"

Madeline's smile faltered for a fraction of a second until she recovered. "You will find a way to make it work because that is the kind of man you are. A true gentleman through and through. She … You …. The two of you will discover what you have in common and grow closer over time. Perhaps one day"—she swallowed as if the sentiment caused her composure to sway—"fall in love."

Simon stared down into her beautiful face, tempted to lean down and brush his lips over her soft mouth, but he willed himself to hold on to his integrity. Despite the swimming confusion in his mind, Madeline's contribution was calming the despairing beast within, and he could almost imagine that he would be happy in his new life with Olivia Boyle at his side if he stayed true to his honor.

"You are a good friend, Madeline Bigsby."

"Will you be all right?"

He nodded. "I will find a way."

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