Page 6 of How To Seduce A Wife

“Despite the cold?” Captain Gray looked impressed.

“You’ve never struck me as an early riser, but perhaps marriage has reformed you.”

“In truth, thoughts of my wife did propel me out of my front door this morning before I’d really noticed the foulness of the weather.”

“Don’t tell me you’ve taken to battling over the breakfast table.”

Nicholas sighed. “Not exactly.”

Captain Gray lowered his voice. “I say, Nick, is everything all right?”

“Everything is fine, David, it’s just that...”

“Marriage is harder than you thought it would be.”

“That is certainly part of it.” Nicholas frowned. “Although how you would know that, I have no notion.”

“Just because I’m not married doesn’t mean I haven’t excellent powers of observation and decided opinions as to the wedded state.”

“Really.”

David shrugged. “And I’m quite willing to listen.”

“I’m sure you are.” Nicholas regarded David warily. “I’m not sure if I’m willing to indulge you.”

“You don’t have to.” David crossed one booted foot over the other and settled more comfortably into the chair. “But I am one of your oldest friends, and I promise I won’t spread any gossip.”

“I know that.” Nicholas kept quiet as the waiter offered David a tall glass of steaming mulled wine and refilled Nicholas’s coffee cup. “It’s just that the situation is a little complicated.”

David blew on the ruby-colored wine and then sipped it. The scent of cinnamon and cloves drifted across to Nicholas. “I like your wife. She seems intelligent and kind.”

“She is.”

“In fact, I was quite surprised you chose her.”

Nicholas stiffened. “What did you expect me to choose? A flashy debutante with no money and a big chest?”

David chuckled. “Not at all. After your father’s appalling example, I knew you’d be careful.”

“My father was no example to me.”

“Yet, there was a time when you emulated him.”

“Until I grew old enough to know better and realize that I had no desire to turn into an elderly pox-ridden lothario.”

There was a short silence as David seemed to reflect on Nicholas’s outburst.

“What made you change your mind about him?”

Nicholas forced a smile. “When I saw how he treated my mother, and how he forced her to deal publicly with his mistresses and his bastards.”

“Ah.”

“What does that mean? And what does this have to do with your interest in my choice of a wife?”

David sat forward, his glass cradled in his hands. “Because I now understand why you chose her. She doesn’t come from an aristocratic family with no morals, and that makes her more attractive to you.”

“That’s true, but...”

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