A Visit From Sir Nicholas by Victoria Alexander

innocence and a brandy in each hand. In their youth, Jonathon had never been as innocent as his appearance, and Nick suspected even the advance of years had not changed that. The fact that his friend adopted just such a manner now did not bode well.
    "In addition, I found nothing amiss in the household accounts nor for the estate. Indeed, there have been a number of improvements made that are quite progressive and have proved most beneficial. You've done an excellent job."
    "While I do do an excellent job in many things"—Jonathon handed Nick a glass and sat down to face his friend across the desk—"I cannot take the credit for this."
    "Don't be modest." Nick leaned back in his chair and sipped the liquor. The duke's fine brandy was as good as always. Yet another thing that had not changed with the passing of years. "I know the increase of one's fortune or, God forbid, the earning of money is frowned upon, but you should be proud. Obviously, you have inherited your father's skills at investment."
    While it was certainly not public knowledge, Nick was well aware that the Duke of Roxbor-ough had dabbled in various investments including real estate and publishing for much of his adult years and had, for the most part, been quite successful. In an age in which many of the long-held fortunes of the landed gentry had dwindled, Effington wealth had increased.
    "Indeed, I have. I have turned a tidy profit in several successful ventures, and I am most immodestly proud of those. And while I'm also proud of the brilliant handling of Charles's fortune as well—" Nick laughed. "Brilliant?"
    "Brilliant," Jonathon said firmly. "The fact remains that it is not my doing."
    "No? Your father's then?"
    "Elizabeth has handled everything herself." Jonathon's expression was decidedly smug.
    "I see," Nick said slowly, not that he was surprised. The surprising aspect of all this was that Charles had appointed someone to manage his affairs in the first place instead of leaving them in his wife's eminently capable hands.
    "And I see no reason why she should not continue to do so."
    "Nor do I." Nick studied his friend for a long moment. "Nor do I see any reason why I should have received from you a letter implying all was not well with Lady Langley's finances."
    "Lady Langley?" Jonathon raised a questioning brow.
    "Lady Langley," Nick said, ignoring Jonathon's unspoken question. He had absolutely no intention of having anything other than a cursory, businesslike relationship with Jonathon's sister. Charles's wife. Lady Langley. Calling her—indeed, thinking of her—by anything other than her title was starting down a path he refused to tread. "And you have not answered my question."
    "I know." Jonathon grinned and raised his glass in a salute. "I'm very good at evading questions. Indeed, I consider it a gift I have honed to a fine art."
    Nick tried not to smile and failed. Jonathon too had scarcely changed with the passage of years.
    "And, as impressive as that skill is, I still want to know why the letter you wrote me carried the vague, but no less unmistakable, message that something was amiss with Lady Langley's finances."
    "I thought it was time you came home for something longer than a mere visit," Jonathon said simply. It was Nick's turn to raise a brow. "And you took it upon yourself to make certain I did so?"
    "Someone had to. Why not me?"
    "Perhaps I was not ready to return."
    "Perhaps you were simply too stubborn to return." Jonathon cast him a pleasant smile.
    "Stubborn?" Nick gasped in feigned indignation. "Me?"
    "You've always been stubborn and you well know it. Besides, you could have come home and stayed four years ago when you were knighted. By my observations, that's approximately when you had more money than Croesus and your accomplishments publicly acknowledged. That, old friend, is when you had achieved all you had set out to achieve."
    "You seem overly aware of my success." Nick wasn't entirely sure if he was annoyed or