Page 79 of The Phantom Duke

Simon scowled at him but nevertheless, extended his hand. Damien poured the brandy into his friend’s crystal-cut glass. “Unbelievable,” Simon muttered. “Well, I am happy for you, even if I do not understand it.”

The two of them were in Damien’s study, simply talking. After Maria had left for the morning, Damien had found the silence of Winterleigh to be unwelcoming in a way that it never had before, so he had summoned Simon to visit.

“Is that all?” Damien asked, smirking. “I imagine that your curiosity is driving you mad.”

“You imagine correctly,” Simon said, “but I know better than to pry.”

Damien hummed. He found it highly unlikely that his friend had decided to let the matter rest. It was more likely that Simon had simply decided to feign as though he had, so he could form a proper strategy before approaching the subject again.

“Your wife is not here,” Simon mused.

Damien arched an eyebrow. “And what has turned your mind to her?”

Simon’s lips twitched in amusement. “You have not looked outside the window, searching for her.”

“So I have not. She is visiting with one of her insipid friends,” Damien said.

“Insipid,” Simon echoed. “’Have you spent sufficient time with your wife’s friends toknowif they are insipid? Or did you simply decide that they must be because you detest the ton?”

“For good reason.”

“I see.”

“They vex me,” Damien said. “Do you know that they have come to Winterleigh on multiple occasions?”

“Contrary to what you may believe, it is customary to receive visits from one’s friends.”

“I know that!” Damien snapped. “After all,youare here. God knows why I still consider you a friend when you are so irrefutably vexing.”

Simon’s grin broadened. “Some mysteries are regrettably unexplainable, even by science.”

“Indeed.”

Simon sipped his brandy with a contemplative expression, which never bode anything but ill for Damien.

“I do not find them insipid simply because they are part of the ton,” Damien said. “I find them insipid because they are loud and vexing. Often, Maria is loud and chaotic, too. More so when she is with them.”

“I see. Interesting.”

“Why is that interesting?”

“Because she is away. If you are as vexed by her as you claim, I would think that you would desire silence all the more,” he said. “But you invited me to join you.”

“You are different.”

“Am I?” Simon asked. “Sometimes, you do behave as though you find me unfathomably irritating.”

“That is untrue.”

“No, itistrue,” Simon persisted. “It is only that you are a man who has difficulty in expressing any vulnerabilities, and you believe that desiring companionship is one.”

“Careful,” Damien growled.

Simon shook his head. “I know you too well to be intimidated by you,” he said. “When you believe that you are showing any vulnerability, you seek to hide it behind a veneer of unkindness.”

Damien grimaced. Simon was right; he knew that instinctively, and he hated it.

“I am somewhat fond of her,” Damien conceded.