“See?” I snapped. “This is exactly what I’m talking about.”

“What do you want me to say, Bex?” Freddie asked, throwing up his hands. “You left, I stepped up, Father began to respect me, and Nick couldn’t stand not being the golden boy anymore. And now here we are. How’s that?”

Nick turned and glared at him. “If he respects you so much, then why am I getting the plum assignments again?” he countered.

“There! You proved my point,” Freddie said. “But that’s hardly the only way to show respect. When was the last time you saw Father for anything that wasn’t work related?”

“When was the last time either one of you cared about seeing him for anything, period?” I asked. “Am I the only person who remembers that neither of you even likes Richard?”

“No,” Nick agreed. “But I’m very much enjoying making him regret treating me like I was worthless when we came back from Scotland.”

Freddie crossed his arms. “Did you ever think perhaps you deserved that?”

“No,” said Nick very carefully. “As a matter of fact, I did not.”

“You checked out,” Freddie said. “And while you were gone, I did my duty, and yours as well, and I don’t deserve to be shoved back to the side just because you’ve decided to take an interest again.”

“We’re talking about what you deserve?” Nick gaped. “All summer you acted like we had betrayed you by leaving town. You and Richard chummed around and made me feel like shit. For trying to protect myself. For trying to protect my marriage.”

“I didn’t mean to make you feel like shit,” Freddie protested. “I felt like shit. Everything fell on me. What was I supposed to do? Have you any idea how hard it was even to get up some of those mornings, knowing what was coming? I was the sleazy brother who had to smile through the sneering crowds for weeks. You lived it for one day.”

“You think I only felt that for one day?”

“I think you took the easy way out, and I didn’t, and you’re giving me no credit for it.”

“Gosh, so sorry,” Nick said sarcastically. “I didn’t realize you wanted credit for muddling through a firestorm you created. Well, congratulations! You finally suffered the consequences of your actions! Are you happy now? Is that what you wanted to hear?”

Freddie’s face went red. “You don’t have any idea what I want.”

“I guess that depends,” Nick said. “Is what you want still my wife?”

All the blood drained from Freddie’s face. I may have blacked out briefly; neither of the boys seemed to notice.