‘And yet you are…’ Albert added quizzically.
‘Purely to satisfy my father’s wishes. It is my intention to wed quickly, and my hope to live quite separate lives from one another – our union is to gratify a condition and certainly not to embark upon any great romance or any such fantastical delusion,’ Caleb laid out his plans.
Albert nodded sombrely.
‘I have secured a special license for our nuptials,’ Caleb told Albert.
‘You have!?’
Caleb nodded.
‘To just get the thing done?’ Albert queried.
Caleb smiled and nodded – Albert seemed to be the only one who understood him without him having to make justifications.
‘I grew up with parents who should never have been married,’ Caleb confided. ‘The family home was a miserable place to spend time. My mother never gave my father any grace. She made his life laborious with her constant gripes and demands. I never want that. I will be content if my Duchess carves her own life quite independently from me and bothers me only when it suits me to be bothered.’
‘You may yet find though, that Lady Hannah surprises you,’ Albert suggested, leaning forward.
This both piqued Caleb’s interest and worried him in the same instance.
‘How so?’
‘I hear she is quite the talented artist!’ Albert revealed with a mischievous grin.
‘Oh. I heard something about her art…’ Caleb brushed it off.
‘Lady Sophia Camden is her closest friend-’ Albert began.
‘Ah yes!’ Now Caleb smiled broadly. ‘Speak to me of your Lady Sophia Camden!’
‘Notmine,Caleb-’ Albert corrected ‘Not yet, anyway…’ he added in jest.
‘The two ladies are close confidantes and I have heard Sophia speak so very highly of Lady Hannah’s artwork. You may yet be astonished,’ Albert suggested, swilling his whiskey around in his glass.
‘By her art?’ Caleb lifted one eyebrow, unconvinced.
‘By the lady herself. One does not portray art worth speaking about without having first had something notable to say…’ Albert asserted.
Caleb pondered this a moment.
‘Promise me something-’ Albert requested.
Caleb tipped his chin, awaiting the instruction.
‘Give Lady Hannah the chance to show you who she is, before you ascribe her to the same category as your mother. If I may be bold, I do not believe all women are of the same ilk as your mother.’
Albert slipped a cheeky half-grin in after his comment, testing if this were an appropriate statement.
Caleb half-smiled back, acknowledging his brazenness.
‘Quite right, I am aware my mother is a force. But tell me, Albert. When we met at Eton, did you not confide in me that it was quieter in the boy’s dormitory than in your parents’ drawing room at home?’
Albert laughed, recalling the memory.
‘As we threw pillows at one another’s heads and yelled competitive sports chants, did you not comment that we still could not match the volume of your parents’ arguments?’
Albert threw up his hands ‘I concede! Accepted – my parents were wont to quarrel, loudly and with vigour, indeed.’
