When one is the rightful heir and the other wants everything just for himself. Josephine realised that she was caught in the middle of a succession war.
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"You're not really going to jump in, are you?" Hero asked, his voice echoing between the stone walls that circled the pool.
"Hell, no," Felix said as he retreated into what served as a changing room.
The bathing house had been built a good distance from the manor. Stone pillars guarded the entrance to the stone building. In spite of the rain, they'd managed to bring torches with them and placed them in the sconces on the wall. Eerie shadows danced around the inside of the building. A wide flight of stone steps led out of the pool.
Felix emerged from the room and held up his hands, each holding a bottle. "I love Eleanor with all my heart, but there is nowhere in the manor where she would not follow, and I thought we needed a bit of time to talk—alone."
"Like old times?"
"Like old times."
They sat on the stone floor, their backs to the wall. Felix opened a bottle and handed it to Hero before opening the other one for himself. He tapped it against Hero's. "To renew friendships."
"To the friendship that remained."
Hero took a swallow, the whiskey burnin down his throat. He gasped, released a harsh breath, and smiled broadly. "Whew! That was good."
"And there's plenty more where that came from."
"Do you think your father ever deduced that we weren't taking dips for our health in here?"
"I think he might have suspected."
Hero took another swallow, raised his knee, and set his wrist on it, the bottle dangling. Dropping his head back, he watched the shadows dancing over the ceiling. "We had some good talks here."
"Yes, we did. I've told Eleanor about your situation."
Hero rolled his head over to the side, so he could see his friend more clearly.
"She asked me why I didn't kill you, and since she knew it was my intention..." Felix shrugged. "I've never lied to her and I don't keep things from her. She won't say a word to anyone."
Hero looked back at the ceiling. "This situation has already hurt you and Eleanor enough. I don't want it to cause any further harm."
"I don't suppose between this afternoon and now that you've determined how best to handle it."
Hero brought the bottle to his lips, gulped the intoxicating brew, lowered the bottle, and licked his lips. "No. But as I was playing with Henry, all I could think was that with Eros alive, I would never know that my children were safe."
"Perhaps if you reassured him that he would always be provided for—"
"I've been thinking about that. It's not about the money. There was never any question that he would have an allowance that would allow him to live in the manner to which he'd become accustomed. It had to be about the dukedom itself. The title. All the titles. The prestige, the power, the respect accorded someone of rank. He's already demonstrated the lengths to which he will go in order to be duke. I can't assume that my being on to him is enough to deter him."
