Alex Hetherington with his eldest brother, the Marquess of Levermarch. He wasn’t a man Daniel knew well, as they’d rarely conversed in anything but generalities. A nobleman with a lofty title, he carried his power well and was respected by many.
“Hello, Daniel.” Alex shook his hand. “How is it you are in the company of this fool?”
“I found him muttering and stalking along the street like a black cloud,” Ben said, grabbing his foil. He then proceeded to swish it back and forth. “I saw he was in need of imminent rescue and coaxed him into an argument, which I managed to keep going until we got here.”
“Now that does surprise me. I didn’t know you had either a temper or the ability to be in a dark mood, Daniel. I have great hopes for you now,” Alex said, echoing his brother’s words.
Daniel wondered when he’d become so boring.
“However, I would like to know what happened to place you in such a mood.” Alex leapt back as Ben swished his foil close to his twin’s ankles. “Why now?”
“No one can be perpetually even-tempered,” Lord Levermarch answered. “It is not good for the soul, Dillinger. It is vital we all vent our spleen upon occasion. Take me, for instance. I have these two, and they constantly irritate and anger me.”
The brothers were close, you could see it in the gestures and words.
“If we didn’t bring you back down to earth occasionally, you’d be unbearably pompous, Finn,” Ben said.
“You do know who my wife is, don’t you?” Lord Levermarch drawled.
“There is that,” Alex agreed. “Phoebe would never allow you to be lofty. And now we shall fence, and you and Daniel can admire us before it’s your turn.”
“I’m leaving,” Daniel said. Ben responded by making clucking noises.
“I cannot believe you are behaving in such a juvenile manner in such a place,” Daniel said, looking around him. No one seemed to be paying them any attention.
“He has this preconceived notion that all noblemen are superior and thereby exhibit exemplary behavior,” Ben said. “Straighten him out, will you, Finn.”
“Come along, Dillinger.” Lord Levermarch gripped his shoulder. “Trust me, this will be the best entertainment you’ve had in days.”
He found himself seated beside the man, and soon others were joining them.
“Hagsworth, this is Mr. Dillinger,” the marquess said.
No one seemed to mind that he was there, but then he also knew there were plenty of people who wore the title Mr. but had noble fathers. The twins, for one… or two, as the case may be. He was not one of them. They would likely feel different if they knew who his father was.
“My name is Finn.”
“Pardon?” Daniel dragged his eyes from the twins, who were doing a series of stretching movements.
“If I may call you Daniel?”
“Of course.”
“Well then, I am Finn.”
Daniel nodded.
“Your brother used to have a problem with nobility too.”
“I don’t have a problem with you,” Daniel denied.
“But you are as comfortable in here as a man in any women’s fashion establishments. Like my wife’s, for instance.”
“Pardon?”
“My wife, Alex, and his wife, Hannah, own Madame Alexander’s.”
Daniel wasn’t sure what to reply to that. He knew what Madame Alexander’s was, as Thea frequented the fashion boutique and often Oliver would mention when she was there. What he hadn’t known was that Alex and Lady Levermarch were co-owners along with Hannah.
“I have shocked you, Daniel. That was not my intention. I merely wished to point out that not all nobility is made equal; some are vastly less pompous.”
He mulled that over as Ben and Alex finished their warmup.
“So what put you in a dark mood today, Daniel?”
“I’m not in a dark mood, my lord… Finn.”
“Just Finn will do, and Ben may be bloody annoying the majority of the time, but he is an astute man. If he says you’re in a dark mood, then it’s likely you are.”
Daniel exhaled.
“I believe you have a large family?”
“There were nine of us.”
“Were?”
“My sister, Beth, passed away when she was just a babe.”
“You have my condolences.”
“It was many years ago.” And still burned like an open wound inside his chest. He’d never felt so helpless in his life as he had that day.
“The years don’t make a difference; they just make the pain more manageable.”
“Yes.”
“Brothers and brothers-in-law,” Finn said softly, “are the best part of a man, other than sisters and wives, that is. I am not acquainted with your family, only Ace, and he is one of the best men I know.”