Page 26 of Five Nights with a Rakish Duke
“Nothing,” Asher said quickly, bringing a smile to his lips. “Just a letter from my mother, that is all.”
“Then let us distract you from whatever woes you have,” Vincent Rowley, the Marquess of Decker said, clapping Asher on the shoulder and making him jump. Asher turned round to see his other friend with a smile.
“You’re back in London, Vincent? We thought we had lost you to the colonies.”
“No such luck,” Vincent said. “As much as I love travelling, I must return every now and then, or my father will have my guts for garters.” He made a strangled sound as a jest and sat quickly down in the nearest chair.
“I imagine that is rather difficult to do when you are oceans apart,” Asher pointed out.
“Not a bad thought. Yet, you’ve met my father, and that man will find me anywhere!” Vincent said dramatically. “So, Dorian and I have been talking about where we shall be going this evening.”
“We suggested Mrs. Marlow’s club–” Yet Dorian didn’t finish his sentence before Asher cut him off.
“Not a brothel, thank you,” Asher said hurriedly.
“Oh! That was sharp indeed,” Vincent said. “Do you have your own lady to keep you company at night without visiting such places?”
“That will be all, Walker, thank you,” Asher said, taking the proffered glass of port out of the butler’s hands and hastily dismissing him from the room. The moment the door was closed, Asher rounded on Vincent as Dorian pinched the bridge of his nose. “Do you have no discretion, Vincent?”
“I left that with my soberness,” Vincent said as he lifted his glass to his lips again.
“His question is a good one though,” Dorian said as he lowered his hand from his face. “Do you have a lady? I thought you said you and Lady Hamilton had parted ways?”
“We have,” Asher confirmed as he crossed to the window. The garden room had the best view of the garden beyond his house’s walls.
“Then… ah, I see, you sneaky thing, you kept that quiet,” Dorian said with a laugh.
“Kept what quiet?” Vincent said excitedly. Asher glanced back to see Vincent sitting nearly out of his seat, his long brown hair flicking back behind his ears.
“I presume this has something to do with the lady you met at Lady Chambers’ soiree the other night and were so keen to find,” Dorian said with raised eyebrows.
“That it does,” Asher said.
“And you have begun your five nights?”
“Soon,” Asher said with a smile as he turned and sat on the windowsill.
“Ha! No wonder you do not need a brothel then,” Vincent said. “You have the lady coming to your house!”
As the laughter went on, Asher found he couldn’t keep the smile off his face. He was already thrumming with excitement at the thought of his first night with Lady Penelope though they hadn’t yet set the date for when it would be. He was disappointed that he had agreed not to take Lady Penelope to bed. He intended to follow through with his promise, for he was not a man that broke his word, though he had to admit, just the thought of her lying in his bed without a shred of clothing made his body stir for her.
God, this lust will consume me alive!
“What happened to your decision to marry?” Dorian asked, placing his port down on the table by his chair. It was not difficult to discern the difference in the men’s reaction. Whereas Vincent found the idea of the five-night tryst humorous and exciting, Dorian seemed to have suspicion lurking in his brow.
“I will still marry; it will just be delayed for a while.”
“Yes, of course it will,” Dorian said with a scoff.
“What does that mean?” Asher asked, feeling defensive as he stood from his perch. The letter from his stepmother was still lurking in the back of his mind, making Dorian’s reaction touch an already anxious nerve.
“It means, Asher, how much do you really intend to ever marry?” Dorian asked.
“Why should he marry?” Vincent shrugged. “It’s not like any of us have any great enthusiasm in that department.”
“He made a promise to his father, Vincent,” Dorian said before Asher could.
“Oh…” Vincent’s manner changed instantly, and he looked to Asher over the rim of the port glass. “Well, that changes things a little then. Who will you marry?”
