Weddings were  exhausting. It felt like a three-day event crammed into one and Claude for one, was ready for bed. After the wedding itself, being social all damn day and then traveling to Australia on top of it, he would really rather just sleep the day away at this point. The fact that it was daytime in Australia wasn't lost on him either. Truth be told he could probably sleep the next twenty-four hours and be perfectly fine with it.

However that is not what one did on one's wedding night, er day, so after they'd arrived at the charming little manor that had been rented and Ellory was whisked away by the maid, Claude was left alone to his thoughts. The first thing he did was pour himself a healthy measure of whiskey and down it in one sip. It helped settle the anxiety almost immediately. It wasn't as if Claude was unfamiliar with what was about to happen, in fact he was very familiar with it (so was the desk at home in Wellingtonshire) and he wasn't nervous really, more like awkward and he knew this would be nothing short of some level of mortifying. Ugh. He poured himself another glass of amber liquid and proceeded to wash up.

He didn't have to wait long for a knock at the door, presumably the same maid, but it was the only indication he would get that his prep time was over. Sighing, he finished off the second glass of liquor and made his way into Ellory's adjoining room. It was weird to see his cousin- the same girl he'd practically watch grow up, in a delicate nightgown and very much looking the part of newlywed wife. His newlywed wife, no less.

Before he could even get awkward about anything, Ellory blurted out some nonsense told to her by his cousin's wife and Claude couldn't help the following burst of laughter that escaped his lips. 'I'm sure bedding Tiberius is torture, but you, Darling, have been severely misinformed. No dueling necessary." Well that certainly put the awkward on pause, even as he perched himself carefully on the edge of the bed.