Chapter 6 #2
“If you keep drinking like that, men will at best think you some kind of snob and at worst, French.” He made a disgusted noise and thought he caught the corner of a smile on Lady Adelaide’s face. “Only use one hand.”
“Like this?” Lady Adelaide gripped the tankard with one hand, but it nearly slipped from her grasp as she lifted it.
“No.” Warner shook his head and reached across the table, cupping his fingers around hers.
He heard the sharp intake of her breath as he guided her fingers through the handle of the tankard, pressing them against the cool clay. Her skin was soft and warm against his palm, the feel of it lingered as he took his hand back and grasped his own tankard.
“This is how a man drinks.” He held his drink up and took a gulp, trying to ignore the flutter of his heart in his chest.
He noticed a faint red flush creeping up Lady Adelaide’s neck and cheeks. She drank from her own cup, raising her eyebrow as she did so. “Manly enough for you?”
The corner of his mouth quirked upwards, and he nodded. “That is an improvement, but you still have more to learn.”
“Of course, I do.” She rolled her eyes. “What else do you wish to pick apart? My shoes?”
Warner almost looked down but stopped himself just in time, shaking his head. “I am sure they are fine, men seldom look at a person’s shoes anyway, but we do need to do something about the way you sit.”
“What is wrong with it?” Lady Adelaide shifted, folding her arms across her chest.
He arched an eyebrow at her and leaned back in his chair, slinging an arm over the back of it. “Men take up space. You are far too contained. Lean back, yes, like that.”
He watched as Lady Adelaide imitated him, leaning back in her chair and leaning her head against her hand. His stomach twisted, but he nodded.
“Better, but you need to spread your legs.” He made a motion with his hand.
Her eyes widened as she placed a hand on her chest. “I beg your pardon.”
Warner choked on his drink. “I did not mean like that. I would never… I mean… Men cannot sit with their legs so close together, not without some discomfort.”
“What do you — Oh!” Lady Adelaide’s cheeks were so flushed; Warner could practically feel the heat coming from them.
At least she is just as flustered as me. He tugged at his collar as she shifted and moved her legs apart, imitating his own stance. “That’s better.”
“So what next?” she asked, taking a sip of her drink. “You still have not shown me how to drink without actually drinking.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a deck of cards. “It is all about distraction.”
Warner felt her eyes on him as he tossed the cards artfully between his hands, cutting the deck and shuffling with a practiced ease. Her eyes widened, and he canted his head towards her as he dealt.
“Where did you learn that? You are better than the dealer at the gambling hall!” Her smile lit up her entire face with a kind of girlish excitement that forced the corners of his own lips upwards.
He dealt out the cards with a flourish. “Let us call it a legacy of my younger, wilder days.”
“I find that hard to imagine.” She laughed softly.
“What, that I was a young man? I assure you, I did not spring from the womb like this.” He gestured to himself, and felt her eyes follow the motion of his hands, tracing his body with her gaze.
“Was that a joke, Your Grace?” She arched an eyebrow at him, her eyes full of mischief.
“I am capable of such things you know.”
“So I am learning.” She took a swig of her drink and fanned out her cards. “I take it this showmanship is a part of your distraction.”
She reached across and tilted his now half-empty tankard towards her. “I know you have not drunk that much.”
He nodded. “But you did not see when I disposed of it, did you?”
“No.” Lady Adelaide shook her head, and strands of hair fell from her hat.
Warner swallowed the urge to reach across and move them from her face. “Then you must pay closer attention.”
“I will.” She took another sip of her drink, her lips pressed against the tankard. “It is a shame that you are not like this more often; perhaps you should let the legacy of your youthful days come out to play more.”
Warner froze, his tankard pressed to his lips. “No.”
“Why not?” She leaned forwards, canting her head towards him.
Warner shook his head, and his cousin’s eyes sparkled in his mind. You are a duke; it is high time you acted like it. What was he doing? He was sitting across from his cousin’s widow, teaching her how to be a man? Sharing tricks from a time he had sworn to never revisit?
“I think we should end the lesson there.” Warner stood up and shrugged on his coat.
“But —” Lady Adelaide began but he held up a hand to silence her.
“It is late. I will escort you safely home.”
“What about the King’s Arms?” Lady Adelaide grabbed his arm as they walked out of the room.
“It will still be there tomorrow and the day after when you have had time to learn the skills you will need to be safe.” He glanced down at her hand clasped around his forearm. “But you are not ready for that, Mr. George. Not yet.”
He expected her to argue, but she did not. Instead, she nodded, and he could not tell if he was more unsettled by her acquiescence or the fact that he seemed to want her to fight him.
She is far too dangerous to be around.