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should be his only function in life. That such should be his father s only expectation of
him rankled. An uncomfortable silence stretched between the two men.
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Elaine Lowe
You must be weary, sir. Perhaps you would like to rest from your journey. The
footmen had already cleared away the trunks and the two of them stood alone in the
foyer.
It was actually rather invigorating. And here I was, all geared up for a fight with
your brother and his gallivanting bride and now I feel the wind fairly knocked out of
my sails with a rapid victory. Perhaps I should celebrate. A drink, Brandon? The earl
arched a bushy black and gray eyebrow at his son.
Certainly. Brandon stepped aside, allowing his father to preceed him into the
library and then made his way toward the array of decanters while his father sat in one
of the leather armchairs. Brandon poured brandy for both of them. The cognac had been
finished off by the combination of Harold in his wallowing over Patricia and then
Brandon lamenting Marianna in the days after the disastrous Asterly ball. Brandon
turned and walked to his father s chair, handing him the snifter and sat down in the
opposite chair.
His father was a large imposing man and filled up the chair and the room, every bit
as much as Harold did. Still, to Brandon he seemed smaller in reality than in his
memories. Brandon couldn t say whether this was a fact or merely perception altered by
the events he had witnessed. Edmund Kelsey stared at the amber liquid as though it
held the answers to life s burning questions and silence reigned. Brandon looked down
at his own drink and wondered how he would manage to repair a relationship that had
been fragile ever since the death of his mother fifteen years previously.
You are very like her, you know, Edmund muttered, his powerful voice muted
and grave with fatigue or emotion.
Brandon jumped slightly, startled at the similar tracks their thoughts had taken.
Mother?
Edmund nodded. She too was sensitive and witty and brave. Brandon gaped a
bit. Edmund looked up at his son. Yes, she was very brave.
It was as close to an admission of pride or approval as he would ever get, Brandon
thought. They had not spoken of Eleanor Kelsey in many years. I always remember
her as very kind and very happy. She made us all happy in turn.
Edmund closed his eyes, a wave of pain gripping him. Yes. She did do that.
Brandon had never really known his father to show such emotion, for all his brash
and outspoken ways. He realized that his parents must have loved one another. It
surprised him, given the way the earl had pushed his eldest son into marriage.
Edmund continued, I only ever wanted the same for you two, you know. To be
happy. You are more difficult on that score than Hal, that s for certain. Him I
understand. I d hoped finding him a wife would settle him, give him the focus that it
gave me. Maybe that ll come about, maybe it won t.
Brandon tried to ease a few of his father s woes. They appear to be on the path of
reconciliation, if that is what you are concerned about. And perhaps& He paused,
feeling a bit awkward still. I think perhaps they will be happy together.
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Match Made by Moonlight
Edmund gave a wry smile, I had always hoped. I d known her father, the
Marquess of Haversford, since we were at Eton. I d thought she d suit from when she
was knee-high and didn t bat an eyelash when Hal had put a snake in her nursery when
we d gone to Haversford Castle visiting. She wasn t more than six and she was as smart
as a whip. I thought there was a chit who could put him in his place, as your mother
had me. He chuckled ruefully. Brandon wondered what the earl would think of
Marianna. She would certainly pass any tests for spunk, if not for fortune or
connections. Then again, perhaps that s not what had led to the match between Hal and
Patricia either.
Edmund looked pensive again and pursed his lips. But I am an old man and I
don t know everything, regardless of how I might bluster on. Brandon was shocked at
such an admission. Edmund faced his son again and held his eyes. You are home now,
for good? No going back to the front, no more heroics?
Brandon thought of the soldier begging in the street and a sudden flash inspired
him to be bold. No sir, there is plenty of work for me here in England. He paused,
uncertain of his father s mood. I thought perhaps my skills might be more usefully
applied to men who could no longer fight, who were not as lucky in the war as I have
been.
Edmund stared down at his untouched glass. Hmm& that would be a noble cause,
certainly enough. Brandon took that as a good sign. There had been no instant rebuttal
to the carefully phrased suggestion that he actually use his training and skills as a
physician. But he was unprepared for his father s next words. Perhaps you would
allow an old man to help?
Dumbstruck, Brandon looked up at his father and smiled. Perhaps this would be
easier than he had feared. Conceivably he had earned the old man s respect after all. He
leaned forward and began to lay out a plan that unfolded as he spoke, a plan for a
future that began to look brighter by the moment.
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Elaine Lowe
Chapter Seventeen
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