Chapter 304: Blood Ties
“Will you be joining us for dinner or not?” Grant asked as his husband, Devon Fellowes-Grey, Duke of Renley, sat working intently.
“Huh?” Devon asked, looking up. “Oh, I’m sorry, my love. I lost track of time.”
He stood and stretched.
“It seems that the more work I do, the more there is to be done,” he said, shaking his head.
“I know, Devon,” Grant said. “I feel the same way. But Matthew is only home for a few days, so we should take advantage of the time while we can.”
“You’re right, of course,” Devon said, standing. “I’ll quit for today. The rest of my correspondence can wait.”
He circled his desk and embraced his husband.
“I promise you and Matthew will be my only priority for the rest of the evening,” he said.
“Good,” Grant said, smiling. “But let’s focus on Matthew for the first part of the evening, so that later, we can focus only on one another.”
Devon smiled, but was cut short as Nanse cleared his throat.
“A letter arrived for you, your grace,” the butler said, brandishing an envelope. “Shall I put it on your desk?”
Devon sighed, and took the envelope.
“I suppose I should see what it is,” he said, studying the outside. “Thank you, Nanse. That will be all.”
As Nanse left, Devon opened the envelope, his eyes widening.
“What is it?” Grant asked, concerned. “Who’s it from?”
Devon didn’t answer, instead turning to lay the letter carefully on his desk.
“It’s from my brother,” he said, finally. “He’s coming home.”
“So the prodigal son returns, eh?” Grant said. “He didn’t even come home for your mother’s funeral. Why now?”
“Who knows?” Devon said. “Maybe he’s finally run out of money.”
“Perhaps,” Grant replied. “Of course, he might just want to reconnect with his big brother.”
Devon scoffed.
“That’s it,” he joked. “Because we were always so close!”
“What happened between the two of you, anyway?” Grant asked. “I know he and your mother had issues, but I didn’t realize you had fallen out, as well.”
Devon grinned.
“Well, we didn’t exactly fall out,” he said. “David couldn’t stand that I was the older brother, and heir to our father’s fortune. Of course, it didn’t help that I had to put him on an allowance.”
“Ouch,” Grant said. “That probably hurt his pride a bit.”
“Well, he’s an addict, Grant,” Devon said. “He would have gone through his entire inheritance in a year if I hadn’t intervened.”
“Mmm,” Grant acknowledged. “Drugs?”
“Drugs, alcohol, gambling – all of it,” Devon said. “If it was something you could get hooked on, David was all over it. Last I heard he was card sharping in Monte Carlo – doing pretty well at it, too, from what I heard. But with David, all good things eventually come to an end.”
Grant took his husband’s hand.
“Then let’s forget David for tonight,” he said. “Let’s go have dinner with our son and enjoy the evening. There will be plenty of time to worry about your brother later.”
“That’s the problem,” Devon said, shaking his head. “With David, no matter how much you worry, there’s always reason to worry more.”
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