Chapter 177

"Tell me something, Mother. Why is Simon staying in one of the cottages on the property?"

The question caught Octavia entirely off guard. For several seconds, she said nothing, stunned into silence, and Draven remained where he was, apparently content to wait for an explanation.

She had not expected him to bring up the topic, much less do so without any warning. She had known there was a possibility he would eventually discover the arrangement, but she had hoped to find a suitable opportunity to speak with him first.

"Did Eugenia tell you?" she asked him at last.

"No." His response was immediate. "Eugenia did not have to tell me. You seem to have forgotten that the guards report directly to me, and I am kept informed of everything that happens on these grounds. It is hardly possible for someone to take up residence in one of the cottages without my knowledge."

Octavia pressed her lips together, uncertain how best to proceed. "Then why did you wait so long to say anything?"

"I’m saying something now, aren’t I?" Draven still did not turn to face her. "So answer my question. Why is Simon staying here?"

"I allowed him to stay," she admitted. "I asked him to come here."

Draven gave a short, humourless laugh. "I’m surprised you are not even attempting to deny it, considering you went to such lengths to keep me uninformed."

"It was not my intention to keep you uninformed." Octavia’s voice acquired a note of defensiveness. "I simply did not want you to react poorly to the news."

"And you thought concealing it from me would improve matters?" He glanced at her over his shoulder before looking away again. "Does Simon not have a home of his own? Why must he stay here?"

He hated arguing with his mother but so far it seemed like all their disagreements lately have been about his good for nothing cousin. It was always Simon this, and Simon that.

Draven was getting sick of it.

Octavia hesitated. She had anticipated his displeasure, but anticipating it and having it directed at her were two different things.

There were several explanations she might have offered, yet none seemed adequate when measured against the obvious question he had asked.

She could tell him that Simon genuinely needed help, that he had been struggling, barely living. That she had merely wanted to give him somewhere to stay, a place he wouldn’t feel so alone all the time.

None of those explanations addressed the fact that she had made the decision without consulting Draven, knowing perfectly well that he would object. And at the end, her actions backfired. What was the point of bringing someone who was struggling to a place where they were clearly not wanted.

Her hesitation proved costly. Draven turned around, facing her for the first time since she joined him there, pinning her beneath his dark, unyielding gaze.

"I want him gone by tomorrow." He said, mind already made up.

Octavia’s mouth fell open. Whenever he got like this, it was almost impossible to get him to change his mind. She would know, he got his stubbornness from her after all.

It didn’t stop her from trying anyway.

"You cannot do that." She argued.

A crease formed between his brows. "I beg your pardon?"

"You cannot simply turn your cousin out of the house because you disapprove of my decision to help him." She went on.

"I can, as you well know." His expression hardened. "I do not believe it is fair to expect anything more of me. I have been more than generous to that overgrown child, and I refuse to be made responsible for him any longer. I have carried this family on my shoulders since I was eighteen, and not once have I complained. Not once. I am already neck-deep in obligations, and I will not take on another by providing a home for someone who cannot even look after himself. Nor do I appreciate having decisions made behind my back. The only reason I am willing to overlook this particular transgression is because you are my mother, and I know your intentions are good."

"I never meant to offend you, Draven." Octavia’s voice softened and was placating. "I only wanted to help Simon. He has been struggling for some time, and I felt sorry for him. I thought that bringing him closer to his family might do him some good. It seemed to me the best thing I could do under the circumstances, and I never intended to cause you any offence."

For a moment, Draven said nothing. His displeasure had not disappeared, but some of its sharpness receded as he considered his mother’s explanation.

Octavia had never been particularly good at watching someone suffer without attempting to intervene, even when her efforts were misplaced. He had seen it countless times throughout his life, and Simon had always been one of the people most likely to benefit from that particular weakness.

That did not mean he had to approve of it.

"Why do you always feel the need to help him?" he asked, his voice quieter now but no less firm. "You know what he is like. How awful he can be, how hateful. You know how many times he has been given an opportunity to put his life in order, only to return to his old habits. Simon cannot be helped if he has no intention of helping himself. He does not want to change, Mother. He does not want to abandon the things that are destroying him. So why do you keep trying?"

Octavia lowered her gaze briefly, gathering her thoughts. She had no illusions about Simon’s shortcomings, nor did she believe that some time spent on the estate would suddenly transform him into a different man.

But she had known him since he was an infant, and whatever disappointment he had brought upon the family, she could not bring herself to regard him as a lost cause.