Chapter 2
CHAPTER 2
N icholas poured a glass of brandy and handed it to his friend before moving to stand beside the fireplace in the drawing room.
“You’re not drinking?” Kenneth asked, an odd look on his face. “Come now, Nicholas. It’s not that early—not that it had ever stopped you in the past.”
Nicholas forced a smile and shook his head. “I’m afraid I haven’t had the appetite for it of late.”
Kenneth tsked. “You haven’t had an appetite for anything of late.”
Having met on the very first day of university, Nicholas and Kenneth had been close friends ever since. With his pale blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and frightfully tall, thin frame, Kenneth looked nothing like black-haired, brown-eyed, average-height Nicholas. But they’d always enjoyed the same activities.
Most of their time together was spent drinking, carousing about whatever town they happened to be in, feasting, gambling, and playing whatever madcap game came to mind and held their interest for more than a minute. Their time together was always carefree and filled with laughter.
Only once before had they encountered such serious times. Kenneth’s mother had passed right before graduation. He had been devastated. Nicholas had ensured his friend’s privacy so he could mourn and eventually brought him back into the light of day to play once again.
This year, with Nicholas’s loss, Kenneth had returned the favor. But he was impatient, and Nicholas couldn’t blame him.
Kenneth had begun enjoying the pleasures the town offered within months of losing his mother, claiming that he needed the distraction. But Nicholas couldn’t forget his loss that easily. When his planned trip had drawn closer, he had instead urged Kenneth to go in his stead.
For the better, I think. I needed peace and quiet.
Now Kenneth was back, clearly eager to draw Nicholas back into their rowdy days of merriment. Unfortunately, Nicholas couldn’t care a whit for the notion. He didn’t have the time. He found his days of gambling and dallying not as bright or alluring as they had once been.
Even now, his friend was telling him about a new woman he had met at a tavern near the docks. But Nicholas couldn’t focus. He eyed the nearly empty glass in Kenneth’s hand, thinking he might very well be tempted to enjoy some brandy.
However, the acidic taste settled thickly on his tongue. He wrinkled his nose and looked away.
“We can go out tonight,” Kenneth proposed.
Nicholas shook his head. “I cannot. But do go out without me.”
“What is it this time?” Kenneth groaned, slumping in his chair. “Too much correspondence? Supper with your sister?”
“Don’t talk about Eleanor.”
The words came out sharper than Nicholas had intended, but he couldn’t help it. What had once been brotherly affection for his sister had turned into a desperate need to protect her from even a speck of dirt. He couldn’t lose her as well. He wouldn’t .
Raising his hands in surrender, Kenneth slowly rose to his feet. “Now, Nicholas, you know I would never speak ill of her. Just as I know she would never demand your presence. In fact, I’m sure she would enjoy an evening to herself. Come, man, see London. You used to love it here. You’ve already been here for two weeks and you’ve seen nothing but this house and the inside walls of Parliament. Next thing I hear, you’ll be telling me the rumors about you marrying are true.”
Nicholas stilled. He glanced down at the analysis he’d been working on over the last couple of days. It included a list of families in the peerage and so on with daughters of marriageable age.
“What rumors?” he asked, keeping his voice even. He could hear his friend sputter and choke on the last gulp of his drink.
Kenneth coughed, hitting his chest, and set the glass down. Then, he stared at Nicholas in shock. “You wouldn’t.”
It seemed that playing innocent might not be the way to go.
Nicholas crossed his arms again. “Why wouldn’t I? We all must marry someday.”
“Certainly, when we’re good and done with our youth. My father didn’t marry until he was fifty, remember? I don’t see why I should move any faster than that. Nor you.”
“Except I am a duke.” The title tasted sour on Nicholas’s tongue. He dropped his gaze to the ground. “And I will not leave Eleanor alone, Kenneth. I must marry.”
“Why? To give your sister a sister?”
Sighing, Nicholas shook his head and wondered if he could make his friend understand.
Kenneth had no worries these days. He was distant from his family and had inherited a vast fortune from his aunt and uncle, so he worried for nothing. He had no obligations and was thus free to enjoy himself.
“I will marry. It is what one must do after inheriting a title. I need an heir who will inherit the duchy someday. This is to protect my family. To honor them. I have no need for love or desire these days. Only a wife.”
“Only a wife,” Kenneth echoed, with a disbelieving shake of his head. “You’ve gone mad, my good man. I never imagined such a day would come. And what? Once you have her, will you go back to being your old self?”
A dry chuckle escaped Nicholas. “Maybe I will.”
Yet, I believe that that young man is long gone, buried far away with his ancestors. I cannot imagine carousing about town these days. I can hardly imagine drinking brandy, even. No, I will take a wife and return to my responsibilities. I had my fun, and now… Now, I have a duty.
“All right.” Kenneth furrowed his brow before rubbing his hands together. “So be it. We will find you a wife. It appears we shall be attending the Season, after all, for your potential bride.”
The very idea made Nicholas cringe. He rarely attended such events. There were a few last year that he had attended because his sister, still not out, had been able to attend. Then, there were one or two he had attended at his father’s request, but that had been it. Most of the time, he had done whatever he liked.
