Once the meal was over, Earl Totbu invited a group to the sitting room.
"Perhaps we could speak of the future, while the ladies enjoy a refreshment before the guests arrive?" He offered.
It was tradition that the ladies split off to do their own thing after breakfast. Mostly because they found the men's talk of business dreadfully dull, but also so that they could speak freely without their husbands present to call out the blatant slander.
Not every Noble marriage worked out as well as Dominic and Alexis. Most simply tolerated each other, or had developed a fondness for each other over the years that was closer to that of trusted coworkers.
The moment that the men were gone, everyone turned to her, eager for the latest gossip.
"So, what is the deal? Did the Duke turn a fond eye to the daughter of a Baron as a concubine? Or are you one of his wife's people, here to make sure that he behaves?"
