“What secrets do you hope to determine with it?” he asked, looking at the atlas.
“I was merely trying to win a bet with Miss Emily Crompton.”
Nicholas frowned at him in mock outrage. “A bet? With a lady? Unthinkable!”
Henry chuckled. “She is adamant that Sheffield is south of York. I am certain she is incorrect.”
“My dear Henry, you lack direction in everything you do, geography included. Sheffield is sixty miles south of York.”
To Nicholas’s surprise, Henry looked pleased by the news and placed the atlas behind him decisively.
“Then I will tell her she is the winner.” He did not seem upset that he had lost the bet. “Care for a game?” Henry asked suddenly, pointing to the ornate chess set positioned in front of the window.
“Of course,” Nicholas said cheerfully, “I could do with another trouncing.”
Both men wandered to the window and sat down.
The garden was looking particularly chilly that morning, and a spider had threaded a web across a large portion of the window. The gossamer strands were covered with a sparkling layer of frost, neatly frozen in space.
Henry cleared his throat pointedly, and Nicholas realized his friend had already moved a piece while he had been idly staring at the scenery.
“You are so contemplative these days,” Henry said with a smile. “I had expected you to be bored to tears by this party, but instead, you seem in very high spirits.”
Nicholas shot him a warning glance. “And what is that a reference to?”
“Nothing, nothing,” Henry said innocently as he moved another pawn forward. “It’s just that you did seem rather enamoured with one of your aunt’s guests last evening.” Henry’s eyes were twinkling as he spoke.
Nicholas did his best to keep his expression blank, but he suddenly felt embarrassed that his confusing feelings for MissCrompton had been so visible.
“Nothing of the kind, I assure you,” he replied quickly, “I was merely attempting to make the lady feel welcome. She is rather shy.”
“As well she might be. This is the first event I have seen Lord and Lady Crompton attend since the scandal.”
Nicholas moved his knight and bit his tongue. He was desperate to probe further into the history of Miss Crompton’s life, but he did not wish to listen to gossip—not even if it came from Henry.
“Surely that was long enough ago?” he asked evenly.
“It was. But it caught the attention of society, unfortunately. These things often do when a family as prominent as the Cromptons are disgraced. They have barely been seen in town for three years.”
“Something to do with the sister, wasn’t it?” Nicholas asked, losing the battle with himself.
“Mmm, she ran off with her music teacher. Eloped in the night. The papers latched onto the story instantly. It was in every edition for weeks.”
Nicholas’s throat felt tight at the idea that Miss Crompton had been subjected to such a humiliation. Scandals could be brutal when they attracted so much commentary. From her shyness and propensity for standing at the edges of a room, he could see the effect it still had on her.
“You made a good team at charades,” Henry continued, giving him a sly grin. “I have not seen you smile that much in an age.”
Nicholas took Henry’s bishop, only to have his own piece taken immediately after. He was already losing, but he couldn’t clear his head enough to concentrate. He didn’t like to think that his actions had put Miss Crompton under further scrutiny. The last thing he wanted was to make her life more difficult.
I should probably stay away from her, he conceded. It was not a pleasant thought.
He had felt a spark across his skin when their hands had touched the night before. He had been unable to think of anything else when he went to bed. Their time at charades had been the most fun he had had in months, and her dazzling smiles, though rare, were captivating.
But it was her eyes that were the most intriguing of all. They were such a beautiful colour—deep brown, like antique wood, warm and welcoming. Her lashes were long and curled, framing her eyes in a striking outline.
As he looked out the window, he wondered how they might look if snowflakes were to catch on them.
As Henry took his fourth piece, Nicholas smiled ruefully and tried to get his head in the game. He was thoroughly beaten in only a few more minutes, however, and as the game concluded, the two men rose, walking together at a leisurely pace back to the drawing room.
