She turned toward the half-open curtains separating them from the rest of the theatre.
“I think they make a fine pair because they trust one another and make the other laugh,” she began. “Though Philippa would never admit as much. And in that sense, they complement one another too. She has a bitterness within her that Mr. Elston expunges. That is a working couple to my mind. One that does not suppress bad traits but brings them to light and resolves them.”
She made a persuasive argument, but Nicholas was not convinced.
“Did you invite Samuel here tonight?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I believe it was Mr. Elston who asked him to join us. Philippa mentioned your brother was coming just before the play began. Supposedly, Mr. Elston felt bad about denying your brother a room at his apartment and suggested he could accompany us to the theatre as consolation.” She cocked her head to the side. “I thought you would be glad.”
“I shall be, once he ceases to pester you,” he muttered into his cravat.
“He does notpesterme. I would like to see more of him. I like Samuel.”
But how much?Nicholas wondered, surprised at the intensity of his burgeoning jealousy.
A moment later, they were rejoined by the rest of their party. Samuel wasted no time dominating the conversation with Amelia, making her laugh with her head thrown back in a way Nicholas had never done thus far, even as the charming and inconsequentialMr. Moore.
“Your wife has just invited me to dine with you at the week’s end,” Samuel said once the play concluded an hour later. “But I sense you will scoff at this development.”
Nicholas paused in the foyer, watching Amelia leave through the doors with Philippa and George. He slipped into his coat and turned to his brother.
“I am only concerned that you are being unfair to her,” he muttered.
“How do you reckon that? She is a delightful creature.”
He waited until the foyer emptied some more before responding. “When first you learned about our entanglement, you claimedshe had feigned her collapse to ensnare me. And let me not remind you what you claimed about her family.”
Samuel looked at him, aghast.
“All our lives, you have criticized me for being too unserious. Yet now you are taking me most seriously indeed. I have not changed, so the only conclusion that can be drawn from this attack is thatyouhave changed. You have a sensitivity for the duchess—”
“I haveno such thing.”
“You have a sensitivity for her that you are not willing to confess.” Samuel sighed angrily, and in that moment, he looked so much like their late father. “I do not know the terms of this marriage of yours—Lord knows you would not tell me even if I asked. But I know that you have not entered it solemnly, for the fact of you being who you are—arakehellI could only ever aspire to be.
“And yet… you like the woman more than you care to admit, do you not?”
Nicholas marched away. Samuel followed him.
“Come, brother. It is an obvious fact! If you did not have any sort of affection for her, you would take no issue with my flirting with her!”
“So, youadmitit was flirting,” Nicholas retorted. “You cad.”
“Whom do I not flirt with?” Samuel grabbed Nicholas by the arm. They were alone now, thank heavens, the final theatregoers having just departed. “I am not playing with your wife. I am not ignorant of what is said about her, but now that I have spent some time in her company, it seems her madness is largely overstated. She is no madder than I.”
“On that point,” Nicholas concluded, “we agree.”
“I will come to dinner at the week’s end, and I will behave with the Duchess as I behaved tonight, because there is nothing wrong with it. I have committed no crime.”
Samuel pushed open the door, and a cold draft swept in. Oxford,Amelia, waited beyond.
“If you continue to take issue with the innocent attention I afford your wife—mysister-in-law—I suggest you look inward rather than out.” Samuel performed a mock bow and put on his hat. “Good night.”
The door slammed closed behind him, leaving Nicholas in the empty foyer, alone.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The carriage lurched through Oxford’s darkened streets, wheels hammering at every rut. Amelia’s forehead pressed to the cold glass as the last town lights blurred past. They were climbing toward Riverside Court now, the road steeper, rougher.
