“Alfie told me her name. I heard. I... I brought you a present.”
It was the very last thing in the world he expected his brother to say. He was motionless for a moment, assailed, only briefly, by darker more unworthy fromthis boy got his money from our father.
“Robert...”
“You d-don’t have to take it. I shall not be offended. But I saw this in the window in a shop at the Gallerie and I thought maybe you could give it to her because she’s after a fashion my sister now, too.”
He withdrew something from his pocket and pressed it into his hand. Lucien looked down.
It was a tiny crystal angel. Delicate wings unfurled like the sails on a ship, her robes flowed in pleats to tiny bare feet, her hair poured down her back. Not more than four inches high.
It was a long moment before Lucien could look up.
And he thought,I only bought her a building, but this angel will likely break her heart in the sweetest way, like he’s breaking mine right now.
Finally he raised his head to Robert’s anxious face.
“It’s beautiful and she will love it, Robert, and I will tell her it is a gift from you. It was a very kind and gracious gesture. Thank you.”
Robert was rosy with pleasure. He fidgeted a little, his hands fiddling with the fine buttons on his fine coat.
“If I’m not mistaken, Father will want an accounting of your expenditures and you’ll be hard pressed to explain this one.”
“I earned a little more money by helping with schoolwork and... well, we played Faro, and...”
Lucien laughed and then thought maybe he shouldn’t have. “Resourceful.”
Robert beamed.
“But you ought not gamble.” He said this strictly as a Quaker.
Robert looked uncertainly up at him. “But... but you...”
“I can speak from experience that gambling is an unpleasant road, indeed.”
“Oh. I see. All right.”
There was another little silence.
“Lucien...” He cleared his throat. He turned away a little, and blushed. “I wondered if I could write to you, like? From school? Or maybe I could come to visit you... and have a look at your ship?”
He gazed yearningly up at theZephyr.
Hell’s teeth.
Lucien stifled a sigh. What didhewant?
He was stunned to realize that he wanted what Robert wanted: family. The surge of hope and joy he felt when he pictured his own sons and daughters with Angelique.
“I am afraid our father would never allow it. He would discover it and you would be punished. And he would be angry with me, indeed, with just cause, I might add, if he thought I encouraged you to disobey him. It’s complicated, but our father and I do not...” what was the kindest way to say it to this child? “...rub along.”
“But when you were younger, you brokeeveryrule!” Robert enthused. “The races, the wagers, the—”
“Robert.” He said this so sternly, the boy gave a start.
“I will tell you something that may be difficult to understand from where you are. Not because you aren’t obviously clever, but because it’s... like a language you haven’t yet learned. Think of life as a school. These lessons will come. So you must trust me when I say that reckless people are seldom happy people. You will find there are other ways to rebel. You may have to negotiate. Strategize. Do I look prosperous and successful to you? Do you suppose I have learned a useful thing or two?”
Robert nodded, subdued. He would make his own decisions and draw his own conclusion, Lucien was certain. But he could not resist giving him a steer.