Chapter Twenty Four - Two Brides for Two Brothers

There was a festive air about the Lincoln-Kay Household on a day that would also mark the end of summer on the calendar.  But no one yet minded that shortly the leaves would alter into an array of sunset colours as they wilted and fell before winter set in, for there were more important things to be considered at that moment.  For example, seating for guests, how much food to prepare, whether rain would spill from the heavens in the afternoon.  The mother and daughter of the house were excitedly choosing their attire and comparing accessories to enhance their beauty.  The father of the house was slyly considering which of their incoming guests would he cultivate continued business relations, which should he seek to strengthen and which should he drop.  The sons were hiding in their respective rooms, one quietly reading the newspaper, the other tinkering with his small creations.  Both were eventually summoned from their bedrooms.

"Happy 21st birthday, my son," their father greeted Amadeus with a warm hug, as the two men entered their father's study.  It was a fair size space upon the ground floor with two large mahogany desks and bookshelves filled with ledgers and diaries.  There appeared no order to the books, which were positioned flat, upright, diagonally, but Edward always knew where to find what he wanted within this chaos.  The larger of the two desks, the one their father used, was as equally in a questionable state.  The other desk, the one the brothers shared, the elder for the accounts, the younger for learning the business and later contracts of his own, stood as a beacon for calm in the paper storm.  This room was off limits to the women, including the maid.

"Thank you, father," Amadeus stepped out of his father's embrace and inclined his head slightly in respect.

Edward ushered his sons to sit.  Both did so, but not without taking a cautious, questioning glance at each other.  Their father had not summoned them here jointly for a while and the last time happened to be when he had chosen Amadeus to be his heir above Cornelius.  "With Amadeus turning 21 and with Cornelius nearing his 27th birthday in two months, I feel it is time you are both wed.  With that in mind, I have chosen your brides."

The brothers remained silent.  Amadeus' face remained stoic, not a flicker of his personal thought upon the matter to be declared.  Cornelius' pale eyes widened and jaw slackened, suddenly nauseous.  Edward looked at their reactions, his eyes narrowing, but said nothing.  It was Amadeus who calmly spoke through the silence.  "May I enquire who our respective brides shall be?"

Edward nodded in approval at his question.  "Amadeus shall marry Miss Amelia Charlton.  She is the eldest daughter of Stuart Charlton, a business associate of mine.  The girl is quite fair and well mannered and would make a good match for you."  He did not need to state that this marriage was part of a business relationship, both brothers knew their father well as he knew them.  Amadeus had met the girl in passing, though he did not have much recollection of her, so he did not object.

"What of Cornelius?" He asked the question that his elder brother could not.

"Miss Amelia has a cousin on her mother's side, Miss Rebecca Tunstle." Cornelius did not recognise the name anymore than he knew of Miss Amelia, though naturally he had seen paperwork relating to business for Mr Charlton.  As his father did not elaborate in regards to the cousin, the match was clearly a hasty attempt to save face.  It would not look good for the family if not only was the incompetent son too useless to succeed the father, but so undesirable that he could not even wed before the younger brother.  It begged him to wonder if there was something wrong with the girl, that she was to be used this way, but he pushed the uncharitable notion down swiftly.

However, it seemed, his unkind thoughts were not terribly misplaced.  The Charlton's were naturally included in the guest list drawn by Mr Lincoln-Kay, which also included other close business partners and their families.  An invite had naturally been sent to the Lincoln's, for which the current Lord's youngest brother accepted on the family's behalf.  His daughter had begged their father to invite Master Westcott, who despite turning down all of her invitations, had surprisingly developed quite the close friendship with his eldest son.  Never one to turn away opportunities, for he had yet to personally speak with the young man himself, agreed.  Before said young man arrived, however, Edward guided his sons to introduce them to their brides.

