Tavish tried to swallow the large boulder lodged in his throat, as his heavy footsteps led him to the head of the table.He wasn’t half the man his da was, and now they expected him to lead the family and be a duke.
He chuckled at the absurdity of it all.
Slowly, he lowered himself into the chair that was by all accounts too small for him.But in that moment, he was a boy again, pretending to wear his da’s shoes and hat, all tremendously too big for him.For an instant, Tavish felt like a child sitting in an adult’s chair.
Beside him, Declan cleared his throat.“Da and the Duke of Karrington became close while you were…away.His wife, the duchess, has agreed to instruct Ada, Caitrin, and Mother on the rules of society.”
“Mother?”Tavish asked, looking from his ma to his sister.
“Aye, she’s been calling me that since her lessons started.”His ma shook her head.“His Grace wants to throw a ball in your honor,” his ma said excitedly.
Tavish stared at his mother, while Betsy ladled a hearty helping of stew into his empty bowl.
“Any word from Griffin?”Tavish asked about the fourth brother, who was an apprentice to a solicitor in Derbyshire.
“He’s determined to be solicitor.I expect him to come and beg you for a job.”Fionn said, before digging into his stew.
“Declan told me about Da’s debts.I already have Hughes handling it.”Tavish took a large spoonful of stew into his mouth, groaning at the taste.
He hadn’t been happy to learn about his da’s debts, but the only way forward was to pay them.
Pouring a hearty glass of whiskey for herself, his ma took a sip.Holding back a smile, he waited patiently for her to finish her drink.When he was younger, he’d always promised to marry a girl that drank like his ma.Now all he could do was think about the beautiful woman waiting at Summerset House for him.
Fecking hell.
“Hughes, he’s just as bad as the old duke if you ask me.”His ma placed her glass down.“But you’re the duke, and now we’re all saved from the workhouse.”
He held his fourth spoonful of stew in the air.“The workhouse?”he asked, shaking his head.“No, Da would never allow things to get that bad.”
Declan reached over and took the decanter of whiskey and poured two glasses.“I think he hid it from us all.”His brother handed him a glass.“Especially as his sickness progressed and made him weaker,” he said, before taking a sip from his glass.
A condition of the heart, according to his brother.Apparently, it was an affliction that their da had lived with for years, never telling anyone that he was ill.
“I know it’s not what you want for yer life, but the family needs you now.”His mother stared at him from across the long table.
A table big enough for a family of nine.Growing up, Tavish was never hungry nor wanted for anything, all because of his parents.They’d even taken on another mouth to feed after the death of his mother’s sister.
“I told him that you, Adara, and Caitrin should move to Mayfair with him,” Declan said, pointing his bread at their ma.
“And I told him to stop making decisions for me,” Tavish added, not looking at his brother.“I know you’ll never leave here.”
“Sorry, Your Grace,” Declan mocked, before taking a bite of his bread.“I suppose you’d like to stay in that fancy house with the duchess, alone.I saw how you were looking at her.”
Bloody hell.
He’d thought he’d concealed the madness the chit had stirred in him, but he should’ve known there was no hiding from his brother.
“That’s enough, you two.I won’t have you coming to fisticuffs at the table, like you did when you were twelve.”His ma took a gulp of her whiskey.
“My money’s on Tavish, again,” Fionn said, before putting a spoonful of stew in his mouth.
“I won’t be moving to Mayfair.My home is here, but I’ll come and visit whenever you need me or if there’s an event I need to attend.”She smiled, before taking a hearty bite of stew.
“I’m to live alone in Mayfair with Summerset’s widow, who Declan insists I throw out of her home, while the rest of you do what exactly?”Tavish asked, balling one hand into a fist.
“Are you afraid of the nobs and a widow?”Fionn teased, pinching his cheek.“You need ma to protect you?”
“Feck off, Fionn?—”