Feeling his cravat chafing, he tugged at the tight fabric around his neck. He’d have to talk to his valet about trying something else later.
“No,” Nicholas uttered. “No, I am not partaking in such a farce. I want to avoid the Season as much as I can. I have no time for romantic pretenses and exhausting courtships. All I need is someone to wed as soon as possible—a lady who will manage this house and support Eleanor. I cannot do everything on my own.”
“Then what, you’ll simply marry the next unwed lady you come across?” Kenneth asked sarcastically.
“Perhaps.”
Nicholas cast a quick glance at his list. He’d already crossed out half of the names. With a little bit more time, he was certain he could find someone with whom he could spend the rest of his life. All he had to do after that was meet with her legal guardian and schedule the banns.
Kenneth rounded the table. “You keep looking over there. What is that? Don’t tell me you have a book of families––”
“No, leave it alone,” Nicholas insisted.
“Are you just going to marry someone sight unseen? Really, Nicholas.”
He barred the way. “Don’t you dare look at it.”
“You can’t just––”
“I won’t let you––”
The sound of someone clearing their throat made the two of them step back from each other.
Nicholas blinked at the sight of his butler standing in the doorway with his spine straight and his expression blank.
“Wordlesby. What is it?” He shoved Kenneth back when his friend tried to look at the list again. “I don’t have another appointment until after tea time.”
Wordlesby glanced warily at Kenneth before turning back to Nicholas. The way he hesitated made Nicholas wonder what was going on. Something that he clearly didn’t feel comfortable sharing. But Kenneth was practically family. They kept few secrets from one another.
“Go on,” Nicholas urged.
Still, Wordlesby didn’t appear entirely content with this reassurance. He shifted restlessly as he finally said, “There is a young lady here to meet with you, Your Grace.”
“You already found one?” Kenneth asked in awe.
Elbowing his friend, Nicholas stared at his butler to try and understand what was being said. What woman? He didn’t know any woman in London. At least, none who would come to him like this.
“Did she give you a card?”
“She has one, yes, but she requested to hold onto it until she spoke with you.”
Nicholas noted his butler’s disgruntlement before something occurred to him. “A young lady, you said. Unwed?”
“Apparently,” Kenneth muttered under his breath.
“Does she have a chaperone?” Nicholas asked.
A mulish expression crossed Wordlesby’s face as he glanced between the two men before he admitted what everyone had already guessed. “No, Your Grace. The young lady has come alone.”
Nicholas tried to think. “Did you tell her to return with a chaperone at an appropriate hour? We don’t even have the knocker on the door, do we?”
“No. She, er… she came around the side.”
To the servants’ entrance. So, is she a servant or a lady?
“Already they are offering themselves up as lambs to the slaughter.”
“That’s enough, Kenneth,” Nicholas sighed. “We have had our conversation. You know your way out, don’t you? Get out, and I shall talk to you tomorrow.”
Kenneth huffed. “But I want to see her.”
“No, you will not see her. Out you go.”
“Careful, Nicholas, or I shall next see you shackled to a faceless lady you couldn’t spot in a crowd.”
At the door, Nicholas grabbed his friend by the shoulders. “Don’t you say a word,” he threatened. “Or I will tell all of London about the drama you caused in Frankfurt. Understood?”
Kenneth frowned before shaking him off. “It was only in jest. Be careful, Nicholas. The girls on the marriage mart are as bad as their mothers. In truth, I believe we might be the lambs for slaughter.”
“I will be careful so long as you are silent. Now, go.”
Soon Kenneth had taken his leave.
Wordlesby offered to show the next guest to the drawing room before adding that their street had filled up with at least five carriages. All of them appeared full and watching the house.
“The knocker isn’t even up,” Nicholas huffed in irritation. “Where did you put the young lady?”
“In your study, Your Grace. Just down the hall.”
“Very well.”
Nicholas pinched the bridge of his nose as he considered his situation. He should have expected that word would get out. His casual mention at his club that he was seeking a wife must have spread through London. He’d taken a ride yesterday, and countless people had waved him over to speak for a moment. And now they were here, most likely to introduce themselves and their daughters.
How could he turn them away?
“Very well,” he repeated. “Put up the knocker and inform anyone who arrives that I shall see them shortly. I’ll ask the young lady to leave. I cannot imagine why she would need my attention like this.”
Wordlesby bowed. “Very good, Your Grace.”
Hoping that all would work out, Nicholas took his leave. He heard the front door opening as he turned into the hall to his left. In only two steps, he pushed the ajar door to his study open and stepped inside.
“Good morning,” he said in a clipped tone and closed the door behind him, knowing he couldn’t let anyone in the hall catch a glimpse of an unchaperoned woman in his home. “I believe you wished to speak with me?”
A young woman standing by his fireplace whirled around to look at him. Dressed in a neat green gown, she had short brown curls that reminded him of the redwoods along the coast. Her dress was out of fashion if he recalled correctly, but its color accentuated those deep green eyes that stared at him.
She seemed surprised to see him, as if this wasn’t his home.
Nicholas decided right then that Kenneth was wrong.
She isn’t faceless, after all. I could spot her in any crowd as soon as I memorize her face.