Page 115 of Dick Stone, Regency Stud
She hummed, doing rather more with the fabric than even a seasoned valet.
“If it were simple, wouldn’t I have figured it out all those years ago?” he asked, resisting his desire to stand and pace because it would send Tabby sprawling.
“Everything is different now.”
“What’s different? I might have a courtesy title and a little income from breeding, but I’m still a disgraced former soldier who is sticking his cock where he shouldn’t!”
Tabby shoved his shoulder and arranged her face until she was both ferocious and adorable. Funny how she could do that.
“Damn you, Dick Stone! If you believe that, you’re cork-brained.”
Now, what was she on about!
“Look at yourself today,” she said, tapping on the flask inside his coat, her eyebrows pinched together. “What were you drinking in those days, back in Portugal?”
“Had a fondness for brandy,” he said with a smile as he recalled the casks they’d liberated after a skirmish with the French. “Madeira.”
“You marinated in the drink and chased every skirt in town? Is that what you’re doing now?”
“No,” he groused. “But—”
“And are you currently at risk of the firing squad or moments from arrest?”
“You know I’m not, but—”
“I don’t want to hear your doubts, Edward!” she cried. “Have you forgotten that your awful father has Tencendor?”
“Of course not,” he muttered.
“And now you have an associate. Or maybe you had another me in Portugal?” she asked, her right eyebrow raised.
“I offended every associate I had in those days,” he said with a chuckle. “Mostly by fucking their favorite girl or wife, but don’t underestimate my ability to drive people away.”
“Is that so?” she asked, finally finishing his cravat. He looked down at it.
“A mailcoach? And a competent one at that. You really are a prize, Tabby cat.”
She poked him in the center of the knotted fabric. “And don’t you forget it!”
Edward grabbed her hand and kissed her fingers while contemplating how to discover the truth of the treason rumors. And then he recalled Tabitha was sitting on his lap and looking very charming indeed. Her wig was tempting him, but he knew better than to muss her up right now.
“Don’t look at me like that, Dick Stone,” she said softly.
“Like what?” he asked, nipping at her ear.
“Like you’d rather devour me than save your horse.”
Well, she certainly knew how to throw cold water on a fattening cock.
“In the army, did you ever run away? Ever back down from a fight?” she asked, warming to the topic of why he should charge forward.
“Plenty of times,” he said. “Retreating is a perfectly acceptable option provided a commander gives the order.”
She visibly deflated. “I didn’t expect you to say that. You really mean…you sometimes ran away in battle?”
“Plenty of times,” he said with a shrug. “That’s why I’m still around to fuck you. And why Tencendor is alive to enjoy my father’s hospitality. He galloped away too; it wasn’t just me.”
“Oh.”
