Page 14 of It's In The Duke's Kiss
Nathaniel frowned. “I talked her into skating on that thin ice, you know.”
“Your Grace,” Tensley said, bringing the conversation to a stop as he stepped into Lucian’s study. “The Earl and Countess of Albersey, Lady Mary and Lady Emmaline have arrived. As well as the Marquess of Winthorp and his daughter, Lady Francine.”
Lucian glanced out the window where Winthorp’s carriage now stood.Bloody hell.He didn’t have a good feeling about tonight. Nathaniel wouldn’t even know Lady Francine was in the room with Lady Emmaline here. Her beauty was blinding. “Very good, Tensley. Please tell them we’ll be right in.”
Tensley nodded and departed as Nathaniel strode toward the sidebar, picked up a glass, and poured it to the rim with liquor. “Mother, did you invite the earl and his family so I would formally apologize?” he demanded before taking a long drink, nearly emptying the whiskey he’d just poured.
Lucian caught his mother’s worried expression, and anger flared at his brother. He closed the distance between him and Nathaniel, snatched the tumbler out of his brother’s hand, and set it on the sidebar. “She didn’t. It came about quite by accident. Please don’t get foxed tonight. And try to remember your future wife is here.”
“How could I forget?” Nathaniel grumbled with a glare at Lucian.
Lucian glowered back. “You can always strike out on your own,” he challenged. He half-wished Nathaniel would pick up the gauntlet. It would show that he was willing totryto take care of himself at the very least.
Nathaniel snatched back the glass from the sidebar. “Why the devil would I want to do that? I’d never be near as proficient at seeing to my life as you are. And you did promise Father, since he clearly thought I was incapable of making good decisions.”
“Gentlemen,” Mother snapped, her voice low but harsh.
Lucian gave a tight nod to his mother, while keeping his gaze trained on Nathaniel. Telling his brother of the promise he’d made their father to watch over Nathaniel and be like a father to him had been a mistake. He’d meant it to show that Father had cared, but it had yielded the opposite effect. “This can wait. Mother’s guests are waiting.”
Lucian proffered his elbow to his mother, who took it, and they departed the room with Nathaniel trailing behind.
