After Stone and Theo settled into their room, he went in search of the men at the house party. There was time before dinner for a drink and some conversation. To his great delight, he found Cooper among the gentlemen gathered in the billiards room for a friendly game. His best friend leaned over the table and took his shot. The ball missed and Cooper lost, which freed him up for a chat.

“It’s damn good to see you, Cooper.” Stone leaned in to whisper, “I thought this party would be a dreadful bore.”

Cooper laughed and grinned. “Oh, it has been. The days are long and tedious, especially the entertainments. But the nights, my friend. The nights are long and lusty.” He raised his glass and clinked crystal with Stone.

“Well, I certainly won’t be enjoying the same entertainments as you, but I did manage to bring my own delight along.” Stone hesitated a moment, and for the first time in his life heartily hoped his best friend would keep away from his wife. The idea of sharing her again was not something he could deal with and, by her own admission, not something she wished to do again, either.

Cooper pulled him off to the side, away from prying ears. “Have no fear, Stone. I can see the worry in your eyes. Your wife is lovely and amazing with her mouth. But I am here to find my own lusty fun, not to intrude upon yours. I accommodated a friend’s request because I knew what it must have cost him to make it.”

Chagrined at how transparent his thoughts must have been, Stone sighed. “You are a good man, Cooper. For once, I hesitated to set the boundary for fear of offending you. Clearly, it was an unnecessary sentiment.” Stone tossed the finger of scotch back and set the empty glass on a nearby table right as the dinner chimes rang, drawing them from the billiards room to meet their female counterparts. The ladies giggled and fawned as they were paired with a dinner partner. Stone had the luck to be paired with Theo’s sister, Lizzy, but Theo was escorted by the Marquess of Wiggington, a known womanizer. It seemed Lady Hawksbury did not know his wife very well.

As dinner progressed, he watched his wife’s face shift from surprise to annoyance, and at one point, he was certain she would stab her partner with a dinner fork. Nevertheless, she managed to restrain herself, and dinner proved to be a bloodless affair. After the meal, the men once again decamped, leaving the ladies to chatter for a bit as they smoked cigars. As he entered, Lord Wiggington and Hugh Denton approached him, the latter with a smile and his hand extended. “Stonemere, I had no idea you would be attending the Hawksburys’ entertainment.”

Stone took the offered hand of his cousin. Unable to outright ignore the marquess without causing a scene, he tried to find the semblance of a smile before answering. “Theo was keen to get out of London for a few days.”

“Too bad you couldn’t arrive sooner. It’s been quite the gathering the last few days…and nights.” Hugh grinned and offered a lascivious wink.

Stone didn’t particularly wish to discuss such pursuits with his cousin, let alone the marquess, so he merely grunted.

“At any rate, I take it travel does not sit well with your wife?” Hugh swirled a brandy in his snifter and then took a sip.

Stone couldn’t help flashing to the memory of his wife riding his cock in utter abandon as they jounced along the road to Hawksbury. “Theo travels quite well. As far as I know, she thoroughly enjoyed the trip.” He worked hard at not emphasizing the word “thoroughly” so as not to besmirch his wife’s reputation. This man was unworthy of any confidences he might share with one he trusted.

“Strange, Wiggington said she seemed rather out of sorts at dinner. Blamed the rough ride here.” Hugh raised a brow.

It was all he could do not to laugh at the unintended double entendre, but he managed to control his unruly thoughts. “Perhaps something about the meal put her in bad humor. If you will excuse me, I could use a brandy for the digestion myself.” And with that, Stone left Hugh and the Marquess of Wiggington.

After an hour of conversation and the opportunity to relieve themselves, the men rejoined the ladies just in time to step outside for a lakeside surprise courtesy of their host and hostess. He dearly hoped it would not be yet another reenactment of the Battle of Trafalgar. It had happened sixty odd years earlier, and no one deserved to be bored to death in such a manner.

---

Theo took her husband’s arm, happy to be shed of the company of the Marquess of Wiggington. The man had been alternately crude and insulting throughout their meal. At one point, she quietly took her fork and jabbed him in the leg. Then she leaned in and warned him to behave himself lest the fork accidentally slide deeper the next time. The prevailing silence after her warning added to watching him limp into the billiards room had been worth the risk. The man was unbearable.

Of course, to be fair, not one man she’d ever met compared to Stone. He embodied what a man should be: fierce, protective, kind, and gentle, with an integrity and moral compass that pointed true. A soldier to his core, he was capable of defending what was his. Certainly, he had vulnerabilities as any human would. His nightmares occasionally woke her up, but since he still had not brought them up, she too stayed silent. Besides, they had improved over time, or so it seemed to her, and she slept beside him every night.

Stone had also proven to be overly dedicated to his work, to the point she often had to drag him from his desk. That tendency made their time at the Hawksburys’ all the more special, since he eschewed bringing any work along. As the guests spilled out onto the back lawn of the Grange, Theo and Stone slowed their walk to steal a private moment.

“How was your dinner, wife?” He covered her hand with his own where it rested in the crook of his arm.

“Tolerable once the pests were taken care of.” She blinked at him and tried to look as innocent as possible.

He chuckled. “I feared for a moment there would be bloodshed before the evening was through.”

She couldn’t keep the heat from simmering in her cheeks. Her husband knew her too well. “I fear a small amount may have been spilt.”

“I see, so you did stab him with your fork? I thought perhaps he had escaped your wrath,” Stone said with an easy contentment that said he was not upset by her revelation.

“I merely poked him a bit. The insufferable man kept blathering on about how his wife will one day remain locked away in their house while he tends to whatever it was he seemed to think would be his business. I had to stop listening while I decided if drawing blood was worth the risk both to my dress and my social standing. As you can see, my dress is unstained.” She smiled and held her skirts out to one side to better display their pristine condition.

“You are a minx, my lady.” The group had neared the rim of the lake, but they remained a little apart so they could continue to chat. “Did you notice Lady Atherton?”

Theo chewed her lip. She suspected the woman was half-drunk, but then she frequently seemed so. “I did notice she was a bit in her cups.”

“Yes, well, I fear her husband is unaware, although how that might be is a bit of a stumper.” Stone lifted a brow as Theo drew a breath to speak.

“If she is, it truly is none of our affair. One can only imagine what might drive her to drink.” She patted his arm, enjoying the play of muscles beneath the fine cloth of his evening attire. “Stone, do you supp—oh!” Her words cut off as a loud whining hiss ripped through the air, announcing the first firework as it sparkled to life in the night sky.

As the second explosive launched, Theo found herself hauled behind the nearest bushes and shoved beneath a heavy body.