“What about a woman?” Mina asked.
Iverson frowned and then glanced at Nick with a bemused expression. “Huntley is very fond of the fairer sex.”
Mina’s laughter echoed off the low ceiling. “I meant what if a woman wishes to present her invention?”
Nick exchanged a raised brow glance with Iverson. They’d followed the custom of most gentlemen’s clubs in not allowing women entrance or membership. But this was a new venture, and with Mina by his side, Nick was prepared to consider almost any possibility.
“Isn’t that a thought,” Iverson said with the hint of a smile. Apparently, he didn’t mind the idea either. He turned his assessing gaze on Mina and then Nick. “You two make an excellent pair.”
“I think so.” Nick shook his friend’s hand, one firm grip, as if they were agreeing to a bargain. “Between the two of you, I’m beginning to see the usefulness of progress.”
When Iverson had gone, Nick turned to Mina and held her close. Her eyes were shadowed with worry, her brows dipped into a frown.
“What is it, Duchess?”
She stared at his shirtfront, toying with one of his buttons. “When I got word you were coming to Enderley, I was full of apprehension. I thought you’d dismiss me because I hadn’t told the entire truth to your solicitor. Then—”
“I came and began burning artwork.”
She choked back a burst of laughter. “It was just the one painting. But now I see that your arrival changed everything for the better.” She pressed her lips together before looking up at him. “And now I’ve suggested that you change everything you hold dear. Are you sure it’s for the better?”
Nick bent his head and kissed her softly, then whispered against her lips, “Yes.”
“No doubts?”
“None.” Lifting his head, he gazed around the space where he’d taken such glee in watching other men suffer. He quite liked the notion of undoing that avarice by giving smart inventors like Colin Fairchild a chance. “You have changed my life, Mina, but whether I knew it or not, I was in desperate need of alteration.”
She lifted onto her toes and pressed her mouth to his, her fingers tracing the edge of his jaw. “Not entirely, I hope. There’s quite a lot about you”—she trailed her hand down his body—“that I like just as it is.”
Nick reached down and clasped her hand, then started toward the door.
Mina hesitated only a moment and asked in an amused tone, “Where are we going?”
Over his shoulder, Nick grinned at his wife. “To our chamber. I thought perhaps you could show me all the parts you like.”
