Nicholas had been taken aback when the man had made it clear—albeit in an indirect way—that he knew about his wife’s history with Nicholas and would be upset if anything further happened between them.
Nicholas was far from virtuous, but he tried not to hurt people who didn’t deserve it, so he’d sworn to keep his distance from Julianne.
Now, he reached for his quill and tapped it against his chin as he considered how best to respond. He didn’t want to offend her, but he obviously couldn’t accept the invitation. He’d already told her that nothing more could come of their affair, but she didn’t like to hear the word “no.”
Eventually, he kept his note brief, thanking her for thinking of him but giving his regrets that he was otherwise engaged and would not be able to attend.
That done, he called for a maid and asked the girl to run the letter to Albert so he could arrange for it to be delivered. As she departed, Theo strode up the corridor, clad in the clothes he usually reserved for the House of Lords.
“Who are you sending notes to?” he asked, one eyebrow hitched up.
“Lady Bright.” Nicholas smoothed his shirt and didn’t meet his brother’s eyes because he didn’t want to see the disapproval he knew would be in them. “She invited me to a masked ball. I declined.”
“Ah.”
At that, Nicholas did raise his gaze. Theo was studying him thoughtfully.
“Are you all right?” Theo asked, cocking his head as if Nicholas were an interesting new form of human. “You haven’t seemed yourself recently.”
The words struck at a vulnerable spot in Nicholas’s heart, and he quickly covered the impact with a laugh and a smile. “All is well. Perhaps I’m simply maturing.”
“Perhaps,” Theo mused, those dark eyes seeing too much.
Nicholas’s skin crawled. He kept his mouth firmly shut. He didn’t want to admit to his brother—who’d suffered real hardship—that he felt strangely hollow inside and his usual occupations weren’t filling the void.
Nicholas spent his days sleeping late, riding horses, and lolling about town. He had no cause to complain.
Theo’s expression eased, as if he’d reached a conclusion. “I’ve had a frustrating session at the House of Lords, and I need to work out my anger. Will you spar with me?”
Nicholas nodded, grateful for the reprieve. “It’s been a while since we went a round. What was the matter of discussion?”
Theo gritted his teeth and growled. “Slavery. The ethics of the matter are clear to anyone with eyes, but enough of my peers keep slaves that it’s difficult to reach a consensus because they refuse to lose their free labor.”
“I understand the need to hit something. Slavery should have been abolished years ago. It would have been if so many members of the House of Lords weren’t selfish, immoral pricks.”
“I’m well aware.” Theo gestured toward the room he used for boxing. “Meet back there in ten minutes.”
“Gladly.”
Nicholas turned and retreated to his room, where he changed into a loose tunic and roomy trousers. He opened the drawer he stored his hand wraps in and wound the two lengths of fabric around his hands one at a time.
Theo kept his wraps in the boxing room. Nicholas used to, but his brother spent far more time there than he did, and after Theo had mistaken Nicholas’s wraps for his own a handful of times, Nicholas had decided to move them. He didn’t like to think of his wraps having been drenched in his brother’s sweat.
He met Theo in the boxing room. His brother had unclipped the heavy bag that usually hung from the ceilingand cleared the floor so that they’d have plenty of space. The carpet was thick, providing a small amount of padding in case either of them tripped or were knocked to the floor.
“Take it easy on me,” Nicholas said as they began to circle each other. “You know I don’t train as often as you do.”
Theo regularly sparred with other gentlemen at a local club, but Nicholas never joined him because men who sparred together like that would definitely see enough of each other to realize that the two of them looked more alike than brothers should.
He’d made the mistake of mentioning to their mother once that he might like to accompany Theo to his club, and she’d been discomposed for days.
She did so like her drama.
Theo struck first with a quick, sharp jab that Nicholas blocked with his forearms.
“Don’t bruise my face,” Theo rasped as they continued circling. “It will upset Kate.”
Nicholas smirked. “Surely she’s used to you coming home covered in bruises by now.”
