The next day, he set off for Luke’s estate. It was some distance outside of town, and he arrived just before lunch. The butler greeted him when he knocked on the door, and led him into the dining room, where Luke was just being served his meal.
When Daniel entered the room, Luke stood and walked over to shake his friend’s hand. However, before Luke reached Daniel, his brow furrowed.
“Daniel, my friend,” he said. “You look like death itself.”
Daniel winced. He had forced himself to wash up before he departed, but he had not bothered to look at his reflection. He had slept fitfully since that night at the theater, and he imagined that he was quite a sight.
Daniel tried to smile.
“It is good to see you, too,” he joked, his voice hollow.
“Come, sit,” Luke said, his tone softening. “I received your letter this morning, so I had the staff prepare plenty of food, in the event that you arrived so early.”
Daniel nodded and sat down beside his friend, and a maid promptly served him a plate. He gave her a small smile of thanks, but he found that he was not hungry. He had eaten little over the past two days, so he did his best to choke down a few bites.
Luke rose from the table and walked over to his brandy cabinet. He pulled a bottle and a clean glass from the shelf and poured it almost full, then placed it in front of Daniel.
“Here,” Luke said. “This should help improve your appetite. And, hopefully, your visage, as well.”
Daniel smiled, an almost genuine smile this time, and raised his glass.
“Thank you,” he said, taking a hearty drink from the glass. The liquid burned his throat, which was still a bit raw and sore, both from the exposure to the cold water and from crying, but it also soothed his nerves. He put down his glass and sat back in his chair.
“Well, you have arrived at a very good time,” Luke said.
“Oh?” Daniel asked, enjoying the warmth of the brandy as it spread throughout his body.
“Indeed,” Luke said cheerily. “I have a couple of dinner parties planned this week. In fact, one of them is tonight. Good company and good food are the remedy for any malady.”
Daniel forced a smile, but he groaned inwardly. The last thing he wanted was to go to parties and interact with people. That was one of the reasons why he had come to Luke’s home. He did not voice his protests, however. He simply took another drink from his glass and forced another bite of food as Luke continued talking about the parties he was hosting. Daniel found Luke studying him several times as he spoke, but he never tried to make Daniel tell him what was bothering him. That was one of the reasons that Luke and he were such good friends. When Daniel was ready to talk, Luke would listen and give him advice, but in the meantime, he would not try to pull anything out of Daniel.
After lunch, Luke showed Daniel to the room in which he would be staying while he was there. The servants had already brought up his things while he and Luke dined. All the fatigue of the past couple of days finally set in, and Daniel looked longingly at the bed.
Luke put his hand on Daniel’s shoulder.
“Why don’t you rest awhile?” Luke said. “You look like you need it. I will send one of the servants to wake you in time to prepare for the party.”
Daniel nodded and gave his friend a grateful smile.
“Thank you,” he said. “For everything.”
Luke returned Daniel’s smile and patted his arm. Then, he left Daniel alone in the room. He went straight to the bed and collapsed. When he awoke a few hours later, he felt somewhat better. However, he still dreaded the upcoming party. He washed and dressed reluctantly and made his way downstairs just before the first guests arrived.
The atmosphere was lively enough, and the food was, indeed, delicious, but Daniel could not enjoy himself. He put on a smile and engaged in conversation, but he secretly wished that he was anywhere else. Toward the end of the meal, he noticed a young blond woman smiling at him. Daniel groaned. The last thing he wanted was the attention of a woman. He avoided eye contact with her as much as possible, but as soon as dinner ended and everyone moved to the drawing room, Luke approached him, with the lady at his side.
“Daniel, I would like to introduce you to Jane Maddison,” Luke said, smiling widely. “Miss Maddison, this is Daniel Eaton, Earl of Elbrook.”
Daniel put on a pleasant smile and bowed.
“It is a pleasure to meet you,” Daniel said, wishing he could throttle his friend.
Jane curtseyed to him, smiling shyly.
“Likewise, Lord Elbrook,” she said.
Daniel saw that she was, indeed, very pretty. The tiny mole on the left side of her chin was quite becoming, and the rosiness of her cheeks reminded him of a child. However, when he looked into her eyes, he saw that they were a similar shade of green to Rose’s, and his heart ached. He desperately wished that he could slip away from the party and go back to his room, but now that Luke had introduced the lady to him, he felt sure that would be impossible. And he was right. Jane stayed close by Daniel’s side for the rest of the night, despite Daniel’s sparse, cursory conversation and general disinterest in her.
However, Daniel was not entirely ungrateful for Jane’s presence. As the night went on, Daniel noticed a few other women looking at him. When he would glance at them, they would smile and giggle, and Daniel assumed that they were not approaching because he appeared to be occupied with Jane. Daniel made a mental note to politely tell Luke that he was mad if he expected Daniel to attend anymore of his dinner parties.
When the night at last ended, Daniel sagged with relief. As Luke was seeing the last guests off, Daniel headed for the stairs, ready to lock himself away in his room.
“I noticed that you spent a great deal of time with Miss Maddison this evening,” Luke said.
Daniel paused, with his hand resting on the staircase banister.
“You mean that she spent a great deal of time with me,” Daniel said bitterly.
“She is a lovely woman,” Luke said, once more studying his friend. “And she is very intelligent.”
“Then why do you not court her?” Daniel asked, his voice coming out sharper than he had intended.
Luke blinked at Daniel’s coldness.
“I am not one to pry,” Luke said. “But you are not acting at all like yourself.”
Daniel sighed. Luke was right, of course, but he was not ready to tell his friend why.
“I am sorry, my friend,” Daniel said. “I suppose that is because I do not feel at all like myself.”
Luke looked him over for a moment, then nodded.
“Yes,” he said. “Well, I thought that we might go for a fox hunt tomorrow. Perhaps that will help set you right again.”