day.
◄►
“What have you found little brother?”
Edouard looked up to see his oldest brother Simon standing in front of him, and was somewhat taken aback. Simon seldom visited him. Even if he'd cared for family matters Edouard was too far down the family pecking order for him to bother with. But more surprising still, he looked serious for once, perhaps even concerned. Missing was the usual larcenous grin and calculating stare he generally had as he looked to make a profit from whatever was going on. Maybe some of his properties and businesses had been destroyed in the stampede. Edouard could but hope.
Simon was the first born of the children and had been raised from the start to become the next Count Severin, the next Lord of House Barris. Naturally he dressed accordingly. So where Edouard was wearing his neatest casual attire, Simon was outfitted in the very best finery money could buy. Today he wore a dark suit that looked as though it had just come from the tailor’s shop together with a spotless white shirt that had been bleached and starched to within an inch of its life. Attached to his waistcoat Edouard could see a gold fob-watch and chain polished so that they shone like the sun. He was even wearing a top hat.
To say it seemed wrong in the midst of this catastrophe would have been an understatement and then some. But that was Simon's way. In everything. He wore his finery for all to see; always. It was the same way he kept his home. His estate wasn't just the largest in the city; it was the grandest. The marble was washed every few months, the slates too. The extensive gardens were always immaculate. Even the gates leading to it were polished until they shone. And of course wherever he went he travelled in style.
In the distance behind him Edouard could see his shining black open topped carriage with its driver and the four white horses waiting for him. Simon's home was an easy walk at less than a quarter of a league from where they stood. But he could never do such a thing. He could never be seen walking in the street like a commoner. He could never ride like one either. His carriage Edouard was certain, was open topped so that people could see him as he rode in style.
That vanity and greed came at a cost though. In due course Simon would take over from their father as the head of the House. If he had proven himself worthy as everyone had hoped he would – he would also have assumed his father's role as the Left Hand to the king in time. But he had angered almost everyone with his arrogance, and openly besmirched the family name with his insatiable greed and complete lack of morality and Edouard knew the latter was no longer a possibility. He would never become the next Left Hand. Edouard also knew that it would be a bad day for the entire family if and when Simon became the new Count Severin. He had already done the family so much harm.
As a young man he had embarrassed the family by trying to curb the House's donations to the poor, going against generations of tradition. It seemed that he considered charity nought but an unwanted expense, and the reputation of the House less important than the gold they would save. Then Simon had embarrassed them further when he had advocated that honorary positions such as the Left Hand to the king should be compensated for. Noblesse oblige was not something he understood. Edouard had been young at the time, merely a boy, but he still remembered seeing his father having to give a formal apology to the king and his court after that. He remembered in particular the look on his father's face as he'd spoken. Shame. Overwhelming shame.
Later, when Simon had been entrusted with some of the books as the heir apparent to the family's trading concern, he had miscalculated the annual tax bill the family owed by quite a large margin and naturally he had been caught. He had done it by simply declaring that a lot of their income in
◄►
“What have you found little brother?”
Edouard looked up to see his oldest brother Simon standing in front of him, and was somewhat taken aback. Simon seldom visited him. Even if he'd cared for family matters Edouard was too far down the family pecking order for him to bother with. But more surprising still, he looked serious for once, perhaps even concerned. Missing was the usual larcenous grin and calculating stare he generally had as he looked to make a profit from whatever was going on. Maybe some of his properties and businesses had been destroyed in the stampede. Edouard could but hope.
Simon was the first born of the children and had been raised from the start to become the next Count Severin, the next Lord of House Barris. Naturally he dressed accordingly. So where Edouard was wearing his neatest casual attire, Simon was outfitted in the very best finery money could buy. Today he wore a dark suit that looked as though it had just come from the tailor’s shop together with a spotless white shirt that had been bleached and starched to within an inch of its life. Attached to his waistcoat Edouard could see a gold fob-watch and chain polished so that they shone like the sun. He was even wearing a top hat.
To say it seemed wrong in the midst of this catastrophe would have been an understatement and then some. But that was Simon's way. In everything. He wore his finery for all to see; always. It was the same way he kept his home. His estate wasn't just the largest in the city; it was the grandest. The marble was washed every few months, the slates too. The extensive gardens were always immaculate. Even the gates leading to it were polished until they shone. And of course wherever he went he travelled in style.
In the distance behind him Edouard could see his shining black open topped carriage with its driver and the four white horses waiting for him. Simon's home was an easy walk at less than a quarter of a league from where they stood. But he could never do such a thing. He could never be seen walking in the street like a commoner. He could never ride like one either. His carriage Edouard was certain, was open topped so that people could see him as he rode in style.
That vanity and greed came at a cost though. In due course Simon would take over from their father as the head of the House. If he had proven himself worthy as everyone had hoped he would – he would also have assumed his father's role as the Left Hand to the king in time. But he had angered almost everyone with his arrogance, and openly besmirched the family name with his insatiable greed and complete lack of morality and Edouard knew the latter was no longer a possibility. He would never become the next Left Hand. Edouard also knew that it would be a bad day for the entire family if and when Simon became the new Count Severin. He had already done the family so much harm.
As a young man he had embarrassed the family by trying to curb the House's donations to the poor, going against generations of tradition. It seemed that he considered charity nought but an unwanted expense, and the reputation of the House less important than the gold they would save. Then Simon had embarrassed them further when he had advocated that honorary positions such as the Left Hand to the king should be compensated for. Noblesse oblige was not something he understood. Edouard had been young at the time, merely a boy, but he still remembered seeing his father having to give a formal apology to the king and his court after that. He remembered in particular the look on his father's face as he'd spoken. Shame. Overwhelming shame.
Later, when Simon had been entrusted with some of the books as the heir apparent to the family's trading concern, he had miscalculated the annual tax bill the family owed by quite a large margin and naturally he had been caught. He had done it by simply declaring that a lot of their income in
Similar Books
