and the effect of drinking wobbled him from side to side. “Convenient for you to be absent all these years, marry a wealthy woman, and return to whatever it is you do without a thought to the family you came from.”
Graham should ignore him. His brother’s words, if he were in another state, would take on a different meaning. Graham made no attempt to hide the contempt in his voice. “But you forget one important detail. The debt’s not mine. It’s yours.”
“But what if it had been yours?” A challenge weighed in William’s voice. “What if you’d been the one saddled here? You’ve been free to live your life; I have been bound to this. So I have made a few bad decisions. Am I to pay for them the rest of my life?”
“You make no sense, William. We’ll talk about this tomorrow.”
William grabbed his shoulder, preventing him from turning. “I owe a great deal of money. You have more than enough. Am I to understand that you will turn your back on your own flesh and blood?”
Flesh and blood indeed. That was where their relationship began, and that was where it ended. If anything, pity described his attitude toward William. His brother was so like his father. Same light eyes. Same light hair. And same bad habits.
Graham shook off his brother’s hand. “Go home, Will. You’re foxed. We’ll talk in the morning.”
William grabbed him again. “We’ll talk now.”
Graham whirled around to face William. “Even if I did have the money, and even if I were willing to give it to you, there is nothing I could do about it tonight. This is an engagement dinner. My engagement dinner. Believe it or not, I have concerns other than the mess you’ve made for yourself.”
William pointed an unsteady finger at him. “Talk down to me if you will. What kind of man—what sort of honorable man—uses a woman, his late wife’s friend, to further his own interests?”
“I’m not using Miss Barrett for her money.”
“You’re using her to ease your conscience, as a means to find suitable care for your Lucy. Explain it to me—how is that different? How—”
“And what if I am?” At the mention of Lucy’s name, something snapped in Graham. He had to force his fists to remain at his sides. “What if I am using her? What business is it of yours? I can hardly return to the sea without finding suitable care, and you have been no help whatsoever. But then again, I’ve managed to survive the past eighteen years without answering to anyone in this family, and I do not intend to start now.”
William threw his head back and laughed. “Oh, I forgot. You’re the mighty Captain Sterling, hero of the seas. But the fact is, you are no better than I. We’re cut from the same cloth, are we not? My offense regards money. Your offense regards taking advantage of women. Neither of us is quite as we seem.”
Graham hissed through clenched teeth. “You are making an idiot out of yourself. Go home.”
William stepped close. Heat radiated from his intoxicated body. Graham refused to waver or step away. He stared hard at his brother, and he could swear he was staring straight into his father’s eyes.
William finally spoke, his brandy-laced breath hot against Graham’s cheek. “I saw the way you looked at her. Don’t think I did not see it, that everyone in attendance did not notice. But you are a fool if you think she will ever return the regard, for it is your daughter she wants, not you. You see, we all have an angle, even the charming Miss Barrett.”
“I’m warning you, William. Step back.”
But his brother was not willing to let it go. “She is not what she seems either. You are not the only man to sample her charms.”
Now Graham leaned in at the odd statement. “Make yourself clear.”
“I’ve held her in my arms myself. Oh, does that surprise you, brother?”
“You’re a lying drunk.” Graham snatched his brother’s coat by the collar.
“No need to become so angry.” William’s eyes were now nothing more than slits over his sloppy grin. “It was one kiss. One little, passionate kiss. And she did not mind, I assure you, not one bit. Seems you’re not the only Sterling worth having.”
Graham released William’s collar with a bit of a shove. The older Sterling stumbled backward, fell to a knee, and struggled to stand. A slack laugh slid from William before he waved a finger in the