Page 44 of Married to the Earl

“I suppose you’re right,” Conor said, not wanting to explain further and take the risk that Henry would think him weak. “All right, you can stay for supper. We’ll make it a working supper.”Astrid can dine in her room for once. I don’t think she’ll mind when I explain the reason to her.

“A working supper?” Henry asked. “Why?”

“I thought you were upset that I hadn’t been involving myself in the work of running The Arc,” Conor said. “Isn’t that why you came here? I assumed you had something you wanted to consult with me about.”

“No, no,” Henry laughed. “I want you to come back to work because I’m tired of holding down the fort on your behalf, but that doesn’t mean I can’t handle it. I’m perfectly capable of managing the books by myself.”

“I know you are,” Conor agreed.

“In fact,” Henry said slowly, “All I really ever needed you for was startup capital…My Lord.”

Conor hesitated, examining his friend’s face. Could Henry have guessed that Conor wanted to give him a more prominent place in The Arc’s management? Was this his way of indicating that he was interested in that?

I haven’t spent enough time with Henry lately,he realized.It’s not just work that I’ve been neglecting, it’s my friendship too.Henry was really the only friend Conor had thanks to his unpleasant reputation among members of theton, and Conor couldn’t afford to be too cavalier about it.

“All right,” he said. “A social supper then.”

“And your wife will join us, of course?”

“If that’s what you’d like,” Conor said, at a loss to see why that mattered to Henry but he was eager to make his friend happy.

“Of course,” Henry said. “She’s your wife. I’ve only met her once, and I’d like to get to know her better now that she’s going to be a regular figure in our lives.”

“Oh,” Conor said, surprised. “I didn’t realize you felt that way.”

“I do. You’re my best friend.”

Conor felt a warm flood of gratitude fill him. “Thank you, Henry. Truly.” It was difficult for him to convey such a sincere emotion—it felt awkward and embarrassing. But Henry was going out of his way, trying to be a part of the new life Conor and Astrid were building. Conor could make an effort to include him.

Henry’s eyebrows lifted. “Don’t get all sentimental on me.”

“It’s just that I really appreciate you taking the trouble,” Conor said.

Henry laughed. “I guess the wife is bringing out a softer side in you already, isn’t she?”

“Maybe,” Conor murmured, slightly embarrassed. He cast about for a change of subject. “We’re having chicken for dinner,” he said. “It’s Astrid’s favorite.”

“Your cook makes good chicken,” Henry remembered.

“My cook is good at everything.” This was a topic with which Conor was more comfortable. “If you came over to eat more often, you would know that.”

“Well, now that you have a woman in the house, maybe I will,” Henry said with a grin.

“Be careful,” Conor warned. “I won’t have you making her uncomfortable with your jokes and your flirtations. She’s a sheltered girl.”

“Oh, I’m not going to do anything to her,” Henry laughed. “Go and get her, why don’t you? This is going to be a fun evening.”

Conor nodded. “Go and ask DuBois to escort you into the dining room. Astrid and I will meet you there,” he said. “And let DuBois know that you’re staying for supper, so that he can inform the kitchen.”

“Yes, My Lord,” Henry said.

Conor rolled his eyes. His friend never used his title except to mock him. Conor was used to that. They were too close for formalities. But now, on the verge of spending an evening with Henry and Astrid together, he wondered what they would think of each other’s quirks.

For a moment, he thought about trying to get out of the meal. Astrid had seen quite a bit of him over the past two weeks. She knew intimate things about him that he had never revealed to anyone else. Would she know to keep her mouth shut?

She knows my weaknesses, he thought.And I can’t have those getting out, not even to my business associates.

He would just have to hope that Astrid had learned enough of the ways of the noble class to behave herself at supper with a guest.

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