Page 59 of The Duke of Ice
“A house party? I’ve never been to one. What do you do there?”
“Any number of things,” Violet said. “There was dancing, an excursion to St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Wells. And fishing.”
Eames looked at Nick, his eyes gleaming. “I expect you enjoyed that. Do you remember bringing me fish?”
“I do.” He and Maurice often caught so many, they had to share them with the neighbors. Eames had always been their first stop. “Lady Pendleton didn’t mention the archery where she won the ladies’ contest.”
The older gentleman turned an admiring look upon her. “Did you now? Well done.”
She blushed prettily. “The Duke won the men’s contest.”
Eames chortled. “Well, aren’t you a match, then?” He finished the last of his water, then climbed to his feet. Nick started to rise, but Eames waved him down. “Sit, my boy. Er, Your Grace. It was a pleasure seeing you. If you get out to Prendergast’s, I hope you’ll stop in and visit me.”
Nick gave him a warm smile. “I’ll do that.”
Eames bowed to Violet. “A pleasure, my lady.”
“The pleasure was mine,” she said softly. As they watched him go, her lips curved up. “What a charming gentleman.” She turned to Nick. “You knew him well?”
“He was a good friend of my uncle’s.”
“I remember you speaking of him—your uncle. I’m sorry I didn’t meet him.” She sipped her water. “What happened? He inherited the dukedom, and it passed briefly to your brother?”
“No. My brother was killed in battle before he could get home. When I became the heir apparent, I was discharged, but I didn’t make it back to England before Uncle Gilbert passed away.”
She reached for him across the small table but stopped before she touched his hand. “I’m so sorry.”
“I’d rather not speak of it,” he said. “At least not today. Not here.”
She nodded in understanding, and they were quiet a moment before she said, “I confess I’m not certain how to proceed. You said you wanted to see if we would suit.”
“I do. But I suppose that doesn’t matter if you aren’t in agreement.”
“I’ve spent eight years wishing we could start over, that things could be different.” She looked away sharply. “I know that isn’t really possible.”
He hated the sadness and regret in her tone, but couldn’t dispute it. “No, it isn’t.”
“I suppose we should get to know each other—as we are now. As much as I loved yesterday, we can’t continue in that vein.”
“No, nor was that my intent.” He’d thought to take them back to those glorious days, but he knew they’d have to resolve what lay between them. If they could. There were so many things he didn’t know about her and longed to. He started with something simple. “How did you become acquainted with Mrs. Linford?”
Her eyes took on a sparkle, and she laughed softly. “It’s a terrible story, actually. Well, notterrible, but embarrassing. I was at my first ball in London after being married.” She cast him a nervous look, and he made a note to tell her that they couldn’t keep letting that come between them, not if they truly wanted to look to the future.
She cleared her throat. “Hannah—Mrs. Linford—was there too. It was hersecondball since marrying Irving. My husband left me immediately, and I didn’t see him again for the rest of the evening. Hannah and Irving were kind enough to take me home.”
“He just abandoned you there?”
She nodded. “I hadn’t yet realized I would enjoy myself far more. But it didn’t take me long to learn.”
“He sounds like a complete wastrel.” If the man weren’t already dead, Nick would like to thrash him for treating her like that.
“That is an excellent description,” she said. “Luckily, Hannah found me and stayed by my side all evening. We’ve been friends ever since.”
“She seems a lovely woman,” he said, thinking that he ought to have behaved better at her house party. He thought of Violet chastising him for nearly ruining her party and winced.
“What is it?” Violet asked.
“I was just thinking that I should have liked to have gotten to know Mrs. Linford better during her party. I was, er, out of practice when it came to socializing.”
