Page 31 of The Duke's Last Dance
It would drive him mad.
He shook his head, trying to clear it, and went to pour himself a drink. It would not be the first drink he’d had since arriving here after the lunch, but it would be the first one he had had today. As he went to pour the drink, there was a knock at the door. He sighed.
The drink would have to wait.
He walked to the door. When he opened it, he found that Lord Radcliff stood in his doorway.
“Would you like to come inside and share a drink?” Nicolas could find no other words for Lord Radcliff.
The man nodded, and Nicolas stepped aside to allow him into the flat. Lord Radcliff walked in, and then looked over at Nicolas. He pursed his lips.
Nicolas turned to go pour the drinks.
“Something is on your mind, yes? Let us talk over the drinks, Lord Lockhart,” Lord Radcliff said. “What is bothering you?”
Nicolas sighed as he poured the brandy. He handed a glass to his friend, and then he sat down.
“’Tis the marriage my father expects of me. I met Miss Alexia two days ago for the first time,” Nicolas started. He took a swig of his brandy before continuing. “I doubt I could go through with this courtship, much less the marriage my father is expecting. She spent a good half hour telling me about the lace, the buttons, and the ribbons on her dress, detailing how much it all cost her father. I could hardly fit a word in when she spoke, and I do not know how she is able to prattle on at length about such frivolous things!”
Lord Radcliff swirled his glass as he thought. Nicolas had not expected an immediate response, and he took another sip of his brandy. He did not want to finish the drink too quickly; it would not reflect well on his mental state.
“I believe that ‘tis obvious from the night at Vauxhall Gardens that you still have feelings for my sister,” Lord Radcliff said with a smile. “You stole many a glance at her during the orchestra performance, as I did at Miss Juliet.”
“You are engaged to Miss Juliet; the fact that you glance at her often is no secret, Lord Radcliff.” Nicolas sighed. “I do still have feelings, yes, but… but I am not sure what kind of feelings they are for Lady Catherine. I have not seen her in so long. Perhaps I am trying to create what could have been and I have missed something.”
“I do not believe so, Lord Lockhart. You are in love with my sister,” Lord Radcliff countered. “Anyone who sees you with her would be able to tell, and if your father does not want to admit that, then there is something wrong with what he is thinking.” He took a sip of the brandy in his glass, and then continued, “You must tell him something. No one could deny there is something special between you and Catherine.”
“Thank you for that, Lord Radcliff.” Nicolas took another sip of his brandy.
Lord Radcliff set his glass down and then pat his back.
“Have a word with your father. Try to get him to see reason in what you are doing and tell him what you feel about Miss Alexia. If ‘tis truly so unbearable to be around her, then see if there is something you could do to please your father and still marry Catherine,” Lord Radcliff said. “I am sure you could get him to see reason.”
Nicolas pursed his lips. His friend attempted to give him good advice, but there was one problem with it. In front of others, his father had a façade that no one could see through. It made him seem as though he was willing to listen to reason and change his mind if that was needed. Behind closed doors, at home, that did not exist.
At home, he would control everything and everyone he could. Many servants had quit after a year because they could no longer handle the way his father controlled the estate. His father never saw a reason to change what he was doing, and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Nicolas had never understood how his mother had fallen in love with his father, especially with the way his father loved control.
“I do not know if that is possible, Lord Radcliff,” Nicolas said at long last. “My father has a good façade in public. I have been witness to his quick temper, and I believe that there is no reason for him to change it just so that I can marry Lady Catherine. If he wants me to marry Miss Alexia, there is no changing his mind.”
“Has he been so stubborn on other matters?” Lord Radcliff pursed his lips.
“He was the one that told me to go into the Navy three years ago. I believe he is doing everything he can to keep me away from Lady Catherine, even to my own detriment.” Nicolas shook his head. “Though the Navy and being away from Ashwood Manor was good for me, I do not believe my father would say the same. He would say that it was good for me to get away from Town, away from the people I spent my childhood with and grow up a little. Mature.”
“Then it seems you have quite the challenge ahead of you, and I cannot fathom how you will get him to see your side of the story, but I believe you can,” Lord Radcliff said. He picked up his glass of brandy and finished it.
“Thank you for that, Lord Radcliff, but I worry that he has more that he is not telling me. He has already threatened to give my inheritance to someone else if I were to disobey and marry anyone but Miss Alexia,” Nicolas reminded him. “If I cannot do this, then I risk losing everything. My father will do anything to keep me in his control until he dies, and if he must make me lose my inheritance to keep me from Lady Catherine, I believe he would.”
“Well, then, I wish you all the best for Almack House,” Lord Radcliff stated. Then, with a wink, he continued, “After all, ‘tis a chance for you to dance with Miss Alexia… and, perhaps, even Catherine.”
“Lady Catherine will be at Almack House?” Nicolas’s spirits lifted.
After the interrupted kiss at the gardens, he was excited for an opportunity to have a chance to talk to Lady Catherine again. He wanted to explain his thoughts, and he knew that she would at least give him that much. She was being incredibly civil to him for being the one who had broken her heart when he left without word.
He still did not understand how his letter had not gotten to her. He had waited until his father had fallen asleep the night before he left for the first assignment to entrust it to one of the butlers. Someone had told his father, but he had never figured out what happened. The letter was nowhere inside Ashwood Manor; if it had been returned, his father had disposed of it. If it had never been sent, then he was positive his father had found out.
“Yes, she will be at Almack House,” Lord Radcliff responded.
Nicolas nodded, shaking the thoughts away about the letter he had attempted to send Catherine.
