Page 39 of By Mistake
He was an overbearing, smirking know-it-all who liked to sit around drinking expensive wine or lounge by the study fire as a cat, but Andrus could hardly say that."I think the key is 'that we know of,' and there's no telling how many times any of them have really been summoned.I think if Shimari of the Harvest had been summoned only once, we wouldn't know as much about him as we do."
"Very true.I—"
"Coret!"
"Whoops, I'm caught," Coret said with a laugh, setting down the wine and retrieving his book."Coming, Mother!"
As they stood, she came around the corner, angry look on her face turning into surprise."Oh, Lord Bothwell.I hadn't realized…"
"Coret has been telling me so much," Andrus said with a smile, moving closer to her."We hadn't intended to slip away for so long.I still have much to learn, of course, and he's been extremely helpful."
"I'm glad," Lady Whyte replied, briefly eyeing Coret like she'd never seen him before."Everyone has noticed your absence, my lord, if you're not adverse…"
"Lead the way," he said cheerfully.
He'd barely returned when he was dragged into dancing once more, and then sandwiched between persons whose names he'd already forgotten as the interminable poetry and singing began, followed by a last bout of dancing before everyonefinallybegan to trickle away, dusk just beginning to tease along the edges of the sky.Garden parties weren't meant to last so long, he didn't think, but he was hardly an expert.
Back in the entrance hall, he lingered with Coret."Would you like to come over on Sehlday?My personal assistant and secretary have me scheduled up to my eyeballs, but I insisted on one day a week where I do not have to leave the house, or least leave it minimally.Ori will likely be around; he'd love to hear all about your thesis."
"Ori?"Lady Whyte asked from nearby, a funny tone in her voice.
"Oresti, my apologies.He started calling me Andi, so I took to calling him Ori in revenge, but of course the brat just enjoys it."Andrus shook his head, smiling faintly.
"His Royal Highness, you mean?Prince Oresti?"
"Yes?"Why did everyone keep asking that.What other Oresti could he possibly be talking about?
"His Highness is courting Andrus," Coret said.
Lady Whyte's mouth dropped open before she recovered herself and said, "I see.Congratulations, my lord.That is quite the coup."
"I don't consider him a prize," Andrus said."He was kind to me when no one else was, befriended me when I was a pauper and could offer him nothing in return.If you'll excuse me, speaking of Oresti, he is expecting me home any moment now, so I'd best be on my way.Thank you again for the wonderful party, my lady.I could not have asked for a better start as I venture into society."
"Of—of course, Lord Bothwell," she replied with a real smile, nothing at all like the polite one from his arrival."Will I see you at the Starlet soiree?"
"Yes, I believe you will.I look forward to enjoying your company there, and Coret's if you can convince him to attend."He bowed over her hand, bid them goodnight, and finally departed.
Back at his house, finally, he let the footman help him once more, stripping down to just his shirt and breeches before wandering into the study.
Shimari and Oresti were there, along with Greivs, who sat at the desk, shifting through the newest pile of correspondence even though Shimari had hired a secretary."How was the hunting?"
Oresti immediately rose from where he'd been reading near the fire and swept him up into a brief kiss."Not terribly exciting, I'm afraid.Did arrest that creepy bastard who killed the servant girl, and there's going to be a further investigation to how knowledgeable his employers were of his unsavory actions, if they were party to any of them…"
"Gossip is already abuzz," Greivs said, "though I'm certain it will be drowned out by what everyone has to say about Andrus."
"That might be drowned out by talk of my untimely demise, as apparently it's going to crush a lot of hearts that Oresti is courting me and not any of them," Andrus said dryly.
Oresti rolled his eyes and collapsed dramatically back on the sofa."For the love of—"
"I'm not sure what you were expecting," Greivs cut in."I don't think there's a single noble in Esaria that hasn't tried to catch your eye, and we won't discuss hopeful suitors from further afield.Even a queen, if you'll recall."
"She was old enough to be my mother," Oresti grumbled.
"I invited Lord Coret Whyte to visit on Sehlday.We met hiding in a hedge."
They laughed, and Shimari said, "Another name I know.Good family, not really plotters and connivers, but not fools either."
"That was more or less how he described his mother."Andrus stole the wine in front of Oresti as he related the rest of his conversation with Coret."I did not know how to tell him there is nothing impressive about you at all."
