“Relax, Yates,” Heathbrook said. “I’m not here to accuse you of theft.”
“Aren’t you?” Yates snapped, crossing his arms over his chest.
“No. I’m here to get at the truth. Don’t you think it’s time that we do so, instead of relying on a basket of assumptions we have no evidence to support?”
Yates stared down at him, then softened imperceptibly. “Probably. Yes.” He walked back to sit down behind his desk. “But you should take those anyway, to peruse. I have copies.”
“Of course you do,” Heathbrook said. “I would have done the same if I’d been you. You see? We are more alike than you realize.”
“Yet I did not impregnate any young ladies without marrying them,” Yates pointed out.
“You did not impregnate any young ladies at all. Nor have you ever married. I could have usedthatagainst you if I’d wanted, pointing out that a bachelor couldn’t possibly know how to raise three young men. But I try not to fault a man for having a different personality than I do.”
“As you say, we are quite different. I am not good with people, I’m afraid.” Yates stared past him at the door. “Still, will you tell me—do the lads … miss me?”
“Of course,” Heathbrook said, although he’d seen little sign of it. “But they have also missed their home in Somerset, so being there has slightly changed their perspective of matters.” He softenedhis tone. “And my fiancée’s mothering has gone a long way toward making them feel comfortable at Longmead again. Madame Bernard suffers from rheumatism, so she and her daughter are presently staying at Longmead to be near Bath’s natural springs with their healing properties.”
On his trip to London, he had weighed whether he should mention that, but Yates’s investigators would eventually have discovered it in any case.
Yates narrowed his gaze on Heathbrook. “But you do intend to marry Miss Bernard.”
“As soon as possible. Although my running up here and leaving her with the boys directly after hearing of Zack’s true lineage might … er … have been ill-considered. Lily chose to tell Giselle the truth first. When I learned of it, I demanded more information, and unfortunately, Zack overheard the truth.”
Yates blanched. “So, he knows.”
“Yes. Frankly, I don’t know what to do about it. I’d like to claim him, but it would destroy Lily’s marriage.”
“It would indeed. And after your mother brokered that marriage so carefully by offering the man a handsome dowry, you wouldn’t want to do that.”
Mother had paid money to get Lily out of his hair? “Didn’t Pritchard wonder about an unrelated countess offering him a dowry?”
“Well, she didn’t do it directly. She offered it to Lily’s parents, and they offered it to him. That gave him an extra incentive to marry, since he was enamored of Lily, and Lily seemed to like him well enough.”
“I suspect that Lily likes anyone who can buy her whatever her heart desires,” Heathbrook said dryly.
Yates sighed. “I would protest that statement except I saw firsthand how true it is. She fixed her sights on me at first because she saw how much property I owned.”
Heathbrook gaped at him.
“But I wasnota sixteen-year-old boy, and my head was not easily turned by a pretty chit’s attempts to flatter me.” He stared hard at Heathbrook. “What of your Miss Bernard? Is she of Lily’s ilk?”
“Giselle?” Heathbrook laughed. “I had to work hard to convincethat woman to marry me. She’s a veritable wonder. She could have any lord of any rank that she wants, and for some reason she seems to love me. She’s about as far from being Lily’s ilk as a woman can be.”
Heathbrook rose from his chair. “And speaking of that, I should probably get home before she changes her mind about accepting me.” A very real possibility, unfortunately. “But I do need to know—are you going to continue to fight for custody? I do not wish to go on with the struggle, but I will if I must.”
Yates rose slowly. “How about this? I shall request that the court consider making us both common law guardians. It is frequently done and would meet the spirit of your father’s will, if not the actual letter. Your father did not make allowances for people changing, and I’m afraid, neither did I. But I can see that you have matured, and it makes no sense to me that you should have no say in how your brothers’ money is spent or invested.”
“That would be good of you, Yates. Although to be honest, you’ve been taking care of their money for a while now. Assuming I find nothing wrong in these ledgers, I see no reason you can’t continue. We could meet once a month to look over things and make decisions.”
Yates nodded. “And perhaps when you and Miss Bernard choose to travel for your honeymoon or go abroad on a short trip, the lads might be allowed to visit here?”
Heathbrook was beginning to think his mother’s appellation of Frigid Freddy for Yates wasn’t entirely accurate. “They would like that, I’m sure.” He thrust out his hand. “Lord knows they’ll soon be too grown to want anything to do with us old chaps.”
Taking Heathbrook’s hand, Yates shook it vigorously. “I’ll consult with my lawyer about how we should handle the guardianship matters, and you should consult with yours. In the meantime, you’d best go soothe your wife-to-be’s apprehensions. Those boys could use a mother, at least for the nonce.”
With a nod, Heathbrook left, carting the ledgers back to his carriage. As he told Tom to return to Longmead, he was happy he’d listened to his instincts about Yates. The man would never be a close friend, but given that he held some important family secrets,he might make an excellent family advisor. Heathbrook could certainly use one of those.
But how had he managed to judge his cousin so unfairly in the first place? Perhaps it had begun because Yates had seemed so much like Father—sanctimonious and controlling, a man certain he was doing the right thing when really, he was marching over the backs of everyone who got in his way. That sort of man always raised Heathbrook’s hackles. Too much like Father.