Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13

G raham never understood what his father was thinking in life nor in death.

As a child, it was explained to him rather bluntly that he would inherit a title, but that it meant nothing. The only thing that mattered was money, and so one had to have extensive amounts of it or else they were nothing.

It only became worse after the death of their mother. His father, now, had complete control, and there was no longer a kind voice in the background to tell the boys that they were perfect as they were and that they should not let some competition their father had invented divide them. Without their mother, they did not stand a chance with the exception of their eldest, it appeared.

Graham wanted no part in it, and he never had. The more his brothers schemed and tricked and fooled, the more determined he was to never lower himself to that level. Money meant nothing to him if he did not earn it honestly, and so if it meant that he would be without, then he would be.

"I say, Graham," Nicholas said to him one morning. "You are terribly undukely. Why, by ten and five, you truly should begin to prepare to be given your title."

"How kind of you to wish ill of Father," he grimaced. "Regardless, you are no more mature than me simply because you have obtained whiskey."

"It is not a difficult concept to grasp, Graham. Alcohol is for those that are of age. I have purchased it and am therefore of age."

"If that is truly your stance on the matter, then we all ought to be happy that you are not the oldest."

"You can have the title, but Father will give me the estates. I do not know why the three of you make any attempt to claim them at all. We all know that I am his favorite."

"I would rather be impoverished than be in that man's favor. It astounds me that you think it is any good showing on your character."

"Graham, when will you at last learn that your character counts for nought? All you must do is be wealthy, and then other gentleman shall have no choice but to like you. Nobody respects a man that has no respect for himself, and you clearly have none with how content you are to let me take over what should rightfully be yours."

"I do not want it. It is bad enough that I am to receive the dukedom. You are welcome to the estates, for I do not want them. I could not care less for them if I tried, and I have indeed tried."

"And it is reasoning like that," his father bellowed as he entered, "that makes me reluctant to give you the dukedom at all."

"You have no choice but to," Graham sighed.

"No," Nicholas chimed. "And it is a great shame because I believe I would fare far better. Do you not agree, Father?"

"Of course," he agreed. "You are stern and cutthroat and determined to make an impression, be it good or bad. I will say that it is between yourself and William at this moment in time, but you do continuously make a good showing for yourself."

"Why would you choose William over me?"

"He is older than you."

"It is only by two years," Nicholas argued, "and I am quite sure that I best him in terms of anything that comes with age."

"Once again, I cannot help but agree," their father laughed darkly, "but a lot can change between now and when I make my decision. You mustn't rest on your laurels and think that I will choose you simply because I favor you."

He walked away, leaving the two boys together once more.

"I told you that he favors me."

"And I told you that it is of no matter to me. I do not want the estates, and I do not care which of the three of you receives them. I hope you enjoy them, whichever it is."

"It will be me; there is no question about it. You heard Father."

"Yes, and I also heard him when he said the exact same thing to William. He is considering you because you like him more than the rest of us do, but he will likely receive the money because he is older."

"So, he is considering both of us…" Nicholas mumbled. "In any case, you are not being considered at all, and as the eldest, you ought to be ashamed of yourself for that. You should far and away be the clear winner, but you are losing to two of your younger brothers. How do you sleep at night?"

"I sleep very well knowing that what's mine is mine, and thus it cannot be taken away."

This seemed to ring true when, at only two and twenty, Graham had moved into his own lodgings and was supporting himself entirely without the help of his father. He watched helplessly as his three brothers tore each other apart in the meantime with Andrew being but ten and seven years old and thus not ready for the caliber of which his brothers were determined to fight.

"You know," Graham told Andrew when he saw him in a street one day, "the quieter life is nothing to be ashamed of. I enjoy it thoroughly, myself."

"That is easy to say when you are to become a duke. You shall always have that."

"If I could hand it to you, I would. I do not want our father's title. Mother says it made him cruel."

"I wouldn't know."

Graham could not be angry with his youngest brother for that feeling. He had never known the late duchess, and their father had not spoken very kindly of her, so it was of no surprise that Andrew did not hold her in too high a regard.

"All I am saying," he tried once more, "is that Nicholas and William are not the sort of men to back down from a challenge, and they will stop at nothing to destroy you if that is what it takes."

"And who is to say that I am any different? A good man is one that is not afraid to go after what he wants. You can hide in your lodgings all that you like, but you will never be half of the man that father is."

Graham hoped that one day his brother would realize the truth, but he doubted it. They were all too far gone for it to ever be a possibility. They would simply have to continue until they ran each other into the ground and one victor remained.

Meanwhile, Graham continued to do the one thing he knew. He stayed in business, only participating in good and fair deals, and ensuring that each step had been calculated. There were no risks, and therefore the rewards were smaller, but it was better that way. He could not destroy what he built and then have to scramble to save it if he did not risk it all in the first place. It was safe, and whilst his brothers hated it, he did not care.

Soon enough, one of them would be so incredibly wealthy that they would never think of him again, and the other two would be driven mad that they had not won and so would chase the victor instead of himself for the first time. Truth be told, he was actually rather looking forward to the day.

