Tiberius could have wished for a little more in terms of a direct answer, but since he hadn't asked a direct question it wasn't as though he could fault Macmillan for being vague.

"Not particularly close with your brothers, then?" he asked, though he wasn't sure whether or not he ought to care. It was perfectly reasonable not to be particularly fond of a brother who might inherit before you, he thought, but he had no experience with brothers living or dead, so he couldn't have said. He didn't know how to steer this back to what Tatiana was actually asking, but maybe that was because he wasn't sure what Tatiana was actually asking. Presumably she was interested in matters of inheritance, but if she thought Charles Macmillan might end up with his father's estate she likely hadn't done her research, which would be out of character for her. She was careful and meticulous — so perhaps she'd done more research than he had. Perhaps she knew something he didn't about Mrs. Macmillan — they were of a similar enough age that they might have even been confidantes. If she found herself with some difficulties producing an heir, perhaps it was possible... and Macmillan had a daughter, which demonstrated that he was at least capable in that department.

"A bit unusual that you married so much earlier than your elder brother, isn't it?" he asked, with a slight downward turn at one corner of his mouth to suggest a frown. "You're young to be a widower, generally speaking."