“Or”—to be well acquainted with Lady Marleigh was to understand that fortitude was not always a virtue—“he could simply be happy you’re alive.” “And then what? Do we go riding? Do we wrestle and fence and shoot, and bathe naked together? Does he take me to brothels and gambling hells, and drink with me late into the night, while telling me of the women he woos?” Lady Marleigh blinked. “I’m sure there must be other options.” “What other options? Men and women are permitted to interact in three ways: marriage, ruination, and polite indifference.”
