Since placing the note in the footman’s hand for delivery, Felicity’s response was all he could think about. And now that he was out, he was sure to get a reply. Her letter would sit on his desk, unopened for however long it took for him to get home. He couldn’t stand to stay in one place for too long with that thought.
“Will you at least tell me what this is all about?” The teasing tone was gone from his voice as if Nicholas could sense that his friend was truly distressed.
This was not a regular occurrence for Benjamin. He was never the one to get overly excited by any kind of emotion. As kids, Nicholas and Elijah had joked that Benjamin was made of stone for how little he showed his true feelings. Facing down a battlefield had steadied him further still. He couldn’t remember the last time he got so worked up over something that wasn’t the death of a loved one.
“Do you remember that girl I told you about?” Benjamin finally said, slumping into his chair.
“Wait. You mean to tell me, all of this, this nervousness and restless energy is over… over a girl?” One eyebrow rose, pulling up the corner of Nicholas’ mouth with it. “It has finally happened, ladies and gentlemen.” His words sounded like he was the ringleader of a circus. “We have made it to the big event. Benjamin Chapman, Captain and stoic extraordinaire, has fallen head over heels for a girl, wrenching every last emotion from him.”
Benjamin scrubbed a hand over his face trying to force the tiredness and anxiousness away.
“What can I get for you, Sirs?”
“Two whiskeys. Make one of them strong for my friend here,” Nicholas requested.
Benjamin peered out from between the fingers that still covered his eyes to see the maitre d’ taking him in.
“He’s having trouble with the ladies,” Nicholas said by way of explanation.
At that, the waiter nodded knowingly and scurried off.
“Whiskey is not going to help me,” Benjamin argued.
“You wait and see,” was all Nicholas replied. “Now, tell me what happened. We will put our heads together and see if we can’t come up with a solution.”
Benjamin spent the next two hours poring over every detail of the situation. He left out the pieces Felicity had shared with him in confidence like her family’s lack of funding, but he left nothing hidden as far as his own affections were concerned. By the end of it, both of their glasses were dry, and Nicholas wore a smile that Benjamin could not understand.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Benjamin asked when he had finished telling his tale. “I am wracking my brain to figure out what I did wrong, and you are sitting there, smiling like an oaf.”
Nicholas only laughed, angering Benjamin further.
“If you insist on continuing to make light of my situation, I will leave you. Thanks for your utter lack of help,” Benjamin huffed, rising from his seat, his muscles protesting the movement, stiff from the long hours sitting.
“No, no,” Nicholas insisted, drying his eyes and sobering himself. “I apologize Chapman. I was not laughing at you. It is only, Elijah and I would speak of when the day would come where you were caught up in a woman and how helpless you would be. It was funny to think about then; it is funnier to witness now. But I will help you. It is quite a simple solution, really.”
Benjamin didn’t know what to make of his friend’s admission. It was strange to think about a joke his brother used to make coming to light again. Guilt rushed through Benjamin. He should be grieving his brother or helping his mother or focusing on his estates not obsessing over a girl. Yet, that did not stop him from reclaiming his chair.
“Simple, you say?” he asked, softening his tone.
“Yes. You need to do what I have told you to do from the outset. Announce your brother’s passing and your acceptance of the dukedom. Then go to her and repeat all you have said to me, here tonight. No lady, Diamond or not, could refuse a handsome, wealthy, and titled man who is hopelessly in love with her.”
“Love? Who said anything about love?” Benjamin asked, his mind reeling.
“You did, my friend, when you spent the last two hours talking only of her. Tell me, when was the last time you spent two hours talking about only one thing?”
Benjamin thought for a moment and came up empty.
“Exactly my point,” Nicholas said to Benjamin’s lack of reply. “You obviously really care about this girl, so pull up your boots and do something about it, soldier.”
Benjamin drew his shoulders back without thinking. He was not used to being challenged so directly, and now, he felt he could not ignore his friend’s advice.
“I know I need to announce Elijah’s death,” Benjamin said in a low voice, not wanting anyone to overhear, “but I do not know how. It feels wrong to announce it at someone else’s ball, but I do not wish to host my own for that kind of thing. So, do I take an ad out in the paper? Publish his obituary? That feels wrong too. He deserves more attention than that.”
“I know what you mean,” Nicholas told him. “It will be a great shock to everyone, especially as no one knew of his condition.”
“That has been my dilemma. I spoke only last week with Mother about it.”
“She is in town?”