“My parents care about us. But my mother’s true love was her tinkering. Nurses and maids raised us, yet we were shown little affection. I think they were instructed to keep their distance. My brothers never formed a bond with my parents.” He shrugged. “I feel as if rambling.”
“No, I understand perfectly.” I thought of my mother, and all the women who raised me instead of her.
“My brothers lack something,” he tapped his chest, “inside. Especially when it comes to our father. We were sent to school in the countryside as boys barely old enough for instruction. My father claims it was for our safety, but they see it as abandonment. Dismissal. Betrayal. While they’re well-taught in the ways of governance and survival, they have little love for or understanding of my father. Or his plans for t
