Page 14 of The Duke of Ice
“How long have you been out here?” Simon’s voice interrupted his peace.
Nick opened his eyes. “Since just before the sun came up.”
“Too early for me.”
“I didn’t expect you to join me.”
“Nor would you have wanted me to.” Simon clapped his hand on Nick’s shoulder briefly before dropping down next to him. The footman handed him a pole.
“You’re actually going to fish?” Nick asked, eyeing the equipment in Simon’s grip.
Simon grimaced as he cast his line. “I thought I’dtry.”
“Admirable of you.”
“Yes, well, I think it behooves me to participate in the party’s activities, even if I’m the resident pariah. Though I wonder if I may be in danger of losing that title to you.”
Nick glanced at his friend, his mouth pursing. “I’d be happy to take it from you.”
“No, you wouldn’t. Trust me.”
“You forget that I like to be left alone.”
“And yet every time I come to visit, you seem to enjoy my presence,” Simon said bemusedly. “You’re fooling yourself, and someday you’ll come to realize that. I just hope it isn’t too late.”
Nick suffered his friend’s concern. “When would that be?”
“When you’re old and decrepit and everyone you know is gone.” Simon shot him an earnest stare. “I meaneveryone.”
So many peopleweregone already. “That argument will gain you no ground.”
Simon exhaled. “I know. But I still have to make it every now and again. Just as I have to point out your atrocious behavior last night.”
Nick turned his head. “Atrocious?”
“Don’t pretend a stupidity you don’t possess. First you stood in the corner sulking like a boy denied his favorite sweet. Then you conversed rather brusquely with not one, but two women. The first went hurrying back across the room, tail between her legs, and I can tell you her father, Lord Balcombe, wasnotpleased. And the second…”
Nick looked back out at the lake, willing a fish to take his bait so that this infernal topic could be interrupted and hopefully avoided.
“It was clear to everyone that your conversation was heated—such a strange word to be associated with the Duke of Ice, or so I heard said—and that Lady Pendleton was flustered. She practically ran from the room.”
Nick watched a heron swoop down and take up a position on the opposite side of the lake in the shallows. The graceful bird glanced toward Nick and Simon but paid them no further mind as it stood stock-still in search of prey.
“Have you nothing to say?” Simon demanded.
Nick turned his head once more. “Did you ask me a question?”
Simon snorted. “You’re a beast. You should apologize to both women. You’re never going to find a wife if you behave in that fashion.”
“May I remind you that finding a wife is your endeavor? Furthermore, we’re dukes. We can behave in whatever fashion we please and still find wives.”
“There you are wrong, my friend,” Simon said good-naturedly. “As it happens, if you are rumored to have killed your wife, your marital opportunities are rather limited. If not nonexistent.”
“You didn’t kill her,” Nick muttered, knowing this was a futile argument, much as Simon’s regarding his chosen solitude.
“If only I could be as certain as you.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes before Simon spoke again. “Who is Lady Pendleton? It seemed as though you knew her when we were introduced yesterday.”
