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Finishing the last dregs of his brandy, he set the snifter down loudly before striding out of the room to the front hall and ordering the majordomo to arrange for his carriage to be brought. A short while later, he was riding back to his house.
He rested his head against the seat and closed his eyes. But when the image of Jenny’s flushed face flashed in his mind, he sat up and knocked on the carriage roof, urging the driver to drive faster. The journey from any part of London to his house had never felt this long.
“Ramsay!” he barked as soon as he stepped into the house.
“I shall summon him for you, Your Grace,” Bentley said, closing the door and taking his coat and gloves.
“Good. Tell him I want a bath. A very cold one. With ice.” He began to take the stairs two at a time. He would do almost anything at this point to make his body forget Jenny.
When he arrived at his bedchamber, he drew open the curtains and opened the windows wide. One would ask him why he would subject himself to cold when there were other ways he could relieve his frustration. But he planned to take his celibacy seriously.
His valet, Ramsay, entered with two footmen carrying buckets of water. “Cold water,” he said, “as you requested.”
“What about the ice?”
“The ice is coming, Your Grace.” He directed the footmen to the dressing room where the tub was. “May I ask why the windows are open?”
Nicholas shrugged out of his coat. “I have a fever.”
Ramsay raised his brows. “I see. Shall I call the physician?” Another footman entered with a bucket of ice.
“No, this is a different sort of fever.” He was anxious for them to finish filling the tub so he could have his bath. “Tell them to hurry.”
With a nod, Ramsay disappeared into the dressing room. “Your cold bath is ready, Your Grace,” he said when he reappeared, raising one brow. “Are you certain you do not wish for me to call the physician?”
“Do not trouble yourself, Ramsay.” He proceeded into the dressing room and put his hand in the water to test the temperature. It was freezing.
“As you wish, Your Grace.” His valet excused him, closing the door firmly behind him.
Nicholas shed the rest of his clothes and dipped first one leg into the tub, wincing and cursing, then the other before submerging his entire body, biting down hard on his lower lip.
Several minutes later, he was out and shivering but he no longer wanted Jenny to the point of losing his mind. If this was the torture he would have to endure for years, then perhaps he should rethink his decision. He might be able to convince Jenny to cry off. After all, she had only agreed to marry him to get her father out of debt.
That was it! He had to get Jenny to change her mind and call off the wedding.
