“Then don’t let it bother you, Kit, if it’s no more than a coincidence, that the two women share the same name,” Walter suggested.

“A damned strange coincidence,” Christopher replied, his original scowl a bit more pronounced. “Especially considering it’s not a name that is even remotely common to England. Besides, I just don’t like coincidences that happen to be that coincidental.”

“Don’t blame you a’tall. Definitely strange. But let’s get back to your Anna,” Walter tried again. “Why did she leave you?”

Walter was pushing it. If Christopher had wanted to discuss his Gypsy with them, he would have done so before now. Yet considering the flaming jealousy he’d just experienced, when he knew those young men weren’t even talking about his Anna, well, he obviously did need to talk about it, if only to get his mind off of that other girl, who was running around with his Anna’s name.

So he said curtly, “Because she objected to my thinking and saying she was my mistress.”

“Thinking?” David latched on to that word. “I know you got quite foxed the day before. Did you forget to square away the formalities and ask her?”

“No, I did some asking, but apparently not what I’d intended to ask,” Christopher mumbled. “Seems instead of making her my mistress, I made her my wife.”

Their identical shocked expressions merely confirmed why he should have kept this to himself. A man in his position just didn’t make such appalling blunders.

David was the first to recover from his surprise. But he didn’t point out the obvious, which Christopher wouldn’t have appreciated, having said it enough times himself. Everyone knew what he’d done just wasn’t done.

And his tone was deliberately calm as he said, “Well, that proves Thompson’s niece really isn’t the same girl, just in case we were doubting it a’tall. Your wife wouldn’t be launching herself in the tried-and-true husband-hunting fashion, now would she?”

Walter rolled his eyes at that reasoning, but what he wanted to know was, “How does one get so drunk that they don’t recall getting married?”

“By drinking too much, obviously,” Christopher replied in self-disgust.

“I suppose,” Walter allowed. “But of course, you’ve rectified the situation?”

“Not yet,” Christopher mumbled so softly, he barely heard himself.

Walter certainly missed it, and rather than take the hint that Christopher obviously didn’t want to answer, he asked for clarification. “What was that?”

“I said not yet!”

The explosive answer still didn’t stop his next question, “Whyever not?”

“Damned if I know.” Christopher scowled.