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Authors: Linda Francis Lee
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shrugged, the fight along with any traces of good cheer finally and completely gone. "Damn it, I don't know."
Stephen's good hand fisted at his side as he strained to keep himself under tight control. "Who took care of your side of the transaction? Nathan?"
Adam scoffed. "Your assistant wouldn't give me the time of day, much less help me with the sale of my house."
"Because he knows I wouldn't have approved."
"What, of giving me the time of day?"
"Your insolence is not appreciated."
"Nor has it ever been," Adam snapped.
This time Stephen ran his hand through his hair. "Just tell me who represented your interests."
"Jesus, Stephen. Why can't you just leave it alone?"
Stephen's jaw clenched. "Who represented your interests?"
Bluu Waltz 63
With a dejected bow of his head, Adam said, "Peter Maybry."
"Peter Maybry! He's a crook."
A dry smile etched Adam's face. "My kind of guy."
Stephen pursed his lips, hating this, hating that the only interaction he had with his brother, his only living relative, always turned out like this. But he had learned that hating the problem did nothing to solve it. "I'll have Nathan look into the matter. There isn't a contract written that can't be undone. And if Maybry was involved, all the better. He is notorious for bad contracts."
Stephen turned away and walked over to his desk.
"Is that it?" Adam asked, his tone insolent. "Am I dismissed? Sir?"
Turning back, Stephen looked at his brother. "Yes," he said finally, not knowing what else to say, what else he could say. But just when Adam got to the door, Stephen spoke, trying for a conciliatory tone. "What time are you leaving for the Abbots' dinner party? Perhaps we could go over together."
Without turning around, Adam said, "I hadn't planned to go."
Then silence.
"What do you mean, you hadn't planned to go? Elden and Louisa are lifelong friends. Their parents were friends of our parents, and our grandparents were friends before that. I don't believe I understand."
"Well, let's study this." Adam's voice dripped with sarcasm. "What part of that sentence don't you understand? The 'I hadn't planned' part, which should cause you no problem since you're always telling me I never make plans; or the 'to go' part, in which case you need English grammar assistance, which I am in no position to provide."
64 Linda Francis Lee
"What is wrong with you?" The words exploded into the room, Stephen's restraint finally gone.
Surprise flashed across Adam's face, then turned almost instantly to resignation. "What do you want from me, Stephen?"
"I want you to be the man you are capable of being! That's all, and you know it!"
"But therein lies our problem, dear brother. I'm not a man who can direct a seventeen-fleet shipping line, or knows which buildings to buy and which to sell. I'm a man capable of little more than running through his inheritance in a matter of years, then living off the largesse of his older and clearly smarter brother. The man you want me to be and the man I am truly capable of being are two very different individuals. When are you going to accept that?"
"Never! Do you hear me? Never. I will never accept the fact that you have grown into manhood as a lazy, worthless, spendthrift who has no respect for who he is, or for the obligations a man of your stature is expected to fulfill."
"Then you're never going to accept me. Face it, Stephen, I am all those things you say, and more."
If it hadn't clearly been the middle of the day, with faded winter light falling through the window, Stephen would have sworn it was night—those hours in the darkness when everyone else in the world is asleep, though he lay awake, the promise of day beyond reach, his thoughts crowded by uncertainty. "What is wrong? You used to seem to care. What is it that you want?"
"What I want has nothing to do with honor and duty —something you could never understand. I'm not perfect like you! Everything I do is not perfectly proper, totally with
Stephen's good hand fisted at his side as he strained to keep himself under tight control. "Who took care of your side of the transaction? Nathan?"
Adam scoffed. "Your assistant wouldn't give me the time of day, much less help me with the sale of my house."
"Because he knows I wouldn't have approved."
"What, of giving me the time of day?"
"Your insolence is not appreciated."
"Nor has it ever been," Adam snapped.
This time Stephen ran his hand through his hair. "Just tell me who represented your interests."
"Jesus, Stephen. Why can't you just leave it alone?"
Stephen's jaw clenched. "Who represented your interests?"
Bluu Waltz 63
With a dejected bow of his head, Adam said, "Peter Maybry."
"Peter Maybry! He's a crook."
A dry smile etched Adam's face. "My kind of guy."
Stephen pursed his lips, hating this, hating that the only interaction he had with his brother, his only living relative, always turned out like this. But he had learned that hating the problem did nothing to solve it. "I'll have Nathan look into the matter. There isn't a contract written that can't be undone. And if Maybry was involved, all the better. He is notorious for bad contracts."
Stephen turned away and walked over to his desk.
"Is that it?" Adam asked, his tone insolent. "Am I dismissed? Sir?"
Turning back, Stephen looked at his brother. "Yes," he said finally, not knowing what else to say, what else he could say. But just when Adam got to the door, Stephen spoke, trying for a conciliatory tone. "What time are you leaving for the Abbots' dinner party? Perhaps we could go over together."
Without turning around, Adam said, "I hadn't planned to go."
Then silence.
"What do you mean, you hadn't planned to go? Elden and Louisa are lifelong friends. Their parents were friends of our parents, and our grandparents were friends before that. I don't believe I understand."
"Well, let's study this." Adam's voice dripped with sarcasm. "What part of that sentence don't you understand? The 'I hadn't planned' part, which should cause you no problem since you're always telling me I never make plans; or the 'to go' part, in which case you need English grammar assistance, which I am in no position to provide."
64 Linda Francis Lee
"What is wrong with you?" The words exploded into the room, Stephen's restraint finally gone.
Surprise flashed across Adam's face, then turned almost instantly to resignation. "What do you want from me, Stephen?"
"I want you to be the man you are capable of being! That's all, and you know it!"
"But therein lies our problem, dear brother. I'm not a man who can direct a seventeen-fleet shipping line, or knows which buildings to buy and which to sell. I'm a man capable of little more than running through his inheritance in a matter of years, then living off the largesse of his older and clearly smarter brother. The man you want me to be and the man I am truly capable of being are two very different individuals. When are you going to accept that?"
"Never! Do you hear me? Never. I will never accept the fact that you have grown into manhood as a lazy, worthless, spendthrift who has no respect for who he is, or for the obligations a man of your stature is expected to fulfill."
"Then you're never going to accept me. Face it, Stephen, I am all those things you say, and more."
If it hadn't clearly been the middle of the day, with faded winter light falling through the window, Stephen would have sworn it was night—those hours in the darkness when everyone else in the world is asleep, though he lay awake, the promise of day beyond reach, his thoughts crowded by uncertainty. "What is wrong? You used to seem to care. What is it that you want?"
"What I want has nothing to do with honor and duty —something you could never understand. I'm not perfect like you! Everything I do is not perfectly proper, totally with
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