Niall worked up the nerve to ask a few pointed questions, he would never be able to determine just what Blake was and how he felt about him.
“Right,” Blake said after taking a long swig of his wine and opening his Latin book. “There’s no telling what might come up.” He paused, his eyes shining. “On the exam.” He cleared his throat. “So we should start with languages. I know Professor Carroll is a stickler for conjugations.”
“Aren’t we all sticklers for conjugations?” Niall said with a wry grin, then hid the lame attempt at a joke by downing half of his wine in a few gulps. He had the distinct feeling he was going to need it to get through the night, and he hoped Blake had more stowed away somewhere.
Latin proved to be more of a distraction than he would have accounted for. As soon as they began studying in earnest, Blake grew incredibly serious about academia. It didn’t take Niall long to realize that, as intelligent as he knew he was, he was outmatched by Blake’s intellect. But as the study session progressed, Niall began to notice that Blake’s attention was easily scattered.
“That’s odd,” he said with a pinched grin as they reviewed the plot and key motifs of The Iliad. “Did you get your inspiration for Siegfried and Greta from Homer?” He leaned forward slightly, reaching for the wine bottle to pour himself a second glass.
Niall glanced from Blake’s hand on the bottle to the nervous shine in Blake’s eyes to his reddened lips, then back to his eyes. “Classic literature is full of tales of women who have been stolen from someone or another and given to men who don’t deserve them to serve as wives and concubines.”
“Concubines.” Blake chuckled. “That’s a fun word. It implies all of the fun and none of the commitment.”
Niall arched one eyebrow, wondering if one glass of wine had been enough to make Blake drunk or if he was babbling because he was nervous. “You don’t like commitment?” he asked.
Blake’s face pinched as though he’d said something wrong. “I adore the idea of commitment.” He glanced briefly to Niall once he finished pouring, but didn’t seem to be able to hold his gaze. “It must be wonderful to find someone who you want to spend the rest of your life with, grow old with, experience the joys and sorrows of life with. Who wouldn’t want to commit to something like that?”
He took a long drink from his refreshed glass. Niall watched him, sensing something was wrong. His heart beat faster. There were far more facets to being the sort of man he was than deciding who to go to bed with. If Blake really was like him, commitment, even on an emotional level, could be a serious problem.
As if Blake could read Niall’s thoughts, he rushed on with, “The trouble is who one is expected to spend the rest of his life with. From where I’m sitting, the rest of my life seems like a very long time.” He met Niall’s eyes with a devastating seriousness. Niall read his expression as the proof he was looking for that Blake wanted him. Until he turned around and said, “As a student, of course. And as a future duke. I’ll be extraordinarily lucky if I’m allowed to choose my own wife.” He punctuated his comment by taking a long drink—or rather, by lifting his wineglass to his mouth in a way that hid his face.
Niall watched him intently for a few more seconds before sighing and saying, “I’m not sure that being a concubine was as fun as you make it out to be. None of those poor girls had any more choice in the matter than you do. It’s astounding how little choice we actually have in whom we love.” He fixed Blake with a gaze meant to bore into his soul. Come hell or high water, he was going to determine Blake’s nature by the end of the evening, even if it killed him.
“You’re right about that,” Blake said, avoiding looking directly at him. He finished half his glass of wine and put the glass on the table with a sigh, then clapped both hands to the table top. “Enough of these dusty old classics. I don’t think I can sit at this table for another second. Why don’t we take this opportunity to run lines for your play instead?”
Niall’s brow shot up, and he watched as Blake leapt restlessly