Mercy would merely have to arrange it.
She started paying attention to her pieces after that. The excitement of having a plan to remove herself from this courtship adding fire to her movements. She and the Duke of Harrington were going to play a game, but not a game of chess. The most dangerous game of all: a game of courtship. And if she played it correctly, she might not win, but hopefully, neither of them would lose.
Chapter 12
Nicholas paced in front ofOttersby’s desk. Patience was late, a fact that her extremely punctual husband seemed to take in stride. Ottersby was dressed impeccably, and although Nicholas had brought the carriage so they could ride to the Bensons’ ball together, he wasn’t certain when they were actually going to leave.
“I’m certain Patience will be down shortly,” Ottersby said, but he pulled out a second sheet of paper and began taking notes on something he was reading in the paper.
“Are you?”
“Well, perhaps not certain, but hopeful.”
Nicholas grunted, certain that was wishful thinking on Ottersby’s part.
Ottersby jotted something down, then looked up. “How is the courtship with Lady Mercy progressing?”
“I don’t know.” He had been to her home twice since asking to court her. Usually they played chess, although neither of them seemed very interested it. But it did give them time to talk about their likes and dislikes, as well as what things were most important to them. Lady Mercy always gave him answers that intrigued him. She disliked clams and any dress fabric with too much yellow in it. His answers felt stilted and rehearsed compared to hers. They’d talked of his time in the military when he’d gotten to know Donald. Fortunately, she never asked why the only son of a duke had been in the military at all. “I enjoy her company. Perhaps too much.”
Ottersby stopped writing and raised his head. “You can’t like the woman you want to marry too much. Would you prefer that you didn’t enjoy her company at all?”
Of course he wouldn’t prefer that. He rubbed his face. “I just feel so... so uncertain. I saw this all going very differently.”
“More like a business transaction?”
“Yes and no.”
Ottersby cleaned his pen. “Which part yes and which part no?”
“Discussions with her father, they go as planned. He makes sense to me. I tell him I want to court his daughter, and he gives me a blessing along with a missive to decide quickly if she is the woman I want to marry. I understand his concern about long courtships and engagements, and I agree with him. However, Lady Mercy is harder to understand. I know she is capable of strong attachment. But...”
“She isn’t attached to you,” Ottersby said it as if it were painfully obvious.
“I don’t think so, no.”
“And how does she feel about the courtship?”
“She has agreed to it.”
Ottersby raised an eyebrow. “It seems as though you don’t want a business transaction at all. You want more.”
“I don’t think I know how to domore.” Nicholas grimaced. He never considered himself a Casanova, but in general, women had been flattered to have his attention. Lady Mercy seemed... well... as if she were biding her time until he gave up on her.
Ottersby nodded as if he understood all too well. “Because in a business transaction you won’t get hurt?”
It wasn’t himself he was worried about hurting. “I don’t care about being hurt. Heaven knows I’ve lived a life well protected while others faced harm.” Donald could have attested to that. “I don’t want her to be hurt, though.”
“And you think you might hurt her by...” Ottersby put a hand out, palm up, waiting for Nicholas to fill in the last word.
Holding her too close in public, running a hand down her back while they danced, touching her hair, counting her freckles, forgetting himself completely and pulling her into an abandoned corridor and instead of speaking like they had the first time they’d found themselves in that situation, kissing her senseless. “Damaging her reputation,” Nicholas said.
“And do you plan on damaging her reputation?”
“Of course not. What kind of man do you think I am? I’ve been nothing but proper with her.”
“And you assume that by following all of Society’s rules, you will be protecting her?”
“Isn’t that why they exist?”
