Page 93 of A Duke Changes Everything
“I received no invitation to Lady Claxton’s ball. Nor would I ever. There’s no place for me in her circle.”
“There could be.” The look of challenge remained a moment longer, and then he approached. “I need to wash and prepare for our trip.”
The faded aroma of his cologne and unique scent of his skin made her mouth water. All Mina truly wished to do was reach for him. Feel his arms around her. Forget about words and return to the closeness they’d shared, intimacies she’d never imagined.
“Ring for coffee or tea or whatever you like.” He bent and brushed a soft kiss against her cheek. “I’ll be quick.”
He collected his waistcoat and boots before heading to the dressing room, and Mina rang for tea for both of them.
A short time later a servant brought a tray and departed, almost the same moment Nick emerged clean-shaven from the dressing room. Mina took her first sip of tea and tried not to gape. He’d donned a waistcoat the shade of peacock feathers. The color brought out the green and blue in his eyes.
“I poured you some tea.”
“Thank you.” His hand was shaking when he palmed the cup, lifted the dainty thing to his lips, and tipped the contents back in one gulp. “Shall we head off?”
There was a buzzing energy about him. Nervousness that heightened her own anxiousness. She didn’t know why she was in such a rush to return to the countryside. There’d be no private moments with him once they were back. At Enderley, their roles were defined. But she wasn’t quite sure where she belonged anymore.
Going back to just being his steward was unthinkable.
He’d slipped on gloves and extended a hand encased in black leather. “Ready?”
Mina took his hand as she got to her feet. “My ankle doesn’t trouble me anymore.”
“I’m glad.” The merest of smiles flickered across his lips. “We’ll depart through the side door,” he told her as they made their way down the sconce-lit hall. “Just this way.”
“You won’t show me the club before we depart?”
She’d been so eager to leave, and now a part of her dreaded going back. What they’d shared here was theirs alone, untouched by any of the memories he had of the estate, or any of the responsibilities she’d long felt to it and its people.
“Just a quick peek around the club?” That single glimpse the night before hadn’t been enough. He cared about Lyon’s. She wanted to see what he’d built, the enterprise he was so proud of.
“I’ll give you more than a peek.” Crooking an elbow, he offered his arm as if they were going on a morning promenade. After climbing the stairs they’d descended the night before, he led her toward the velvet draperies, but this time he didn’t stop.
“Where are we going?” Mina tightened her grip on his arm. Chatter ebbed, necks craned, dozens of men’s faces turned their way.
Mina heard hisses and whispers.
“Has he brought his whore to play?”
Nick made a guttural noise and lunged toward the man who’d made the comment. Mina wrapped both hands around his forearm to pull him closer.
He wielded his gaze like a weapon, freezing men mid-gape. Something in his eyes cut off men as they opened their mouths to comment.
After escorting her into the thick of the gamut, Nick stopped in the center of a dozen green felt-covered gaming tables. He directed her gaze up, pointing to the ceiling. “That may be my favorite part of the club.”
A stained-glass dome had been constructed atop the room, its panes constructed in bold, dramatic colors, like the rose window of a cathedral.
“In a few hours, when the club has emptied but for the staff, the sun reflects those colors onto the walls and floor.”
Mina realized he was no longer looking up and that his gaze was fixed on her face.
“There are no gray walls at Lyon’s.”
A month ago she would have defended Enderley from the veiled slight. Now she understood why a boy from a castle that offered him nothing but nightmares would build himself a colorful world far away from Sussex.
“It’s beautiful.” Some might call the excess of it garish, but Mina could see that every aspect of the club had been designed with care. Not that the gamblers around her seemed to notice. Those who weren’t still gawking at the two of them were staring intently as dice rolled or cards were shuffled in front of them. Their desperation was palpable, a wave of tension that seemed to touch every man in the room. Even those laughing or chatting did so at a higher, almost frantic pitch.
Only Nick oozed confidence. Until he looked her way. Then a flash of uncertainty came into his gaze.
