They walked together to the dining room where the table was notably smaller, a round one set for two with her chair placed at his right.
April glanced at the setting. “How novel.”
“I asked for the change. It seemed time we dispensed with the battlefield layout.”
“You do favor efficiency. Though this seems dangerously close to… intimacy.”
“Then brace yourself, Duchess,” he said, watching the play of candlelight on her features, the soft curve of her mouth when she tried not to smile.You undo me, and you don’t even try.
They sat. Platters of roasted capon and stewed vegetables were brought forth, and he watched her, hoping the meal pleased her. She cut delicately into the capon and ate a bite. The slight flutter of her lashes had him smiling inwardly.Good.
“The gossip sheets,” April said nearly halfway through the course, “have declared our honeymoon a grand failure.”
Theo frowned. “Have they?”
“They say we are too quiet. That we’ve not been seen walking hand in hand in Hyde Park.”
“And how tragic that must be.”
She laughed and shook her head. “They also say we must be dreadfully unhappy.”
“And are we?”
She met his gaze. “Not tonight.”
He leaned back, watching her fingers curl around the stem of her glass.You could tell me we were at war, and I would not notice, not with you looking at me like that.
“They must be bored,” he murmured, quite unable to take his gaze away from her lips.
“They always are.” She lifted her glass. “To theton. May they never lack imagination.”
He raised his own. “And may they never gain accuracy.”
“If they knew we’d spent most of our honeymoon deciding how to befriends, chaos would erupt.”
Her emphasis on the word did not escape his notice, and he wondered about the meaning behind it.Should I ask? Theo shook his head at the thought. Perhaps it was best to leave things as they were between them, delicate as that might be.
He sipped his wine before speaking. “It’s a mercy we keep it to ourselves. Let them imagine as they will.”
“Do you think we ought to make an appearance in public? It might settle the speculation.”
Theo’s brows drew slightly together before he shook his head. “No, that would not serve us in any meaningful way.”
Her expression shifted, just slightly. Was that disappointment? April lowered her eyes and pierced a carrot with her fork.
He leaned forward and lowered his voice. “What would benefit us is this.” He gestured around them when she looked up. “What we are doing now, forming a home, matters more.”
Her shoulders eased, and a smile crept back onto her lips. “You almost sound like a sentimental man, Theo.”
“Heaven forbid.”
“Do not worry. I shall keep your secret.” The grin on her face was magical.
“I suspect you enjoy having power over me.”
“Only when I wield it responsibly.”
“That does not reassure me in the slightest.”
