Violet froze, realizing what she had just said. Her cheeks flamed instantly, and she looked away. “I—I only meant that we… made a good team,” she stammered, attempting to salvage her slip.
“A good team, yes,” he echoed.
“Yes,” she said firmly, her gaze snapping back to his as if daring him to challenge her. “You helped me navigate the room, and we?—”
“Danced together,” he interjected, his smirk deepening.
“Yes, that too,” Violet replied, flustered. “I suppose all of it together made for a pleasant evening.”
“Pleasant,” Nicholas repeated her words. He stepped a little closer, his dark eyes catching the moonlight. “Is that the word you would use to describe it?”
“Yes,” she said quickly though her voice wavered slightly. “Why? What else would it have been?”
Nicholas hesitated, his gaze searching hers for a moment longer before his smirk returned.
“Pleasant,” he said, echoing her earlier word with a deliberate lightness.
Her breath hitched, unsure if he was teasing her or being sincere. “Well, then,” she said, her voice steadier now, “I’m glad we’re in agreement.”
“As am I.”
Their gaze locked together again, and Violet felt a gush of emotion.Whatwas it that he brought out in her? She did not have a name for it. But it felt more intense than anything else she had experienced before in her life.
Violet took a half-step back, needing the space to steady herself. “I should start planning tomorrow. There’s so much to do and so little time.”
Nicholas nodded, his gaze still fixed on her. “I have a feeling that you will manage just fine. But in any case, if you require my assistance, you may reach out.”
“Thank you,” she said softly. He was being encouraging towards her, yet another facet of his personality that she had not expected him to have.
“Don’t thank me yet,” he quipped. “You haven’t seen how much of a menace the ton can be when gathered under one roof.”
“I’ll take my chances.”
They resumed their walk—now heading back—the silence between them now comfortable. As they approached the doors, Nicholas paused, his hand resting lightly on her arm.
“Violet,” he said, his voice quieter now, “I shall leave you to your planning work now. But remember my offer to you—my help is available if you require it.”
She looked up at him, meeting his gaze. It occurred to her that perhapshe was the reason behind her newfound rising confidence. It was in the small things—like offering help without raising doubt in her abilities to host herself.
“I shall keep that in mind,” she said, ignoring the knot that formed in her chest when he gazed in her direction too long.
He offered a faint smile before opening the door for her, and as she stepped inside, she found herself thinking that the Duke had a positive influence on her in a way that she had never expected him to have.
CHAPTER 18
Nicholas stood at the door, watching as Violet disappeared inside.
Now alone, he exhaled sharply, rubbing the back of his neck as he turned away from the manor.
My help is available if you require it.
He hadn’t planned on offering to help with the ball—he despised such events after all. And yet, he’d done it.
Why?
His feet moved instinctively down the gravel path that wound through the estate gardens, his hands slipping into his pockets as he walked. He needed a moment alone with his thoughts.
Nicholas had always been adept at keeping people at arm’s length. It was safer that way. Relationships, especially of the emotional variety, were never something he sought out. He’d learned that early. His parents had taught him well enough after all.
