“Do you realize what you have done?” Max whirled around, dropping Caroline’s hand as if it were white hot.
He had remained silent until he had found a room where they might have some privacy. A well-kept study that likely belonged to Daniel, judging by the quantity of ledgers and papers on the desk. But he could hear nothing of the party that was getting into full swing, which he hoped meant no one would hear what was going on within.
Caroline clasped her hands to her chest, her golden eyes so big and innocent that it would be a challenge to remain cross with her. “I was trying to help,” she urged. “I could not bear to hear them talk to you or about you like that when you have done nothing wrong! There is no one more honorable than you, and peopleshouldknow that!”
“I do not care what people think about me, Caroline!” He fought to keep control of his temper, pacing back and forth in front ofthe desk. “That should have been obvious! Do you think I would have put that story out into the scandal sheets if Ididcare what people think about me?”
“But… but it is not fair!” Caroline insisted. “I have let you do so much for me, and I have not always been grateful, but I saw an opportunity to do something for you and I will not apologize for that.”
He swept a hand through his hair. “What you have done was not helpful, nor was it what I wanted. I did what I did to protect you and Dickie, to defend your reputations, and you have just unraveled it all. Do you understand that? Those women out there will spread what they have just heard faster than influenza at a summer ball!”
Do you not understand that I would take every insult and morsel of scorn if it meant your reputation was safe?
He could not say that, unable to admit that he cared more about her than he would ever care about himself. Or Dickie, for that matter.
“Dickiemustfind a wife,” Max continued, trying to hide the true reason for his frustration. “He will struggle now. I know he thinks his reputation is invincible, and I know he has weathered plenty of scandals before, but he will not weather this. No mother will want to risk their daughter being jilted. You have… obliterated his chances, and I have not the faintest notion of how I can fix this.”
People will judge you, Caro. People will be unkind, people will withhold invitations, people will look at you as if you are dirt on their shoe, and it was my honor to shield you from that.
But he could not shield her anymore, now that she had revealed the truth. People would pity him and respect him for his actions, but he wanted neither; he just wanted her to be happy and cherished by the society that she loved so much.
Caroline narrowed her eyes at him. “You careso muchfor your brother that you are quite content to protect his reputation at the expense of yours? You would allow people to disrespect you, as long as they do not disrespect him?”
“Yes!” Max replied, shaking his head. “Have you not listened to anything I have said? I am responsible for those who are dearest to me. I do not care what happens to me as long as those I adore are safe and happy.”
“I maintain that what occurred between me and your brother was stupid. I still believe that it is foolish for society to leap to marriage, simply because two friends were talking, but it should not be your responsibility to be scorned and spurned because twootherpeople made a mistake in society’s eyes,” Caroline said vehemently.
“It was my duty, Caro! It was my duty to you, and you went against my wishes.”
“And what of my wishes?” Caroline shot back, straightening up. “In truth, I agree that Dickie does not deserve to face anyconsequences, butIdo. I was the one who decided what would happen that day. I was the one who chose to go against society, believing that I would get my way. Dickie was willing to do what was right, but I was not. He did not truly jilt me, Max—he was told not to come!”
Max took a step back as if he had been struck, the air rushing out of his lungs. He had heard every word, but it was as if she was speaking a foreign language, the meaning muddling in his mind.
“What?” he said, squinting as if that might give him a better picture of what he was hearing.
Caroline heaved a sigh. “I was so fixated on my dream of love, Max.” She lowered her gaze, her chin dropping to her chest. “Dickie and I would have lived more separate lives than you and I had planned to, if we had married. And I did not want that.Hedid not want that. So, on the day that you made him propose marriage to me, I hatched a plan. When I spoke with him alone, I told him not to come to the wedding. I told him to jilt me. I insisted.
“He was not convinced at first. He did not want to disappoint you or have you hate him but I, in my stubbornness, proved to be very persuasive. I got him to agree, though even on the morning of the wedding, I was not certain if he would proceed as planned. I was terrified that he would show up, but he did not… and it was the best thing he could have done.”
If shehadstruck Max, it might have stung less. He had lost count of the times he had cursed his brother’s name over thepast weeks and cringed at the things that he had written to Dickie. His letters to his brother had flitted between furious and desperate for reconciliation, often in the same paragraph, so to realize that Dickie was never to blame stuck like a barb in his throat. Indeed, to hear that Dickie hadwantedto do the right thing was a punch to the gut.
For so many years, Max had tried to get Dickie to show some responsibility and maturity. When Dickie had not shown up at the church, Max had blamed himself, considering himself an utter failure as a father figure and a brother. Now, Max understood that Dickie had not been hiding from him to avoid the berating of his life, but because he had been ashamed, aware that by heeding Caroline’s wishes he would be disappointing his brother.
“Why would you do that?” Max asked thickly. “He understood what was expected. Why would you tell him to run when, for the first time in his life, he was willing to be responsible?”
“If you do not understandthat, thenyouhave not been listening,” Caroline replied coldly, her lip trembling. “Did you not hear me say that his absence was the best thing that could have happened?”
Max held up his hands. “I cannot speak to you right now.” He clenched his jaw. “I can barely look at you. You have made a mockery of him and of me, and… I think it would be best if I took my leave.”
He did not want to say something that he would later regret, and the anger rising in him would do neither of them any favors. He had never wanted to be married, but he had made peace with it because he had thought he was saving Caroline on that fateful wedding day. His actions had a noble purpose. To hear that she had conjured a deceitful scheme that had gone awry, willingly hurling Dickie’s reputation into the mud, was not something he could process at that moment.
In truth, he felt like a complete fool.
“I need to find Dickie. I need to fix what you have broken,” he said, heading for the door.
“Max, wait,” Caroline urged, taking a step forward.
He shook his head. “Do not follow me, Caroline.” He opened the door. “Enjoy the party. Your friends ought to be here by now.”
