“I think that would only spin them up again. They are probably asleep already. How fares the ball?”
“All the better for my absence, I think,” James said dryly. “I would much rather be here with you, in any case.”
Nicholas had no idea how to respond to this, but no response seemed to be necessary. James was still talking, as he settled into the chair at Nicholas’s bedside.
“It is all winding down now, of course, under the supervision of Lady Leigh, who seems to be flattered by my entrusting her with the event,” he said, reaching up to loosen his cravat. He was dressed to the nines for the ball, naturally, which was a very fine picture—but the slight dishevelment of the last few hours was even finer. Nicholas resisted, with difficulty, the urge to run his fingers through James’s ruffled h
