“Tiffany and I had the banns properly read, and we still managed the big hullabaloo.”Gregory smiled widely.His gaze unfocused for a moment, like he was remembering, and was quite happy about it.
“To an extent,” Zachary agreed with a nod.“But you were also marrying quickly due to scandal, even if you waited for the banns.If I am going to do this properly, then I am going to do thisproperly, and I will not be rushed into it.”
“Are you sure you are not just trying to delay the inevitable?”Matthew asked curiously.It seemed to him that Zachary might as well get it over with, especially if his mother and Lady Annabelle and her mother were pushing him.Which it seemed they must be if his uncle was the only one backing his desire to take a longer planning period.
Zachary shot him a dark look, and Matthew shrugged.
“We were all thinking it,” Christian admitted, coming to Matthew’s defense.“Matthew was just the only one to say it.”
He did seem to struggle the most with not saying aloud the things he should not.
“I am trying to do thisproperly,” Zachary said with gritted stubbornness.“And I am not taking nearly as long about it as Drake is.”
Everyone turned to look at Drake.That was true enough.He glowered back at them.
“Why are we talking about Zachary’s wedding plans?”Drake asked.“That is not what I gathered us here for.”
“Well, what else are we to talk about?”Gregory responded with a shrug.“There is not much we can do until we know if Zachary’s uncle is the one who suggested Cornwall invite Hereford.And then what?We still have nothing other than that information.But what reason would the Marquess of Selter have to do away with the former Hereford?And if it was Zachary’s father who suggested the invitation, the same question remains.”
“We have no further clues,” Sebastian agreed, though he was clearly more unhappy about the situation than Gregory was.Then again, Sebastian had been close with his father.Gregory had hated his.“Not unless your men have finally caught up with Montblanc.”
“Not yet.”Drake was grim.“He is uncommonly good at hiding himself.”He looked over at Matthew.“I did receive a message that several of them have picked up on Mr.Blash’s trail and expect to apprehend him shortly.They may even have him by now.”
Matthew immediately perked up.That was good news indeed.At least he would be able to tell Micah and Johanna that things were happening in justice for them.
“That is all well and good,” Sebastian said irritably.“But where does that leave us?We have nothing more to go on.It seems we have hit a dead end.”
“We keep going with what we must do and look for more threads to pull,” Drake told him, as grim-faced as Sebastian was.“My men will keep looking for Montblanc.I am not giving up on finding who murdered my father.Not ever.”
All of them nodded their agreement.Matthew would be there right alongside his friends, even if he was more invested for their sakes than his own.
As Drake and Zachary began comparing notes on long engagements, and Sebastian and Christian bent their heads together to discuss something quietly, Matthew flipped his coin, then sidled over to where Nathanial and Gregory were.Perhaps it was not unexpected that they were separating by marital status, and it did make things easier on him.
“Ah… I have a rather indelicate question,” he said, drawing both of their interest.
“This should be good,” Gregory murmured, making Nathanial chuckle.“Welcome to the club of married men.”
“Thank you.Ah, that is what my question is about.”
“Oh, dear, did the wedding night go that poorly?”Gregory jested.
Matthew rolled his eyes.
“The wedding night was wonderful, thank you,” he said dryly, while Nathanial covered his smile with a quick sip of his drink.“I was wondering… I was wondering about love.”
His two fellow married dukes both paused.
“What about it?”Nathanial asked after a moment.
“Well, neither of you was in love with your wife when you married her, even though we all said it was a love match.But you both seem very happy now.I know you like your wives, but… do you love them?And how do you know?”
Nathanial and Gregory looked at each other.
“I do love Tiffany,” Gregory said after a long moment.“I do not know that I did not love her when I married her, I just did not recognize the feeling as such.It’s about… wanting her happiness as much as my own.More even.And being willing to do whatever is needed to bring that about.”
“I was furious with Kalina when I married her, but there was something between us even before that,” Nathanial admitted.“You knew.That’s why you flipped your coin for us.”
“I did.”Matthew frowned.He was not certain whether any of this applied to him and Johanna.There had not been a connection before they married.Not truly.Maybe the day before.But he did want her to be happy.
