Before Liars Loved (Before Series, Book 3)

Maverick

By the time Leo made his way to Aston Manor that evening, he was feeling a tad weary. He had grown tired of watching Emilia and Will make suggestive faces at each other from across the room. At a certain point, he was relatively confident that they had forgotten he was there altogether, and Leo quickly excused himself.

Stepping through the front door of the palatial mansion that was his family home, Leo instantly flew backward to avoid getting hit.

"Maverick! Wait up!" A tall, blonde-haired boy came careening out of the library and around the corner, nearly hitting Leo as he went. Langdon, the little trouble-maker, did not even apologize to Leo for cutting him off. He merely bounded up the stairs, yelling all the way.

Shrugging, Leo looked for the boy who he was chasing—his little brother, Maverick. But the nine-year-old boy was nowhere to be found. Maverick was not particularly fast, so Leo did not know how he'd left Langdon, who had two years on him, so far in the dust.

But then Leo heard a peal of laughter and knew that the two had found each other again. Smiling, Leo could not help but wander upstairs to see what they were up to.

Upon entering the nursery, Leo noticed that Maverick's tight-laced governess was nowhere to be seen. That was not a good indication. In her absence, it appeared that the boys had stripped nearly all the bedding from the east wing of the house and draped it across Maverick's chamber.

All Leo could see was the cloth-covered shape where he knew some chairs to be, with books balanced precariously on top to hold the bedclothes in place over them.

Those crafty boys had created a massive tent in the middle of Maverick's bedchamber.

Dropping down on all fours, Leo made his way beneath the draped bedclothes and toward the sounds of laughter. It had already begun to grow dark outside, which made it difficult to see beneath the makeshift fort, but Leo soon made out two small figures in the dusky room. Propped on three giant pillows, was his brother Maverick, and beside him sat a cross-legged Langdon.

"Leo!" Maverick exclaimed and began to scoot his way toward him, but Leo put his hand out.

"Careful, there, Mav. We don't want you to topple this whole thing down."

"I believe you'll be the one to topple this down, Lord F," Langdon pointed out, his mischievous smile bright in the lowly lit space.

"I am being careful," Leo protested, his head tilted at an angle so that it wouldn't disrupt the careful balance that was a blanket castle made by children. "Unlike you downstairs, Langdon."

Langdon's eyes grew wide, and he hastily looked away, causing Leo to chuckle.

"Do not tell mother about this, Leo," Maverick interrupted, looking at Leo with his pleading eyes. His words came out a little muffled, getting caught on his tongue like they usually did, but Leo understood what he meant to say.

"I will not tell her," Leo promised. "She is too old for the fright it would give her."

Their mother, Lady Aston, was rather old, which was why everyone was surprised when she grew pregnant with Mav. Some of the doctors reckoned, though, that her late age might have been the cause of Maverick's condition.

"As long as you both promise me that you will be safe?" Leo gave a pointed look at Langdon, the one he was truly directing that question to. Maverick would do anything that Langdon said to.

Langdon nodded quickly.

"Good," Leo said. "I have to go talk to the Marchioness."

Maverick's eyebrows shot up. "I thought you weren't going to tell her."