Page 77 of The Odyssean Duke

“Are you certain that you want to talk here? There are better places than this…” Murrayton trailed off, casting Stephan a doubtful look. “This disreputable place.”

Stephan dropped into a chair and leaned forward, planting his elbows on the table and burying his face in his hands. This was the tavern where he had met Evelina, where he had resolved to have just one more night as himself and not the Duke of Rothbury.

“Amelia would be horrified to discover that I came here,” Murrayton continued lightly.

“Then, why did you come?” Stephan asked reluctantly.

“Because you asked me to,” Murrayton said simply. “Besides, I can tell that something is bothering you. Given that you said you need to talk about Evelina…”

Stephan raked his hands through his hair and gazed up at his friend. Murrayton’s face was the picture of concern. He sat across the table from Stephan and gestured for the nearby barmaid. She approached them, and Murrayton requested ale. Stephan grimaced; he did not tell Murrayton that the ale in this tavern tasted like drinking dirty water.

“So,” Murrayton said, spreading his hands. “I am here to humor you. What is wrong? Is the Duchess well?”

Stephan sighed and reluctantly straightened his spine. He was pathetic, longing for Evelina and loathing himself for rejecting her. Stephan straightened his spine, determined to maintain some small amount of dignity. “She is—she is as well as can be expected given the circumstances.”

Murrayton narrowed his eyes. “And what are thecircumstances? You are being obtuse, my friend.”

“I told her I do not love her.”

Murrayton frowned. “That seems unkind.”

“I have my reasons,” Stephan said. “I—I just wonder—how did you know that your wife was the person you wanted to marry? When did you know that you loved her and that you would love her forever?”

Murrayton chuckled and shook his head. His face brightened at the question, as if the thought of answering it delighted him. “Intruth, I do not know. I just loved her from the moment that I met her,” Murrayton said. “I glimpsed her at a ball and decided that I wanted to do everything in my power to be worthy of her and to give her the life she deserved, even if everyone else said that I would never be enough.”

Stephan stared at his friend in disbelief. Murrayton made falling in love sound so absurdly simple, like something in a romance. “You were too young,” Stephan said flatly. “And romantic.”

“I was,” Murrayton readily agreed. “But I was right, nonetheless. I have loved her every day since I met her.”

Stephan scowled. “You are likely one out of hundreds to have a love story like that.”

The barmaid returned and placed a tankard of ale before each of them. “Thank you,” Murrayton said.

“A pleasure,” she replied.

Murrayton took a swallow of his ale and grimaced. “Disgusting,” he said. “You might have warned me.”

Stephan supposed he might have. “Most people do not fall in love like that,” Stephan continued. “I should have thought of asking someone else about Evelina.”

Murrayton shook his head. “What are you talking about?” he asked. “Do you have some concerns about Evelina?”

“I am uncertain that she is the one whom I should have married,” Stephan said. “I think I have made a grievous error.”

“What error? Rothbury, I would enjoy helping you, but I feel as though you are explaining too much. Start at the beginning. What happened with Evelina?”

Stephan growled under his breath and drank the ale, even though it was disgusting. He had never been a man who indulged in drink to find his courage, and Stephan doubted that small swallow of watered-down ale would do anything to make the situation more tolerable.

Still, it was worth a try.

“The difficulties began after we married,” Stephan said. “Evelina began making changes to the house. At first, I thought they were harmless. She was ill—remember?”

“Yes.”

“Well, to make her recovery come more quickly, Evelina decided that she needed to make the house brighter. She said that would raise her spirits, so she would be well. I did not think much of that,” Stephan said, sighing, “but I saw no harm in indulging her.”

Stephan paused, waiting for his friend’s judgment, but Murrayton offered none.

“I began to like the changes,” Stephan continued, “even if I told her I did not. After that, she tried to…befriend me, I think. She wanted to know more about who I was, and we spent our nights together without even trying to produce an heir.”