“Though it would make for much moreinteresting conversation if you were,” he winked.
Winked.
Violet took a moment to compose herself from what it did to her.Heavens.
Nicholas chuckled, clearly amused. “I have to admit it is rather fun watching you read. But for your own sake, I wouldn’t want you blushing quite so furiously again.”
“What are you doing here, Your Grace?”Come to torment me some more?
“I am just here to see what you are doing,” Nicholas replied, leaning against the desk near her. “How was it earlier today? Your friends seemed lively—good company, I assume.”
Violet relaxed slightly though her guard was still up. Friends she could talk about. It was a familiar and easy topic.”
“They are. Isadora and Daphne have been my closest friends for years. More than friends, they are like sisters to me.”
“And what makes you so close?” he asked, his tone genuinely curious. “You all seem… rather different from one another.”
Violet tilted her head, considering the question. Now that she came to think of it, they were quite different in their personalities. But how had he surmised that based on only a brief conversation with them?
“Do we? It appears you were observing us quite keenly then.”
“I was observingyou,” he clarified, causing her to feel a strange flutter in her chest. “And then them as a consequence. Besides, I have a knack for reading people. A natural talent, you might say.”
Violet pressed her lips together. “That is quit a nice way to say that you can be judgmental of people.”
“Judgmental?” he seemed almost amused by that. “Not at all. That would imply that I have something unsavoury to say about them when in reality, I found them to be quite agreeable.”
Violet did not know why, but she felt an immediate sense of relief hearing him say that. Their relationship wasn’t a romantic one, but even so, it felt nice to have his approval.
“Well, we have some important things in common. We share a love of books above all,” she said with a small smile. “I suppose that’s how it started.”
She did not tell him about how the three of them would discuss the topic of finding love. Somehow, she was not sure if she could utter that word in front of him without making an utter fool of herself.
Nicholas’ lips quirked into a faint smile. “Ah, birds of a feather.”
“We are close,” Violet admitted, relaxing further. “There’s a certain comfort in knowing people who understand you, you know.”
“So, the secret to understanding you is understanding your love of books?” he inquired.
His question surprised her. If she was not careful, she could even misplace it for interest.
“I… well, yes that is one part of it.”
He nodded, as if adding to some invisible list he had in his mind.
“I’m fond of books myself. Unfortunately, there’s little time for reading these days. Duke’s duties and all.”
“You?Fond of books?”
Nicholas raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. “Is that really so surprising to you? Did you think yourself the only one in thishouse capable of enjoying a good story? Or did you assume one has to be a wallflower to appreciate books?”
Her cheeks heated at his teasing, “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Of course, you didn’t,” Nicholas said with a grin, clearly enjoying her flustered state. “But yes, I do read—when I can. Perhaps I’ll even let you recommend something.”
“Perhaps,” Violet replied though the idea of Nicholas poring over one of her favorite novels was too strange to imagine.
A moment of silence passed between them.
