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LONDON, ENGLAND 1837 four months after the birth of Princess Victoria
"You are in a mood, Kingfield."
Theo scowled at his new brother-in-law. He was in a mood. And it was a mood that was not made better by Lord Trotten pestering him.
"Why is it that you are even here, Will?" Theo shifted in his seat, tossing one leg over the other as he watched the other man relax back in the opposite armchair. He was getting comfortable—too comfortable. Theo sighed. "Don't you have other things to do?"
Will smirked, and Theo already knew that he would hate whatever came out of his mouth. "Do? You mean, like your sister? Yes, well, she is still sleeping after—"
"Can you not," Theo cut in with a growl. He had half a mind to throw his morning whiskey at Will. Instead, he said, "I should have challenged you to a duel when I had the chance."
Will threw his head back with a laugh. "Oh, come off it, Kingfield. What has really got your cravat in a twist?"
"Is this honestly why you've come? Simply to pester me?"
Will merely shrugged, but he had a knowing grin on his face that Theo would like to wipe off. He remembered how good it felt to hit that face once or twice.
"You've already gotten your hands on my sister—"
"—oh, I definitely have."
"What more do you want?" Theo finished with a scowl, his brain catching up with what Trotten had inserted.
Will merely sat there, an amused expression on his face. Theo should start requiring his visitors to state their purpose before admitting them. That might rid the errant visitor, specifically Lord Trotten or Lord Farrington, who seemed to show up with alarming frequency lately for absolutely no reason at all.
And Theo was not in the mood.
With a sigh, he said, "I do not have time for your games, Will."
Trotten lifted an annoying brow. "You do not? What precisely am I keeping you from attending to, Kingfield?"
Theo narrowed his eyes and threw back the rest of his whiskey, enjoying how it burned in his throat. As it turned out, there was nothing that Will was keeping him from. Naturally, Will knew this. And after a long moment, the viscount apparently took pity on him.
Sighing, Will said, "Look, I am simply here to distract you. Perhaps you might fancy a round of fencing at the club? Leo thought he might—"
"I do not need your pity, Trotten. Or Farrington's," Theo bit out. "And a round at the club is hardly going to take my mind off of it. I shall still be thinking of it and then promptly stick you in the face."
Although, now that Theo thought about it, perhaps sticking Will in the face wouldn't be so bad after all.
"That's what the mask is for, is it not?" Will said with a low chuckle. But when he saw Theo's face, his mouth set back into a thin line. "Alright, fine. So you do not wish to be distracted." There was a slight pause before Will ventured, "Would you prefer to talk about it?"
