The desire to pull out his coin and flip it made his fingers twitch, but he managed to resist.
“I pity the woman who takes a chance on you if you do not think you need to be there for supper so soon after your wedding,” Gregory told Sebastian.He was grinning, but there was some sincerity to his words.
“Any woman would be lucky to marry a duke.”
“Then why have you not chosen one yet?”
“I am trying to do thingsproperly, unlike some of us.”Sebastian glared at his closest friend.Since Gregory had been caught in a compromising position with Sebastian’s sister at the very first ball of the Season, he had a point.Not that it bothered Gregory, who just grinned at him.
“Who has done things properly at this point, other than Drake?And look how miserable he is.Do you want to be miserable like Drake?”Gregory gestured at the man in question, who glowered at him.
Thankfully, Gregory was saved from whatever retribution Drake and Sebastian may have come up with by the arrival of more of their friends.Christian and Zachary came in, interrupting whatever might have followed, and they had not even gotten settled when Nathanial arrived and completed their coterie.
They sat in their chairs with their brandy, and Matthew wondered if the Knights of the Round Table had ever felt like this.And if this group were the knights, who was their King Arthur?
“Right then,” Drake said, drawing everyone’s attention to him.“Who has managed to track down their quarry?”
ChapterTwenty-Nine
Matthew
“I do not believe Conyngham suggested Cornwall invite Nathanial’s father to the hunting lodge—no matter what some people might think,” Christian said, sending an amused look at Zachary, who made a face but did not protest.He did reach up to stroke Monkey Sinclair, who petted his head in return, as though the little creature thought Zachary could use some comforting.
He probably could, considering that anytime Conyngham came up, Zachary would likely only be able to think about how he was Delilah’s new lover.
Zachary was another of their group who was doing things ‘properly’, now that Matthew thought about it.And, as Gregory pointed out about Drake, he seemed quite miserable.Gregory seemed to have come to the same conclusion.He leaned over to elbow Sebastian, nodding at Zachary to point him out to the other man, and mouthing the word ‘miserable.’Sebastian glowered at him and took another sip of his brandy.
Perhaps there really was something to marrying to cover up a scandal.It had worked out well enough for Gregory and Nathanial, and so far, Matthew was quite happy with his marriage.All of them had been able to skip over the tediousness of actual courtship as well.
Though Matthew did want to do some of that for Johanna, he thought it would be much more enjoyable with the pressure off.He did not need to worry about whether she would want to marry him at the end of it—she already had.
“Carmathan does not believe he was there for the discussion,” Sebastian said quickly, turning away from Gregory.“He would have remembered and told Nathanial if he’d known who had pushed Cornwall to make the invitation.”
“I believe that; he was very open with me about everything,” Nathanial said.“But it is good to have confirmation.”
“It is,” Drake agreed.“Hatchett was belligerent, as usual, and asked why he would have paid attention to what the former Hereford was doing with his time.”
All of them snorted.That sounded like Hatchett.Zachary was still stroking Monkey Sinclair, who made a similar snorting sound to the rest of them.Considering the little monkey had been rescued from Hatchett—after Lady Hatchett brought him to a ball to show him off, only to have him bite her husband and flee—perhaps it was possible he recognized the man’s name.
“Conyngham was not sure, but he actually thought it might have been your uncle who suggested it, or your father,” Christian said, almost apologetically as he turned to Zachary.“But it was a while ago, and he would not be willing to swear to either statement.”
“Of course he did,” Zachary grumbled.Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath.The little monkey on his shoulder lay its tiny head against his, like the tiniest hug in the world.Matthew thought it rather adorable.“I know, I know.I should not hold it against him that he replaced me in Delilah’s bed after I gave her her congé.”
“You should not,” Christian agreed cheerfully.“If you wanted her, you should have kept her.”
“I could not do that without marrying her, and mother would have thrown a fit.”Zachary shook his head.“Not just a fit.I do not know what she would have done.She was so sunk in melancholy, and now she is happy again…” His voice trailed off.
Drake leaned over to clap him on the shoulder; thankfully, the one opposite where the monkey was sitting was the one beside him.
“You did what you felt must be done,” he said, almost gently.“Now, all you can do is keep moving forward on the path you’ve chosen.”Although he was speaking to Zachary, it felt almost as though his words were more profound, more meaningful than that.Like maybe he was speaking to himself as well.
Which, of course, made Matthew wonder even more justwhatDrake was up to visiting all these brothels and such.
“My uncle had to go back to his estate for a visit, but he should return the day after tomorrow, and I will ask him then,” Zachary said with a sigh, leaning back in his chair.“Thankfully, it is a quick visit.I swear, he is the only one with any sense when it comes to this wedding.Thankfully, he backed me on waiting ‘til next Season.”
“Next Season?That seems uncommonly long.”Nathanial frowned at him.
“Says the man who married by special license,” Zachary replied dryly.“Compared to you and Matthew, any amount of waiting is long.”
