Page 49 of A Gentleman's Wager

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Lucerne

Lucerne watched Charles push aside the remains of a dish of Yorkshire pudding and gravy, before burying his nose in his second tankard of ale. They’d been in the tavern over an hour, he and Vaughan dancing uneasily around all the things they needed to say to one another, while Charles rambled on seemingly oblivious to the tension between them.

He noted Vaughan idly dipping a fingertip into his mulled wine, a sure sign of growing impatience.

“We ought to head home soon. I do have other guests.” It would be unchivalrous to abandon the ladies entirely.

“What?” Charles gasped, his voice making an undignified panicked screech that turned numerous heads in their direction. “We haven’t had our pudding yet.” He sounded close to panic.

Lucerne shook his head in exasperation. He and Vaughan had contented themselves with a spoon apiece and some cheese.

“How much pudding can one man eat?” Vaughan sniped.

Ignoring them both, Charles summoned the buxom serving girl and ordered a bowl of stewed plums. “B’gad,” he muttered the moment her back was turned. “What I wouldn’t give to pour cream over those dumplings.”

Lucerne caught Vaughan’s gaze and they shared a look of mutual distaste.

“Lucerne, about that matter we were discussing earlier, perhaps while Charles finishes his repast…?”

Yes.” Lucerne stood abruptly. If they left the matter until they returned to the intimacy of Lauwine it would be fraught with additional peril. Much safer to discuss it here in the tavern where there were obvious limitations on their actions and how they might address one another. “Outside?”

“I believe there’s a private room at the back.”

“Oh.” That would lend more privacy to the matter than he’d been anticipating.

“You don’t mind, Aubury, do you?”

Charles gave them a disapproving glare. “Well, I could take great offence at the exclusion. All this secrecy, and whatnot…” He abruptly closed his mouth, as the girl returned with his dessert, and leaned across the table to set the dish before him. His eyes and tongue both nearly fell out of his head. Vaughan made use of the distraction to steer Lucerne towards the rear of the inn.

A mere nod in the direction of the landlord secured them the use of the private sitting room. While snug, it was handsomely furnished with solid leather chairs and thick oak beams overhead and a decent blaze. Lucerne crossed to the fireplace but avoided taking a seat. This wasn’t the sort of conversation one had sitting down.

“Vaughan…”

The marquis dropped the latch, then threw himself into a chair and lifted his elegantly heeled boots onto the fender. Apparently, this was another point over which they had a difference of opinion. Goddammit, he hoped they could keep this amicable. If it came out at court, that their friendship had worn thin, then the bucks would make a scandal into a tragedy.

“For damnations sake, Lucerne, this is already boring. Why don’t you simply speak your mind?”

As Vaughan returned his feet to the floor, Lucerne bowed his head and sighed. What the devil was he supposed to say. That he craved… what precisely? He could not even articulate his own emotions, let alone quantify his extremely imprecise thoughts. The lure, the pull between them that had existed since the very earliest days of their acquaintance remained unchanged, but it wasn’t something either of them ought to seek to grow. Yet, here they were, Vaughan watching him expectantly, expecting hell knows what—capitulation?

Lucerne pressed his fingertips to his temples. He’d never expected this to be easy. “You ask too much. Can’t we go on… Can’t you accept things as they are?”

“No. I was spoiled as a child, and therefore have to have my own way. You of all people know that.”

“This is not a joking matter. What you ask, it’s…”

Vaughan left his seat and came to stand at Lucerne’s side. He gently touched his coat sleeve. “What I want is only what you yourself desire. The only difference between us, is that I’m prepared to admit it. Please, Lucerne. What is so very wrong with the notion.”

“You know. You know as well as I how very deplorable the world finds such practice. Two men cannot… It’s impossible. How can we?”

To Lucerne’s utter confusion his words raised a smile.

“What?”

Vaughan raised his hand in a shrug. “You admit the temptation, that’s a start. More than you’ve admitted before.”

Dammit, he had, hadn’t he? That was not what he’d intended. Troubled, he plucked at his cuffs.