Page 44 of His Stolen Duchess
“All right, but you are denying these people the voice of an angel,” Thomas noted.
Lysander shook his head but couldn’t help the smile that came to his lips. Thomas had a way of being rambunctious that Lysander never would be, and always made the worst jokes known to man, but was still the only person who made him smile.
The barmaid returned with another goblet and a full bottle of claret. “I hope you enjoy it, Your Grace.”
“I know I will,” he replied. Lysander poured a glass for himself and topped up his friend’s goblet.
The air was thick with the scents of roasted meat, peat smoke, and spilled ale. Roughly hewn oak tables were littered with countless tankards and a few knives. Overhead beams were strung with drying herbs. The fiddler and drummer continued to play in the opposite corner, but played their music a little quieter.
There were a lot of advantages to gentlemen’s clubs, but Lysander enjoyed frequenting the small taverns. The people there knew him but didn’t feel the need to approach and talk with him.
Lysander began with a large drink of wine and enjoyed its rich, fruity warmth as the wine trickled down his throat.
“You look tired,” Thomas commented.
“You certainly know how to have a pleasant conversation,” Lysander returned with a smirk.
“You’re only a few weeks married. I’m sure there is a good reason for you being so tired, huh?” Thomas winked.
“There hasn’t been time for any of that. There are other things to worry about, and that will come in time, of course.”
“Do you mean to tell me that you are a man who was just married, and I’ve had more women in my bed than you?” Thomas pretended to count on his fingers. “I mean, it was only one woman, but that still beats your total.”
“That is not all a marriage is for,” Lysander huffed.
“No, but itisone of its benefits. Why have such a beautiful wife if you can’t take advantage of her?”
“I don’t wish to take advantage of her.”
“No, of course not.” Thomas drummed his fingers on the table. “Is it because of your gruff demeanor? Have you been begging her to come to your bedchamber, and she has refused you? Perhaps you can get her drunk.” Thomas grinned at his own ingenuity.
Lysander gritted his teeth, then smiled. “With anyone else, I would brush off such idiotic comments, but you have a way of getting under my skin like no one else. How did we ever become friends?”
“It’s all in the tone of the delivery,” Thomas said. “The getting under your skin part, not the friends part. As for that, I suppose we are just doomed to be with each other in that capacity. So, isit your sparkling personality, or is she put off by your dashing good looks?”
“She is not put off at all,” Lysander retorted. “You should see the way she looks at me. If I wanted her, she would be mine in an instant. In truth, I don’t need the distraction right now. In time, we will create an heir, but that is all this is about.”
Thomas held up his hands. “If you say so. I only know if I had a woman like that, I wouldn’t be here speaking to me.”
“I thought I came here to have a drink with a friend, yet I am only being abused.”
“I apologize, I apologize, dear friend.” Thomas held up his hands. “You know I’m only teasing you. However, I do wish to know how married life is treating you.”
Lysander sighed before taking another drink of his claret. “That is another matter entirely. She is the most unpredictable woman I have ever met. Indeed, I didn’t know her before we were wed, but I don’t believe that would have made a lot of difference. She’s extremely loud, she distracts the staff, she has me teaching her how to swim, and there is a parrot that apparently had to come along with her that wreaks its own brand of chaos.”
Thomas raised an eyebrow. “You’re teaching her how to swim?”
“Did you not hear what I just said about chaos and wild birds? How many women do you know who have pet parrots? Yet, you latch onto swim lessons?”
“Of all the things you just told me, that one is the most surprising. Listen, all jesting aside, I know this is a marriage of convenience, and I understand that you don’t want or need a wife for anything more than providing you with an heir, so it’s surprising to me that you would be spending your time teaching her how to swim. Why not engage someone else to do it?”
“I don’t need someone in their bathing suit touching my wife.”
“No, I suppose not.” Thomas looked over to the bar and smiled at the barmaid. “And how is she coming along with these swim lessons?”
“Better than I expected, especially after the first lesson.” Lysander closed his eyes and shook his head before opening them again. “I thought she might drown in my arms—she seemed to be trying her best to do just that. I suppose I can’t blame her after what happened in Hyde Park. I’m sure most onlookers thought it was a complete jape, but they didn’t know how close to death she was. If I hadn’t been there, she wouldn’t be here today.”
“You have always had a hero complex,” Thomas noted.
