Page 54 of Forget Me Not

“Would you be willing to swap the General for the King?” Kes asked.

Lucas eyed him narrowly. Kes motioned to the ground below.

There stood a gentleman Lucas would have known anywhere, a friend since his first year at Eton. Digby Layton wasn’t merely the best looking of their group of friends; he was generally considered the handsomest gentleman in the entire kingdom, with the swagger to match.

“Welcome to Cumberland, Your Majesty,” Lucas called down. “Care to join the peasants on the Wall of Shame?”

“Is the wall still equipped with stairs on the back?” Digby asked.

“Is the King balking at a simple climb up a sheer wall?” Lucas shook his head as if both shocked and disappointed.

“And riskthis?” Digby motioned to his face, then his highly fashionable frock coat, then to the entirety of his person. “I’ll take the stairs.”

Lucas thought of all the Gents as brothers. They were as close as friends could be. Digby was no exception. They’d been through some difficult times together, and he was one of the most important people in the world to Lucas. Seeing him there brought a sense of immediate relief.

With the speed and alacrity of a born athlete, Digby flew up the stairs. He spread a large handkerchief on the top of the wall but paused, giving it some thought. A second handkerchief was set on the first. Only then did he sit, placing himself atop his linen barrier.

“Why is Cuthbert’s Wall currently the Wall of Shame?” Digby asked.

“Because Lucas is an idiot,” Kes said.

“An affliction of long standing,” Digby said. “If it alone were reason to exile oneself to the Wall of Shame, our friend would reside here permanently. Some new degree of idiocy must have emerged.”

“He is a husband of a mere three weeks and is spending his time sitting on a wall with the two of us.” Kes had a way of phrasing things that made them sound more unintelligent than they actually were while maintaining a tone of absolute sincerity.

“I spent yesterday on a mountain withher,” Lucas pointed out.

“And haven’t talked to nor spent a single moment with her since.” Though Kes was talking to him, he addressed the answer to Digby.

“Ah.” Digby nodded slowly. “Bored her with talk of mountaineering, no doubt.”

“No doubt,” Kes said.

“Your assessment of me is both unflattering and inaccurate.” Lucas pretended to be affronted. Truth be told, having two of his best friends nearby was helping tremendously. “It was not talk of mountains that turned the afternoon amok.”

“What was it, then?” Kes asked.

“I thought she was flirting, but when I undertook a bit of it in return, she was... confused.”

Digby adjusted the lace of his cuff. “That’s because, my dear man, you’re rubbish at it.”

Kes’s withheld laugh dissolved into a snort, a rare sound from that gentleman.

“I wish I could laugh about it.” Lucas stood, walking carefully to the stairs. He could hear his friends following, but he didn’t pause or look back until his feet were firmly on the ground once more.

“One afternoon’s fruitless flirting is no reason to abandon ship.” Kes stepped up next to him. “You were starting to make progress.”

Lucas shook his head. “It’s not that. We had an almost perfect afternoon. Pleasant conversation, discovered shared interests, no arguments. She was happy and at ease, funny, witty, beautiful, intriguing...”

“Blood an’ hounds!” Digby pressed a hand to his heart. “You’ve fallen in love with your wife.”

“You’re several leaps ahead of the situation,” Lucas said, “but that’s the basic idea.”

“And the lady... ?” Digby pressed.

“Does not feel at all the same.”

Digby glanced at Kes.

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