[18 + COMPLETED] Three men, two centuries, one house.
S U M M E R 2 0 2 1
Rosecrest Manor has been in Asher's family for generations, but he's done dealing with the headache of a property. He just needs to get his soon-to-be ex-wife on board with...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Sawyer stood in the parlor at Rosecrest Manor, wondering what all the fuss was about. He hung in the corner and watched as his parents fawned over Lady Penelope and her husband. The new couple seemed kind enough, but Sawyer simply thought there was no need for such commotion regarding their arrival.
This would be a summer just like all the summers that came before. They would drink. They would eat. They would likely travel to each end of the manicured Rosecrest grounds whilst playing various rounds of lawn bowling.
It was a simple, plain, boring house party.
Sawyer rolled his eyes and observed Simon try to relentlessly to catch the attention of a blonde-haired beauty. While Simon was, in fact, engaged in conversation with her, Lady Whitley's big blue eyes kept straying to her parents. She likely hoped that they would save her from Sawyer's poor twin brother.
Taking a drink of a pour that he'd stolen from Uncle Theo's scotch collection, Sawyer tried not to spit it out when a low voice whispered in his ear.
"It is hard to watch, isn't it?"
"Christ." Sawyer whipped around to see the other Ash sister, Lady Blair, not a pace from his right shoulder. "Could you perhaps refrain from sneaking up on a man like that?"
Lady Blair was every bit the opposite of her older sister. She had thick, dark hair that someone had attempted to twist into an elegant hairstyle, and it simply did not become her. The lady looked at Sawyer with narrowed, dark brown eyes, and her lips did not smile in a polite simper. They positively smirked.
"But what fun would there be in that, Viscount Payne?"
Sawyer flicked his gaze over her once more, observing her rather drab evening gown. It was an unfortunate olive color that did not flatter her in the least, and the boxy cut meant that Sawyer couldn't discern her figure at all.
"I am not the Viscount, my lady," he drawled eventually. "My brother was born five minutes prior to myself."
She tilted her head to the side. "Quite interesting, that."
Sawyer snorted and dared to take another sip of his scotch, hoping not to be startled as he was the last time. After letting the burn subside, he asked, "How so?" Sawyer had never taken much interest in anything regarding titles. His family was full of them, and yet actually having one had escaped him.
"Well, a person might say that your brother has all the luck, considering his timely arrival into this world not five minutes before you, blessing him with all the riches associated with the future inheritance of an earldom—"
"My father is an earl, but my grandfather is a marquess," Sawyer set about correcting her, although he was unsure why he bothered. "Simon is set to inherit more than an earldom."
Lady Blair merely shrugged. "See? Your brother should be quite lucky. But based on how he is faring with my sister...well, need I say more?" Her eyes trailed across the room to Simon and Lady Whitley.
