Emrys flicked his cigarette irritably. "I've spent most of my life with no one much caring about my affairs and I've gotten used to it," he explained. Being the middle child and following such a troublesome brother had meant that his parents had never spared a second thought for him, which he was perfectly content with. Trystan had affairs and had marriages arranged for him; Emrys had affairs and no one even knew about it, because no one was paying attention. Had their positions been reversed, Emrys expected he would have been married and miserable long ago. He only got away with as much as he did because no one had any reason to look too closely at his lifestyle. Particularly if they were interested in seeing whether or not he was sleeping with men — he wasn't going to any great lengths to hide it, at this point, and it would have been irritating to have to start. "So if anyone is inclined to start taking an interest, it's bothersome."

Trystan's second point, about a laid back wife, was perhaps not as illustrative as he assumed it would be. Emrys wasn't sure he had ever met a woman who he would describe as laid back — well, maybe Esther, but she wasn't exactly marriage material.

"I was thinking a second house might do it," he mused. "If I can force her to stay out of mine."