George had a large bruise on his cheek and two boot-shaped bruises on his stomach, all because Isobel had been thoughtless enough to leave her riding gloves at the stables. Andrew had come to fetch him from the dining area where he was eating breakfast and James had arrived in time to see Edward clutching a fistful of Isobel’s hair while George lay curled up and crying on the floor. His friend had told him why Edward had turned against George but hearing Isobel admit to her father that it was because of her negligence, had made something in James snap.
“I wasn’t trying to steal them,” George explained to his brother quietly once his sobs had died down enough for him to speak. He was lying in his bed, the thin sheet covering his bruised body. “I was going to go up to the house to return t
