@firstbcrn said: “i… may have spoken out of turn just now. in the heat of the moment.”
brows raise expectantly as he sits there, watching his brother from across the table. around them, the club is abuzz, offering a certain sort of privacy - no one is listening to their conversation, too wrapped up as they are in their own entertainments. anywhere else, they might have drawn attention, but here they are merely two men amongst the crowd. it's oddly comforting, he thinks. or so he's taught himself to think... to reflect more thoroughly on why he has taken to eschewing quiet of late would be to prod at questions he is not presently inclined to answer...
indeed, answering them honestly would mean acknowledging that anthony's out of turn remark held some justice... he was wasting his life in idleness. and resentment only smarted in his chest because he knew it to be true. but he was not in the mood for honest reflection - or for fraternal concern.
" was that - am i hearing correctly, brother, or was that an apology? " he leans back in his chair, feigned shock in his voice. a part of him feels badly for the jest. he knows anthony's concerns are in earnest. just as his other meddlings were in earnest. but for the moment, that is as far as his generosity of spirit will extend.... " you have changed, " he adds with a sharp chuckle. " this time last year, i'd have had an easier time sawing off your arm than getting you to admit to a mistake... are you sure you're quite well? " his smile widens impishly, even if it does not quite meet his eyes. there was no quicker means of distracting his brother from a subject than by conjuring the image of his new wife...
