Nicholas let out a low laugh, shaking his head. “Forgive me, Violet. I tend to forget about unimportant things. But this Lady Pennywise—I assume you have heard rumors about her and me?”
Violet looked mortified, her eyes darting away. “I may have heard… something,” she admitted reluctantly.
Nicholas regarded her for a moment, his amusement fading as he saw the genuine uncertainty in her expression.
“Violet,” he said, his voice softening, “you have nothing to worry about. For one thing, she is not even important enough for me to remember. But more than that, she is firmly in the past as are any other… associations you may have heard about.”
She glanced at him, her eyes searching his for any sign of insincerity. He found himself softening at how vulnerable she seemed.
“You’re the Duchess now,” he reminded her, his tone steady. “The only whispers that matter are the ones you choose to listen to.”
“I understand that,” she said after a long pause, her voice quiet. “But understanding doesn’t always make it easier to ignore.”
“You’d do well to give the ton less power over you, Violet. They thrive on rumors because they lack substance in their own lives. Their whispers are fleeting.”
She blinked, clearly startled by the bluntness of his words.
“But—”
“No ‘but,’” he interrupted, leaning forward. “I have left that life behind me, and I do not waste my time thinking about it. Any rumor that you have heard is hardly worth mentioning.”
Her lips pressed together in a tight line, as though she wanted to believe him but wasn’t quite sure. “But I assume that Lady Pennywise was important to you at some point. Surely, there must be some weight to the whispers.”
Nicholas looked back at her, astonished.
“Violet…”
“I am just making sure,” she defended herself immediately.
“Did you hear me say that from my own mouth?” he challenged. All she could do was shake her head. “If you believed everything the ton said, you’d think I was a pirate in my youth.”
That earned him a small, reluctant smile. “I already did assume you were a vampire.”
Nicholas chuckled at her reply. “My point is that you should not concern yourself with chatter like this. The truth is far less scandalous, I assure you. I’ve lived my life in the way that seemed best at the time. But none of that matters now.”
“Are you sure it doesn’t matter?” She knotted her hands in her lap. “I understand that our marriage might… well, it might leave something to be desired.”
“Leave something to be desired? What on earth are you talking about?”
She hesitated, her gaze dropping to her hands which were now twisting nervously in her lap. “It’s just…” she started, “I understand that this marriage was never about… about affection or compatibility. It was for convenience. And I thought perhaps, given your past, you might find it… lacking.”
Nicholas’ jaw tightened, and for a moment, he was at a loss for words.
Did she truly think so little of herself? Or worse, of what they had? Yes, their marriage had been forged out of necessity, but the idea that it was lacking—that shewas lacking—stirred something hot and urgent in his chest.
But then it dawned on him, perhapshehad given her reason to think that way.
He had been distant with her without telling her his reasonings.
“Violet, you might be overthinking things,” he stated simply, feeling a ripple of guilt inside of him.
Violet’s gaze snapped to his, her brows knitting together. “Am I? Well, in any case, it seems to be worth thinking about.”
“There is no need,” he said. It would not do them any good to overthink the connection they had with each other.
“You dismiss it so easily, but perhaps that’s because it isn’t you who feels—” She cut herself off abruptly, biting her lip as though she had said too much.
He waited for her to continue, but she recoiled slightly. “In any case, I only came here to tell you about the progress of the ball.”
