Page 93 of The Earl She Once Saved

“Your coat suggests otherwise.”

His brother glanced at the sleeve. “Appearances are sometimes all a man has.”

Rafe thought of Verity standing beneath the chandeliers while the county whispered.

“You left your wife to pay for those appearances.”

Roland’s fingers stopped upon the stem of his glass. Then he looked up.

“I mean to make amends by returning to her.”

Rafe felt every muscle in his body lock. Roland watched.

“I am her husband,” he continued. “Whatever has passed, that remains true.”

“You have not been a husband to her for years,” Rafe snarled.

“Then I must become one again.”

“No.” The word came cold and immediate.

Roland’s brows rose. Rafe forced his hand to open behind his back.

“You cannot walk into Edgeworth and expect everything to be restored because you have decided to repent.”

“I do not expect ease.”

“You expect money.”

“I ask only for enough to clear a few remaining debts.”

“And then?”

“I have just returned home and that is where I plan on staying.”

“Edgeworth is not yours to ruin twice.”

Roland’s expression hardened.

“The title is mine by right.”

“The title was declared to become mine.”

“An error easily corrected.”

“And everyone beneath it?”

“My responsibility.”

“You have never treated responsibility as anything but a purse to empty.”

Roland stood. The resemblance between them was stronger at close quarters, the same height and the same dark eyes. Yet Roland’s face carried none of the things war had cut into Rafe’s.

“You forget yourself,” Roland said.

“No. I remember you.”

They stood across the table. Conversation continued around them, quieter now. No one appeared to look directly at the brothers.