Page 101 of His Duchess' Mischief

His strides were leisurely and relaxed, and he felt more at ease than he had in an age, aware that it was in no small part due to Alicia’s presence.

I never knew how much I disliked attending these events alone. She is a shield against the hordes of simpering mamas I have fought against all these years.

But she was more than just that. He enjoyed her company and hadn’t smiled so much in years.

People will begin to think I am amiable. How hideous.

“Christ, Radcliffe. Could you look any more terrifying?” Michael’s voice cut through the din, and Seth bowed to the group.

Isaac was dressed as a fox but had hardly made any effort with it. He did not approve of frivolity or public performance, and he had done the bare minimum with his attire.

Lucas, on the other hand, was dressed as a court jester, resplendent in a garish mixture of pinks and purples. He laughed as Seth winced at him.

Michael had golden feathers sticking from his mask, and his attire was all gold and tan. It seemed he had come as a peacock, and was grinning from ear to ear.

“You know, I think your lady wife matches me,” he said, stroking the feathers. “I should dance with her.”

Seth leveled him with a cold look as Michael chuckled at his jealousy. Isaac yawned, looking just as bored as Seth felt.

“Ishall be the only one dancing with my wife,” Seth stated.

Isaac and Lucas sipped their drinks awkwardly at his tone. Michael raised his hands in surrender, chuckling quietly.

“I saw Sheringham at my club yesterday,” Isaac interjected, and Seth’s spine stiffened. “He said you went to see him. I didn’t know you two were friends.”

“I have not done a good job of keeping in touch with him,” Seth admitted carefully. “I should have called on him a long time ago. He was a great support to me after my father’s death.”

“Is that why you visited him, then?” Isaac’s eyes were sharp and curious in the candlelight.

“I suppose marriage has made me more predisposed to make connections.”

Michael laughed—a loud bark that grated on Seth’s nerves.

“I haven’t seen him in an age,” Lucas said. “I was never overly fond of Sheringham.”

“That is because he always beat you at Jackson’s. You were never able to spar very well,” Isaac drawled.

Lucas looked genuinely affronted.

Seth glanced between them, a thought coming to the fore before he could fully process what he was about to say. The words were out before he could retract them.

“We spoke of Gordon,” he muttered, and three pairs of eyes swiveled to him. “Reminiscing about the good old days.”

There was a long silence, and then Michael made a strange noise at the back of his throat.

“They were never close, no matter what Sheringham might say,” he said, drinking deeply from his glass.

“Perhaps not,” Seth conceded. “But it was good to talk about him.”

What is the matter with me? My friends are going to believe I have become sentimental.

“I was thinking of him today, actually,” Lucas spoke up. “He would have been appalled at my waistcoat. No one could criticize a man’s attire so earnestly as Fern.”

Seth smiled as Lucas met his gaze, a warmth in his eyes that he appreciated.

“I say, Lucas, why don’t you ask the good Duchess to dance?” Michael chimed in, waving his glass in Alicia’s direction.

She was still at the refreshments table, and there were far too many men in her vicinity for Seth’s liking.

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