Then he was summoned to see his father.

He knew that there could be nothing good come of it; his father never cared to speak with his failure of a son unless it was to chastise him. He had not expected, however, to be confronted by a pale figure lying in bed whilst the doctor beside it wrung his hands over and over.

"It is not looking good, Sir," he explained, gesturing to Graham's father "We do not know what the ailment is, exactly, but we can only assume it is fatal. He has asked for your presence immediately."

"Has he asked for my brothers?"

"In time, he says, but for now his priority must remain his eldest, the one to inherit the title."

Graham noted that the doctor did not mention the estates in his explanation, but he did not care. It was not money that he would ever want or need.

"My boy," his father greeted, "how are you?"

"I have been better," he noted. "Seeing one's father in a state such as this tends to have that effect."

"I shall be recovered by morning. It is as I told you — you must be made of strong stuff to be a duke. I am fortunate that you are."

"What is it that you want?" Graham snapped, alerting the doctor once more. "You have never had a kind word for me, so do not pretend to feel this way now."

"I wanted to ask you why you never played my game."

"Because I did not want to."

"You did not want to protect what is rightfully yours?"

"I did not want to engage in behavior that would lead to me losing all three of my brothers, not that it matters now."

"Then why don't you do it now? There is still time."

"I do not want your money, and I never have. What I have now is my own, and I intend to guard that rather than pretend that I deserve anything more."

"So you are saying that you do not wish for the inheritance?"

"I wish that you had never done this. Your sons all hate each other; does that make you happy?"

"The fact that at least three of my sons dare to take what they want makes me very happy indeed. You, on the other hand, are utterly complacent and could not care less about my wishes. It is a shame, after all that I have done for you."

"And what exactly have you done for me?"

"Graham, do you think that money and estates grow on trees? I built this life myself, and I made it, so we would be incredulously wealthy, even for a dukedom. I made everything perfect for you to build upon it, and instead, you have disappointed me."

"There are no surprises there," Graham sighed. "Father, I do not care for wealth. It is bad enough that you are forcing a title on me that I do not want. In all honesty, you choosing another brother for your estates is a gift. I want nothing more to do with this, am I clear?"

His father seemed to nod and then gestured for him to leave the room. Graham did not need to be told twice. In all honesty, he did not even require a single instruction. He was all too happy to leave his father there for the rest of his life and never see him again, which is exactly what happened.

It was strange knowing that he was finally gone, as it was something that Graham had secretly longed for all his life, but it was stranger to know that the last thing he had said to him was that he did not want his money and never would because not long after the funeral, the will was read.

Graham was certain that in spite of his father's threats, Nicholas would be named the heir to the estates. William would be angry, but it would subside eventually as they all came to terms with the fact that Nicholas simply wanted it the most. He had earned it, and proved his right to it, and…

Graham had been given it all.

It should not have been a surprise, but Graham had already told them that he had no interest, thus showing his utter disinterest, and he had thought that would be enough. That was until he read the note from his father that accompanied the will.

My eldest son,

I appreciate your position in regard to our family's wealth. You are the only one of my sons to tell me that you did not need it and that you have built a life for yourself outside of what I can offer you. I understand your position completely.

Regardless, it is all yours. I do not care whether or not you want it. In fact, it brings me joy knowing that all of my estates are in your name as you do not want them. Did you expect that you could simply renounce your responsibilities and keep the title? It is not that easy. You shall have to navigate your brothers' fury because I have no part in it anymore. Frankly, it was rather tiring towards the end.

Good luck,

Your Father.

Graham read the note and then read it again to be sure. This had not been some gesture of goodwill or a gift to reward his work. This was one final attempt to make all of his sons hate each other, and the worst thing was that Graham knew that it would work. That did not make him want the estates any more.

"You must be proud of yourself," Nicholas sneered. "After doing nothing and not having to try, once again you are given everything by default."

"I can offer you one of the manor houses," he sighed. "You can each have one if you wish."

"How wonderful of you, but I do not need your pity. What I want is that which is rightfully mine."

There would be no explaining it away nor handing away the estates. It was all or nothing to them, and so they would not want bits and pieces. They were selfish and wanted everything for themselves, and so in that respect, the estates were better in Graham's hands.

"What do you want from me, Nicholas? You know as well as I do that this was not our choice to make. I told him I did not want it. What more could I have done?"

"You could give it all to me."

"And what of William and Andrew?"

"Who cares about them? You and I both know that I deserved this, and Father deciding to play favorites does not change that."

"If it were playing favorites, he would have given them to you."

"That does not signify."

"Nor does the fact that you think this money is yours. It is not. It is mine whether you believe it to be fair or not. My apologies, Brother, but what is done is done."

"Then I will not apologize for what I have to do in return."

"And what is that?"

"It will be the same as I have always done. I will do what is necessary to make my life the best it can be, and if you wish to stand in my way, then that is not my fault."

"I do not intend to do anything of the sort."

"That is just as well because William will be feeling the same way that I do, so if you want my advice, I would tell you to watch your back."