His brother never enjoyed being reminded that he was the younger of the two of them.He’d always wanted to be the eldest of the family, the one that everything went to, and in some ways, he was.Tavish never wanted to run his da’s precious gentlemen’s club or make decisions for the family, like their father did.
Tavish shook his head.It was comical to think that his ma would ever leave the home that Da had purchased for them when they all had come to England.She was never going to leave the home where she raised her family.His sister, on the other hand, would be happy to move into the mansion with him and…the duchess.
“Fine, but don’t expect me to clean up your mess when it all goes to hell, like everything else you touch,” Declan said, holding up his arms in frustration.
Tavish knocked his brother’s hand away before rising.He rolled his eyes, used to his brother’s antics.
He needed a damn drink.The sinful woman upstairs had undone him completely.He’d been prepared for a duchess.Of course, everyone knew his father’s bastard of a cousin had remarried in a last-ditch effort to produce an heir.But Tavish could admit that he was not prepared for the fierce warrior goddess upstairs.
Brandy.He hated brandy.Now that he was the duke, he’d throw all the rubbish out and replace it with fine Irish whiskey.
“Send over a case of whiskey, will ya,” he called to his brother, who was still glaring at him.
They were a year apart, if that.Often, people had mistaken them for twins, but Tavish’s hair had more brown in it than Declan’s bright red hair.
“Anything else, Yer Grace?”his brother mocked from behind him.
Tavish poured the brandy, needing something to make his cock soften before he had to face the duchess again.
“I think that’ll be all, but I’ll let you know if I need anything else as head of the family?—”
“Head of the family!”Declan shouted, losing the composure he’d been holding onto in front of the quiet and meek solicitor.“You’ve been gone for fecking years, and I’ve held this family together.And now you want to come here and pretend to be the head, just because you have a title!”
He faced his brother, leaning against the sideboard as he drank the brandy in one big gulp.He shuddered at the taste.
That was fecking vile.
Tavish poured himself another glass.“Don’t get mad now.You came and found me, not the other way around.”He pointed at Declan, the glass of brandy in his hand.“So obvious you couldn’t handle itdeartháir beag,” he teased.
“You’re still a bastard,” his brother accused him, and Tavish couldn’t help but to laugh.
He loved Declan.They had always been close, but their differences always caused arguments between them.However, they could never stay upset with the other for long.
“Aye,” Tavish agreed.
“Gentlemen, please, a little decorum,” Hughes said, finally finding his voice.
Tavish turned his gaze to the portly solicitor.“Since you work for us now, Hughes, I’ll remind you O’Briens don’t take orders well.”
“Aye,” Declan agreed.“Nor do we allow anyone to get in between a family dispute.”
They were a close family.So close that Tavish often wondered if he really knew who he was without them.
“Forgive me.”Hughes bowed his head to the both of them.“As I said at my office, Your Grace is officially the Duke of Summerset.The only pressing item is to have the duchess vacate the London home and to remove anything she may have at the ancestral estate in Norfolk immediately.”
Tavish turned to pour another glass of the God awful brandy.Something about the solicitor’s flippant remark about the duchess had Tavish clenching his teeth.
“Where will she go?”The words escaped him before he could catch them.Why Tavish cared about the welfare of a woman he’d only met for mere minutes escaped him.
“I believe her parents are more than prepared to take her back.I’ve been told by Lady Allendale that another advantageous match is being arranged.”The solicitor sat back as a maid entered, carrying an elaborate tea service.
He fecking hated tea.
Another advantageous match?
What about passion?
Tavish never thought much about love, though his parents were a love match.He’d spent his entire childhood surrounded by love, yet he’d never experienced it for himself in his twenty-eight years of life.
