Chapter 12 #3
“Surely things would grow sour if you bedded her in the end. They always do with women. You would not have the banter you do now, and she would fall for you. You clearly seem eager to bed her if the tension in your face is proof enough.”
Nicholas glared at him, making Leonard laugh.
“Bedding her would at least keep this desire at bay so that I could focus on my business and keeping her and the children safe as we all forge this new path together.”
He had a brief image of them a few years down the road, and to his surprise, he saw a flash of Cordelia holding his hand, looking up at him with a smile.
Idiot.
“Don’t worry, Leonard, even if we came to some sort of a sexual arrangement, I know that she is safe from feeling any sort of true affection for me. Loathing is more like it,” he chuckled, but it sounded forced. “I do not fear for her heart.”
“I doubt that. She could have done a great many things rather than marry you. You could have helped her financially to raise the children. Or, she could have even given the children away to another. Instead, she chose this.”
Nicholas shifted uncomfortably in his seat. In fact, he preferred if that were the truth. Instead, he thought she’d had no other option but to accept him, and in some way, she resented him for it.
Perhaps we resent each other.
But even though he had never expected to wed, and David and Helen’s will had angered him, deep down, marrying Cordelia had not really bothered him at all.
“I don’t know about that.” He shook his head and then pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation.
“Listen, why bother with a woman who does not want you when there are hundreds of others in London who would be very willing? Wives are not for bedding anyway, really. That’s what mistresses are for.”
Nicholas glanced at his cousin who had a joking smile on his lips. If they were in reversed positions, he would have given the same advice. He would have believed the same thing.
“It’s strange – lately, I’ve not really had an interest in any other woman. She is the only one I…” he paused. “Can think about at the moment. I think seducing Cordelia would help get me out of this slump. Until I can get her to be willing, then I will simply have to focus my mind elsewhere.”
Leonard pulled out his pocket watch as if now bored with the topic, and Nicholas eyed it, letting out a low whistle.
“That looks fancy. Even for you, cousin.”
“Ha! And yet I purchased it for a very small sum.” He snapped the watch closed and tucked it away into his pocket. I spotted it in a shop and was smitten with it. “I do like to keep up appearances."
Nicholas frowned. “How could that watch of pure gold be a small sum?”
“There are scuffs and scratches, but it keeps time well enough. Besides, why do you care? You surely haven’t worried about money in some time, being a duke and all.”
Leonard got up to browse the books again, and angry, Nicholas got to his feet. “Being a duke brought me nothing but debt with my foolish father at the helm. I had to crawl my way back.”
“And yet, you received a large inheritance from your old friend,” Leonard said calmly.
Nicholas plopped into the chair behind his desk and pulled the day’s correspondence towards him, eager to begin work. “And how do you know about that?”
“Everyone knows of course. Wexford’s been yelling about it across Christendom, at the unfairness of it all. He intends to ruin you and your new family, you know, and the business too.”
Nicholas tensed, but he pulled a letter closer and tore it open. “That fool is welcome to try. The will was legitimate, and the only reason David gave me that money was so that I wouldn’t squander it and I could give it to the next heir intact.”
“That is wise, I suppose.” He turned back from the bookshelf and finished off his whisky.
“Then why not go home to protect one sphere at least? You could turn yourself into a family man.” His eyes flashed teasingly.
“You said yourself your wife doesn’t care for this business, and then Wexford would likely leave this alone, if it was not so close to you. You could hire another to manage it.”
“I will not give up something I’ve worked this hard for. This gambling den saved me and put everything back together when it was all broken. Wexford can do what he likes, but the business stays, and he’ll have to go through me to get to Cordelia.”
Leonard sighed. “You are a secret family man, I see.”
Nicholas grumbled again, and Leonard laughed, walking toward the door. “I think I’ll leave you to your sour mood and take myself to the gaming tables for the night. Perhaps I’ll have a round of good luck.”
“Doubt it. You always have bad luck,” Nicholas replied sullenly.
“But maybe today’s my day. Besides, I think I’d rather face the gaming tables than be like you and have to go home to a cold bed and an angry wife who won’t have you.”
“Get out!” Nicholas said, throwing a glove at his cousin’s head. Leonard merely laughed and shut the door, and Nicholas sank back in his chair staring at it.
He thought he’d come into the club sullen enough, but his night just got all the worse.