“Yeah, me and her. You think you’ve got it tough having to learn a few table manners? When the world learns who you are, they will throw rose petals in your path and treat you like a long-lost hero. When they learn that I put my grubby hands on Gwendolyn Blackstone Kellerman, they’ll spit on me.”

He cringed even thinking about it, but he’d be a fool to think otherwise.

Gwen left to buy something for dinner as an excuse to get away from Liam, who was getting on her last nerve. She had never liked the Queens campus. Smack in the center of the city, it didn’t seem like a college campus to her, but it would be a good place to keep Liam out of sight until he shed his atrocious manners. Nobody could actually be as stupidly crass as Liam Malone, could they? Thank heaven Patrick was here to play the peacemaker, because he seemed to be the only person Liam respected.

Things didn’t get any better when they sat down for dinner in the common room. During the academic year, students used this room for dining, group lectures, and studying. It was an interior room with no windows and was furnished only with two large tables, a single stove, and a couple of shelves for dishes.

Gwen brewed a pot of tea, and Patrick set out the crusty Italian sandwiches she’d bought at the deli next door.

“You must grasp a teacup by its handle,” she instructed after Liam palmed the bowl of the cup. “Tip the cup rather than throwing your entire head back like a sea gull guzzling down a fish.”

“You people have rules for how a man should swallow?” Liam challenged.

“We have rules for everything.” She pretended not to notice when Liam rolled his eyes, but she couldn’t ignore the way he hunkered down to eat his sandwich. “Sit up straight and bring your food to your face, not your face down to the food,” she said politely.

Liam ignored her until Patrick kicked him under the table, and Liam reluctantly sat up straighter.

She kept her face serene as she continued speaking. “Tomorrow we’ll go shopping for new clothes because looking like a gentleman requires a suitable wardrobe.”

She could only pray that once properly attired, Liam might start behaving better. Something about a starched collar and a fine waistcoat seemed to instill a certain level of decorum in men.