Page 47 of A Duke Changes Everything
“Shall we depart?” she asked with what sounded suspiciously like forced exuberance.
Of course, she didn’t mention the awkwardness of how they’d parted at Wilcox farm. Miss Thorne, it seemed, understood how to be businesslike too.
She’d convinced him to hold court in the village, as a means of preventing every member of Barrowmere society knocking down Enderley’s doors. They’d been calling in a steady stream since his arrival, and he’d put off every one of them, except for Lady Claxton and her granddaughter.
“I’ve asked Tobias to bring the carriage around.” There was a tautness to her tone that disturbed him.
Turning, Nick braced himself for his first sight of her. He felt the same disconcerting tingle across his skin that came whenever she was close. She’d done something different with her hair. The tight bun at her nape had been transformed into an artful arrangement of curls and waves. The same cold misty morning air that had him clenching his fists to warm his fingers, painted her cheeks in pink and her lips a riper shade.
She wouldn’t return his gaze.
Horse hooves crunching gravel drew his attention toward the carriage approaching from the stables. Like a nightmare come to life, the black brougham crawled through the fog, its ebony sides scuffed and unpolished.
Just as it had on that day he tried so hard not to think about, the carriage stopped before him, looming at the bottom of the stairs.
Mina started down, but Nick called her back.
“We could walk to the village.”
“We could,” she admitted hesitantly, “but it would take thrice as long. The carriage is warmer.” She returned to stand beside him. Pulling a knitted shawl tighter around her shoulders, she cast him a questioning glance. “Do you take umbrage with Enderley’s carriages too?” Her breath billowed when she spoke, and her teeth chattered as soon as she fell silent.
One look into her irritated gold-brown eyes persuaded him.
“Fine. We’ll take the brougham.” His throat closed and every muscle in his body seized, but he could endure it. He’d endured much worse, and the village wasn’t far.
She ignored his offered hand and climbed into the carriage on her own. Nick held his breath and launched himself onto the opposite bench.
The interior was the same. The sapphire velvet squabs he’d sat on the day he’d been sent away had been faded by time, but the memory remained sharp. He’d been so small. When he’d settled all the way back on the seat, his feet hadn’t touched the carriage floor.
“You see. The carriage is quite accommodating.” She pushed the foot warmer his way with the toe of her boot. “And infinitely warmer than walking into the village.”
Nick nodded. It was all he could manage. His mind spun for any thought that didn’t make him want to hurl himself out the vehicle’s window.
“I do admit,” she said with a sigh, “this carriage is probably the oldest at Enderley. Your brother sold the others.”
“I remember it.”
Realization seemed to hit her all at once. Her forehead buckled, then her brows winged up and she lifted her hand as if she’d reach for him.
Nick was disappointed when she didn’t.
“Is this the carriage you departed in that day? It must bring back unpleasant memories.”
She couldn’t imagine. He didn’t want her to know how ugly the truth could be.
Nick focused on Mina. Her quiet voice and lovely face. “Tell me about your father.”Tell me anything to make me forget.
Her eyes softened, but her tone turned wary. “Why do you want to know about him?”
“Because he’s the reason you’re here, pretending to tolerate a man you dislike.”
“I don’t dislike you, and he’s not the only reason I’m here.” She bit her lip and then added, “I’m not sure what to tell you about him. He was a good man.”
Nick couldn’t help hearing what she left unsaid. The oblique contrast between him and her father. Thomas Thorne had been a good man. Nick was not.
She dropped her gaze to her gloved hands, then looked out the carriage window, scanning the passing countryside. Perhaps she was uncomfortable being near him. Or unused to talking about herself. Nick suddenly had the sense her desire to escape the vehicle matched his own.
“I disappointed my father a great deal,” she finally said with a gusty sigh.
