But how was Mark feeling? He didn’t need comforting. The man never had. She studied his features. Hewas reading the paper, the set of his wide shoulders dwarfing the seat on his side of the coach. No. He wasn’t sad. He was more… angry. Angry at the killer. Mark would discover who had taken his cousin’s life. Nicole had no doubt. He was not a man who suffered blows to those in his inner circle without retribution. Whoever had done this had done it to the wrong man. She greatly looked forward to the reckoning.
Nicole pulled her hands back into her lap and folded them, trying to think of something simple to speak to him about. His head was bowed over the paper. She watched the curve of his lashes against his cheeks, giving him a hint of vulnerability that she rarely saw. The silence was becoming unbearable. The safest subject would probably be the investigation. He liked to talk about clues. So did she.
Nicole cleared her throat. “In addition to the people who were at the dinner party the night John died, who else will be in Surrey?”
Mark glanced up from the paper he’d folded into a neat square. He hesitated, as if thinking, before answering. “In addition to Lord Tottenham, Daffin Oakleaf will be there.”
“Daffin?” Nicole’s eyes widened. A wide smile spread across her face.
Mark glanced at her and his mouth set in a line. “I didn’t realize you were on a first-name basis with him.”
Nicole merely shrugged. “I’ve always greatly admired him.”
“Yes, he mentioned his admiration of you too,” Mark drawled, focusing his attention back on his paper.
“He remembers me?” Nicole’s smile remained plastered on her face. Her memories of Daffin were fond ones.
“Of course he remembers you. It’s not as if he hires debutantes to run investigations for him every day.” Mark’s perturbed voice came from behind the paper.
“Perhaps he should,” was Nicole’s laughter-tinged reply. Already she wanted to change the subject. She’d always liked and respected Daffin, but Mark sounded annoyed. She wished that meant he was jealous. Of course, nothing romantic had ever taken place between Daffin and herself. Their relationship had been strictly professional, if a bit unusual. But jealousy from Mark would mean he cared more about her than he obviously did. Whatever he didn’t like about the Daffin discussion, it would be best to talk about something else.
She scratched her forehead. “How long do you think you can keep the secret of your familial relationship with the duke from Lord Tottenham?”
The paper lowered to Mark’s lap. “It will be difficult, but I want to keep the secret at least until my uncle makes the official announcement.”
Nicole tilted her head to the side. “For the heir, you mean?”
He nodded.
“But surely you must tell him before that? You cannot let it be a complete surprise to him.”
Mark merely shrugged and lifted the paper again. “I intend to see how it goes.”
Nicole traced her fingertip along the embroidered edge of her pelisse. “You’re still hoping for a miracle, aren’t you? Some way out of it?”
“I have a few discreet questions in to colleagues atWhitehall. I’m certain there must be a way to quietly renounce the duchy.”
Nicole nodded, trying to make sense of the thing in her head. She’d never known anyone who’d renounced a duchy, or any title for that matter. “If you don’t take it, who would get it? Mr. Cartwright?”
“I don’t know. Probably.” Mark folded the paper and tossed it on the seat next to him. He glanced out the window at the rolling green landscape. “If only Regina could take it.”
“Regina?” Nicole blinked rapidly. “She’s female.”
Mark’s lips twitched. He met Nicole’s gaze. “Yes, I’m aware of that.”
“And she’s unmarried,” Nicole continued.
Mark’s eyes temporarily narrowed on her. “How do you— Oh, that’s right, you said you two have kept in touch.”
Nicole lifted her chin. “My mother also keeps me informed in her letters. About some people. The ones I like, and I’ve always liked Regina.”
“What about Lady Harriet?” Mark asked, his lips twitching suspiciously.
“Harriet is a dear and you know it,” Nicole replied.
Regina’s grandmother, Lady Harriet, the duke’s aunt, was a flighty little bird of an old lady with a big heart and a bigger mouth. Her granddaughter was clever, with a sensible head on her shoulders, and had refused all marriage offers because she was convinced they were all from fortune hunters and men looking to increase their prestige in thetonby hitching their wagon to a duke’s niece. Regina and Mark actually had a great deal in common, only Regina hadn’t rejected her family andpretended not to be a part of it. At the age of twenty-nine, Regina was an outspoken, confirmed spinster and Nicole liked few people more.
“Regina would be a sight better at being a duchess than I would a duke,” Mark said. “Blasted unfair rules granting all the rights to men.”
