The duke’s stare was penetrating. It was enough to make her forget everyone around her and everything else that was happening. It wasn’t until Phineas put a hand on top of hers that she was reminded of the fact that she was still at a table full of people, and only then did she find the willpower to look away from him. She turned to Phineas.
“Are you all right?” he asked her. “You seemed very tense all of a sudden.”
So he hadn’t noticed that moment of eye contact. It had felt so powerful that she had a hard time believing everyone in the room hadn’t seen it—but then, it had only been a brief moment. Maybe no one had spotted it after all. Perhaps, somehow, that lingering look might remain a private secret between the pair of them.
How odd, to have a secret she shared with the Duke of Nightingale! She wondered what her parents would say if they knew that such a tense look had passed between the two of them.
They wouldn’t try to marry me to the duke. They can’t, if he already has an arrangement with Lady Hannah.
At least that was one thing she knew for sure. Her parents couldn’t push her into a marriage with the duke. It made the tension between the two of them feel safer, somehow.
At least she knew nothing would come of it.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“Shall we have another round?” Phineas asked.
Nicholas eyed the clock on the wall. “It’s getting late,” he pointed out. “We might be wise to end our night now, before the time gets away from us completely.”
“Oh, I know you aren’t tired yet,” Phineas chastised. “Have another round with me.”
“Very well,” Nicholas agreed. “One more, then. But only if you tell me what’s been on your mind all night.”
“What makes you think anything has?” Phineas asked. It was clear to Nicholas that his friend’s guard was up.
“You haven’t been quite yourself, that’s all,” Nicholas said. “You’ve seemed distracted, as if something is troubling you. And it’s hard to bring a smile to your face—but when you do smile, it’s such a big and boisterous smile as to make me think it’s onlythere for someone else’s benefit. You want someone to think you’re having a good time tonight, but I don’t believe you really are.”
Phineas sighed. “As usual, my friend, you notice everything.”
“When it comes to my friends, I do,” Nicholas said. “Your well-being is important to me.”
“And your well-being is important to me,” Phineas returned. “I don’t wish to burden you with my troubles, Nicholas. Not on an occasion such as this. We’re here to celebrate, after all.”
“You’re not worried about your brother’s marriage, I hope?”
“No. Nothing could be farther from the truth. I’ve never seen Jacob so happy, and I know that he’s going to live a good life with his new bride. Marina is the perfect addition to our family. I can’t wait to call her my sister. And that’s what this week is all about, after all. Nothing else that’s on my mind right now is more important than that.”
“I agree,” Nicholas said slowly. “Jacob and Marina are what matters most right now. But at the same time, youarestill important, Phineas. I do still care about you. And right now, while it’s just the two of us, you may as well open up to me about what’s going on with you. I want to hear it. I want to know.”
“I won’t bring you down with my troubles,” Phineas said firmly.
“You’re not bringing me down. Have I ever given you reason to think that your troubles were a burden to me, Phineas?”
“Of course not. You’ve never been anything but kind to me.”
“Then why would you think so now?”
Phineas shook his head. “It’s complicated, my friend. Too complicated to possibly discuss right now. I’ll ask you to trust my decision to keep this to myself.”
“But then I am right, I suppose, to think that there’ssomethingtroubling you?”
“You’re right. But truly, nothing I wish to discuss right now. Merely a family matter. Let this be the end of it.”
Nicholas wasn’t sure he could agree to what his friend was asking. He wasn’t willing to simply forget the matter entirely. But hewouldrespect Phineas’ request to set the matter aside for now. It was clear that Phineas didn’t want to discuss this, whatever it was. And though Nicholas’ concern for his friend was far from assuaged, he knew better than to try to force the matter. Phineas would speak to him, or he wouldn’t, in his own time, and that was as much as Nicholas could ask.
“Please don’t hesitate to come to me when youareready to speak about this,” Nicholas said. “You’re one of my closest friends, Phineas. I would hate to think that you don’t feel you can trust me.”
A flicker of sadness crossed Phineas’ face. “I know I can trust you,” he assured Nicholas. “That’s not a problem, Nicholas. Never worry that it might be. The trust between us is absolute.”