Miss Amelia was as she was described.  She was pretty, in a muted sort of way, for none of her features particularly stood out.  She was quite small and slightly overwhelmed by her large dress, but did not fidget and remained demure.  She gave polite and quiet responses when questioned and kept any true thoughts she might have had to herself.  Not that Cornelius believed she did, she seemed too sheltered, as she was, if one considered her many protective older brothers, who also attended the party.  They glared constantly at Amadeus as if willing him to upset their little sister that they might rescue her from his 'clutches' and renounce the marriage their father had arranged.  Amadeus took no heed.

The cousin, Miss Rebecca, did not have their protection and frankly neither needed nor wanted it from the way she threw herself onto Cornelius arm.  The young woman was a spinster at the age of 24 as in truth only a man willing to look passed her appearance might attempt to speak with her, only to make excuses to leave once they knew her a little.  Her eyes were small and nose was large and she was more than a little round of figure, worse her golden dress effectively made her look like a walking church bell.  She laughed with a high-pitched squeal, that put any slaughtered pig to shame, at sentences he would never imagine as funny.  Her piercing eyes perceived him in a way that was more than a little desperate and the thought that he might have to wake up next to her in bed had him break out in a cold sweat.  Never mind sleeping in the same bed, touching her was simply out of the question.

When he simply could not take her company anymore, he made his excuses, he hadn't yet given his siblings the gifts he had for them and fled to his room.  She even tried to follow him to this private space, but fortunately, she was admonished by her cousin for her brazenness.  Cornelius shut the door of the workshop and pressed his back against it.  His breath was halting, too quick and too shallow; he felt as if he was suffocating.  He no longer cared about the gifts he had put so much effort and care into creating.  His father was selling him off to that woman, just so his favourite son and heir be married to Miss Amelia and secures whatever business proposition he had come up with.  And what of Matthew?

This should have been a question he never thought to ask himself, but as Matthew's presence in his life became more prominent, so did his visage within his dreams, until he seemed to merge or even replace the man who haunted his sleep.  Now it was Matthew's laughter he heard in the background and Matthew, whom he walked with through a foreign landscape and Matthew, who shadowed his body as he filled him with pleasure.  He loved him in a way he shouldn't.  How could he possibly accept a wife, be she the unpleasant Miss Rebecca or even a girl as quietly sweet as Miss Amelia, now?

Just as his vision began to blacken, deprived of oxygen and filled with sorrow, there came a knock upon his door.  "Cornelius, are you well?  Your brother hinted that you were quite distressed.." He opened the door with shaking hands to see the one man he truly needed to see and he finally felt as if he could breath.

"Matthew..." he said, clinging to the door as he allowed the other man into his workshop.  "Matthew..."

Eyes filled with concern, Matthew instinctively reached forward to place his palm on Cornelius' cheek, surprised when the man leaned into his touch.  Smothering the deep satisfaction that this caused him, he asked in slightly raspy voice; "What has happened?"

"My father has made plans for Amadeus and I to wed," Cornelius explained.  Matthew instantly tensed, a cold anger filling him, though it's grip lessened as Cornelius continued; "But I can't, I really can't marry that girl.  I don't want to marry any girl!"  Even the slow Cornelius could not help but catch the sharp, desperate and hopeful look within Matthew's warm eyes as he looked over Cornelius' face as if seeking something, though it passed soon enough.

"Then don't," Matthew told him.

"But my father..."

"What do you owe that man?" Matthew asked, angrily. "You tried to be a good son and yet he still over looked you to make your brother his heir.  He lessened your value, denied your talents then used you to help a business you cannot inherit."  Arranged marriages for the sake of alliances and business were normal, he knew that, but Cornelius was his, there was no way he would allow anyone to take him away from him, even if that person was a parent.  He was blessed that his own parents had allowed their children opinions on their potential spouses and he honestly believed that while the marriages were not for love, his siblings were at least happy.

"What do I do?" Cornelius whispered, his hand covering Matthew's still placed against his cheek.

"Come with me to the city," he said.

Cornelius' looked surprised.  "What?"

"I have a townhouse in the city," Matthew explained.  "I was planning to move there someday and so I ask you, will you move to the city with me?"  There was a small note of pleading in his voice, which caused Cornelius to nod in agreement, without further thought to the consequences.