Page 70

But there wasn’t a place in the world that would feel like home without Penelope.

A loud bang of the door knocker burst through the silence. He ignored it. There was no butler or footmen to open it, and no one knew he was here. The knock, however, repeated.

“Preston!” He heard a muffled roar. “Preston, we know you’re here!”

He groaned. He knew that voice very well.

Richard. Always stepping in to help. He’d always been the peacemaker in the family. And by “we” he probably meant Seb was with him.

“Preston! Open the door!” Right. That was definitely Sebastian.

Preston stood up with another groan. Why wouldn’t they leave him alone?

He marched through the corridor and into the front hall, then turned the door handle. Blinding daylight made him wince and turn his head. Two tall, broad-shouldered figures were dark against the light. But as they barged in, he could see that they were indeed Richard and Sebastian.

“Preston, what the devil?” asked Sebastian, looking him over.

“You look terrible,” said Richard.

Preston offered the bottle to them, but they shook their heads. “How did you know where to find me?”

He took another gulp of brandy. He’d drunk so much in the past three days that the alcohol wasn’t doing much anymore.

“You weren’t anywhere else,” said Richard. “And when we heard Penelope rented a hotel suite for herself and for Lord Beckett, drastic measures had to be taken to find you. Clearly you’re unwell. I don’t quite know how to soothe a man whose wife has left him. But I know a man who has experienced the same.”

Preston looked at Sebastian. It was true, Emma had left him right when he’d almost secured their lifelong happiness together, but it was because she’d had no choice. Still.

“Well, old chap,” said Preston, putting his hand on Seb’s shoulder. “I remember you in an even worse state last September, so I am not sure you’re the right person to help me. Please, take no offense.”

“You’re right,” said Sebastian. “I’d thought I wasn’t going to get past her abandoning me. I almost got myself killed in the boxing ring and drank myself half to death without Emma. But you don’t have to.”

“Oh, I think I do.” Preston chuckled drunkenly. “She’s disappointed in me. And rightly so. I’m just glad she finally sees me for who I am. A selfish bastard. She shouldn’t have fallen in love with me.”

“And you love her, too, don’t you?” asked Sebastian.

Richard watched them both with a frown.

Preston felt his head hang until his chin rested on his chest. “I do. I bloody do. Nothing makes sense without her. I can’t breathe. I can’t take a step and not hope I’ll see her around the corner. I can’t sleep in the bed because she’s not by my side. Her paintings…they torture me because she made them. Because they’re a glimpse into her beautiful mind.”

“Then go to her and beg her to come back to you,” said Richard. “You two love each other. What seems to be the problem?”

“The problem, brother,” said Preston, “is that I’ve done wrong by her papa. He’s my enemy. He should be your enemy, too. He got our brother killed. Why aren’t you on the warpath for him?”

Richard lowered his head. “Because Spencer wouldn’t want it.”

The words hit Preston like a cannonball. Spencer wouldn’t want it… How right Richard was. He’d always had this ability to understand others, as though he could read their minds. He was able to put himself in their shoes and feel what they felt. And what Preston had not considered for all these months that he’d planned his revenge was how Spencer would feel about it. If he would want to be avenged.

And, knowing Spencer…no, he would not.

“It won’t bring him back, Preston,” Richard said quietly. “Nothing will. Spencer wouldn’t want his legacy to be a multiplication of the evil in the world. He’d want you to if not forgive Lord Beckett, at least make peace with him. He’s your family now.”

Preston’s feet refused to support him. The ground sank from beneath him, and swaying, he walked to the single chair in the front hall and dropped into it. Gently, he put the bottle on the floor. Now he wished he hadn’t been drinking; he wanted a clear head.

“I finally ruined my enemy, only to lose the love of my life,” he said.

“You didn’t lose her, old chap,” said Sebastian, slowly walking to him. “You can still go after her.”

Preston leaned forward and pressed his face into his palms. The possibility of giving up vengeance and making peace with her father freed something in his chest. It felt as if the shackles around his heart opened, and with all that tension gone there was suddenly so much space within him.