Jeffrey took the cane and weighed it in his hand.

Heavy. Solid.

Swinging this thing would take real effort — you'd work up a sweat before it did any good. Jeffrey had always considered himself a refined man. Besides, this was Jonathan's problem to handle. Why should he be the one playing villain?

He declined with practiced subtlety. "Maybe reconsider? Every young man makes mistakes, gets a little foolish. What matters is that he owns it and does ...