He’d know soon enough.
Evan riffled through the papers. He and Apollo now owned every note, every loan, every debt of their father’s. The man had hawked everything that was not nailed down to the point that any holdings of the duchy not tied up in the trust and everything Evan’s mother had left, with the exception of the distillery, were essentially in the hands of lenders. The entire thing was an unholy mess, and it had taken months and a small army of lawyers and private investigators procuring notes from gambling halls and pawnbrokers all over Scotland before they could even start. Half of the tenants’ lands had been on the verge of being foreclosed by the banks. They’d already spent a fortune pulling properties from the brink and paying off what seemed like every unscrupulous banker in the British Isles. And now they owned their father.
At least on paper, a fact they would press upon the Duke of Annan tomorrow night at his birthday ball. The moment Evan had been working for months to achieve, the justice he’d hoped for years he could exact on his father.
“Do you think he’ll try to garner support from other peers to dispute that I’m his legitimate son?” Apollo’s expression was impassive, but in the time they’d been working together, Evan had learned to recognize the very rare occasions when his brother seemed unsure.
“He wouldn’t willingly admit that he’d put himself in a position to ask for help.” The Duke of Annan would never open himself to anyone questioning him. Evan would bet anything on that.
“But he owed money to half of Scotland,” Apollo refuted, and Evan shrugged.
“He owedbankersandburghersmoney. He would never let on to any of the men of his club that he’s up to his eyeballs in debt. If any of them got wind of his true situation, he’d borrow even more money to throw a lavish party just to make a point.”
Apollo made a rude sound, obviously exasperated. As much as the man was a genius at planning and scheming, he still had trouble understanding the maddening inconsistencies of how their father’s mind worked. Evan, on the other hand, had spent his life witnessing the depths of the duke’s revolting behavior. He looked at his brother for a moment as he perused the papers that they’d both looked at over and over, and he prepared for what he’d actually come to do today. To do what could no longer wait.
In the almost two weeks since Apollo had sent him that note tantamount to emotional blackmail, Evan had tried to focus on the two things that he’d promised: helping his brother expose their father and making sure Luz Alana gained control of her inheritance. He had considered forbidding her to go to the ball; then he recalled that his bride would likely shoot him in the leg for suggesting that he could tell her what to do. He also could not let her walk into the duke’s house tomorrow without knowing what was happening, and if that made Apollo his enemy, so be it.
“That is not the demeanor I expect from a man who is on the cusp of tasting the ambrosia of revenge,” Apollo drawled in that half-amused tone he always had.
“I’m not in the mood for your humor, Apollo.” Evan slumped into the armchair opposite his brother and put his head in his hands. The other man clicked his tongue.
“Are you having second thoughts again?” This time the humor in his voice was gone. Apollo’s tone was not accusatory, not exactly, but Evan knew there was only one right response to that question.
“This is not about me having second thoughts, it is about other people not getting hurt in the process.”
She is worth whatever the consequences.
“Out with it, little brother,” Apollo demanded, waving his hand in the space between them. “You are dampening my celebratory mood, and I can’t say I appreciate it.” Other than Luz Alana, his half brother seemed to be the only person that didn’t take his assurances at face value.
Apollo’s devil-may-care affectations tended to irritate Evan during the best of times, but today, when he felt like his world was on the cusp of collapsing, it was infuriating.
“Stop calling melittle brother,” Evan bit out, to which his brother responded with an amiable baring of teeth. “I won’t keep this from Luz Alana anymore.” His tone was defiant, and Apollo in turn raised an eyebrow in apparent surprise. “I don’t want my wife walking into that ball without any idea of what we’re doing. I am telling her tonight.” Every time he used the wordsmy wife, something tight and angry seemed to unspool inside him, even in this moment when misery seemed to coat him.
His words were followed by a resounding silence. It took Evan a moment to realize that Apollo was not roaring with anger and recriminations. Just looking at him with curiosity, as if he was only really seeing Evan for the first time.
“I thought your arrangement with the new Lady Darnick was purely for your mutual benefit. It seems I assumed wrong.”
“Yes and no.” Evan hesitated. An avalanche of words were on the tip of his tongue. He was desperate to confess that his feelings for Luz Alana had changed everything for him. That something which at first had seemed like a convenient solution had turned into... No. He could not name it, not even to himself. It would only make losing her that much harder. Because he would...lose her. “I promised her not to keep her in the dark about things that would affect her.”
“But you’ve fulfilled your obligation to her,” Apollo said, in a tone that set Evan’s teeth on edge. “She has what she wanted. This will be a scandal, to be sure, but what exactly do you think she’ll be losing? As you are likely aware, your heiress is a Black woman and a rum maker. I don’t expect she imagined the Scottish aristos would welcome her with open arms, regardless of your family’s social capital among the peerage.”
Evan’s hands fisted, and he bolted from his chair. “Watch how you speak of my wife.”
“Oh, I see.” Apollo widened his eyes, a knowing smile on his lips.
“What exactly do you see?” Evan almost begged his brother to enlighten him, because he was adrift.
“This woman has you in a true predicament, brother. What a time to develop an attachment.” That statement was followed by a guffaw of laughter. Evan, for his part, dropped onto the chair, mind reeling.
“No, that’s not—” he started, then clamped his jaw shut. “No, it’s because deception is cruel. Allowing her to arrive at the ball ignorant of what is to happen does not sit well with me.” Which was true...mostly.
“I thought you agreed it was better if our father could not place the blame on others? That it was best if Adalyn, Beatrice and most especially your lady were not aware.”
“I...” The words were stuck in his throat. “I was wrong. It was not right to decide for Luz Alana she was better off not knowing, especially when none of this was her problem. And besides, he will think it anyways. If she’s there with me, there will be no convincing him she’s not somehow involved. I am aware I agreed not to tell anyone about what we were doing, and that I am breaking my word. If there is any consequence here, I will face it. But might I remind you they are your sisters too.”
Apollo emitted a wounded sound.
They had rarely spoken about their sisters; anytime they did, Apollo turned almost sheepish.
