Oh. It was the word normal that did it. Of course being unmarried was abnormal. Being a politely-termed confirmed bachelor would just be another nail in the coffin. And if people were already saying things about Prewett and Picardy, it was inevitable that sooner or later they would be muttering the same things about him.
And Jude was used to muttered remarks, and used to Kieran’s criticisms, so he had thought himself impervious to them both... but there was something about this and how close to home it hit (and having to hear it from the last person he wanted this advice from) that made his shoulders tense and his heart beat that much faster.
“Right.” Seem more normal than his competitors. Great chance of that. “You mean as long as I make an effort to prove there’s no sodomy in my schedule?” Jude said with a raised eyebrow, as if to make quite sure he understood things plainly. (His tone was low, even if the place was empty, and he wouldn’t have aired it so flippantly to just anyone – he didn’t want to be counter-productive to the campaign.)
There wasn’t, in fact, any sodomising going on in his life, though that was more a lack of prioritisation than the lack of inclination. Jude supposed perhaps that was fortunate, after all.
And Jude was used to muttered remarks, and used to Kieran’s criticisms, so he had thought himself impervious to them both... but there was something about this and how close to home it hit (and having to hear it from the last person he wanted this advice from) that made his shoulders tense and his heart beat that much faster.
“Right.” Seem more normal than his competitors. Great chance of that. “You mean as long as I make an effort to prove there’s no sodomy in my schedule?” Jude said with a raised eyebrow, as if to make quite sure he understood things plainly. (His tone was low, even if the place was empty, and he wouldn’t have aired it so flippantly to just anyone – he didn’t want to be counter-productive to the campaign.)
There wasn’t, in fact, any sodomising going on in his life, though that was more a lack of prioritisation than the lack of inclination. Jude supposed perhaps that was fortunate, after all.
