The drawing room was beautifully lit by dozens of candles. Sitting in the center of the room, resting on a luxurious velvet armchair, was an older man. He had thick, silver-white hair and a very sharp, intimidating face that looked exactly like Damon’s. He held a cane with a silver handle.

This was Duke Carson.

As soon as Damon and Camilla entered the room, the old Duke looked up. His sharp eyes immediately focused on them.

"You two are finally back," Duke Carson spoke.

His voice was deep, commanding, and echoed loudly in the room. He did not sound angry, but he sounded very strict.

He leaned forward slightly, resting his hands on the silver handle of his cane.

"Where did you two go," Duke Carson asked, looking back and forth between them, "that you are coming back by this late hour?"

Damon and Camilla both froze. They had not discussed an excuse. They had not practiced their lie.

Panic seized them both. They both opened their mouths to answer at the exact same time, wanting to sound innocent and natural.

"The dressmaker," Damon said quickly, choosing a normal female activity.

"Market," Camilla said quickly, choosing a normal outdoor activity.

They spoke at the exact same second. Their conflicting answers hung awkwardly in the quiet air of the drawing room.

The old Duke raised a thick, silver eyebrow. He looked highly suspicious.

Damon and Camilla quickly turned their heads and looked at each other with wide, panicked eyes. They realized their mistake instantly. They needed to fix it. They both tried to correct themselves at the exact same time again, trying to say what the other person had just said.

"Market," Damon corrected himself loudly.

"The dressmaker," Camilla corrected herself loudly.

They had just swapped their lies. The situation was completely, totally disastrous. It was obvious they were hiding something.

Camilla squeezed her eyes shut for a second.

Inside her head, she wanted to scream at Damon for being so terrible at lying.

She opened her eyes and glared at Damon with hidden fury. She gave him a sharp, warning look that clearly said: Shut up and let me do the talking!

Camilla quickly turned her face back to Duke Carson. She let out a soft, very nervous smile. She let out a gentle, highly fake chuckle.

"Grandfather," Camilla said smoothly, her voice sounding sweet and slightly embarrassed. She stepped closer to Damon and wrapped her hands gently around his strong arm.

"We went to the market first, and then the dressmaker," Camilla explained, weaving their two terrible lies together perfectly into one believable story. "I needed some new things for the upcoming season, and my wonderful husband kindly accompanied me all day to help me carry my packages."

Damon quickly closed his mouth. He nodded his head firmly, agreeing with her lie completely.

Duke Carson stared at them for a long moment. He looked at Damon’s coat wrapped tightly around Camilla’s small shoulders. He looked at Camilla holding Damon’s arm.

Slowly, the strict, intimidating look on the old Duke’s face completely melted away. He smiled a very warm, satisfied smile.

"Alright then," Duke Carson replied, nodding his head approvingly. It pleased him greatly to see his cold grandson finally spending a normal day out shopping with his wife.

Damon and Camilla let out a secret, unified breath of deep relief. They walked over to a comfortable velvet sofa across from the Duke and sat down together. Camilla kept her hands wrapped softly around Damon’s arm, playing her part perfectly.

Damon looked at his grandfather.

"What brings you here, grandfather?" Damon asked, his voice returning to its normal, calm tone. "You hardly ever leave the main estate. Is something wrong? Is there a problem in the capital?"

Duke Carson shook his silver head slowly. He looked completely relaxed.

"No, nothing is wrong," Carson replied. He tapped his wooden cane gently against the floor. "I came simply to see you two. I have heard many interesting reports from Murry lately, and I wanted to see the progress with my own eyes."

Carson turned his sharp eyes completely away from Damon. He focused his attention entirely on Camilla. His face became very serious and highly protective.

"I hope he is not bullying you, my dear?" Carson asked Camilla directly, his voice softening slightly. "Damon has a very difficult temper. He is used to commanding rough soldiers, not speaking to a gentle lady."

The old Duke pointed his silver cane directly at Damon’s chest.

"If he ever treats you badly," Carson promised firmly, "you just let me know. I will take my cane and beat some proper manners into his thick skull myself."

Damon sat completely still, enduring his grandfather’s threat silently.

Camilla thought to herself, "This old man is actually very nice. If only he knew, he might not call me a gentle lady."

But out loud, Camilla played her role flawlessly.

She wrapped both of her small hands tighter around Damon’s strong arm. She leaned her body heavily against his side. She looked at the old Duke with wide, innocent, shining puppy-dog eyes.

"Grandfather, how could that be?" Camilla asked softly, her voice full of deep, completely fake shock and devotion.

She looked up at Damon’s face. She smiled the sweetest, most loving smile she could possibly manage.

"My husband takes very good care of me," Camilla said, her voice dripping with pure honey. "He is the kindest, most gentle man in the entire world. He protects me from everything."

She gently squeezed Damon’s arm. She fluttered her long, dark eyelashes at him.

"Don’t you, my lord?" Camilla asked him sweetly, daring him to disagree with her perfect performance.

Damon looked down at her beautiful, lying face. He felt her hands gripping his arm. He remembered her screaming "Put me down!" while hitting his back just an hour ago. The absolute hypocrisy was highly amusing to him.

Damon smiled. It was a rare, genuine, completely charming smile that made his handsome face look even more striking.

"Of course, my lady," Damon agreed smoothly, playing his part perfectly. "Your happiness is my absolute priority."

Standing quietly behind the Duke’s large armchair, Uncle Murry watched the young couple snuggling on the sofa.

Murry leaned down very carefully. He brought his mouth close to Duke Carson’s ear.

Murry began to whisper softly. He whispered about how the General had drank the entire pot of the special fertility soup. He whispered about how they had stayed out late together. He whispered about the messy bedroom from the night before, and how the General had come home in the middle of the night just to watch her sleep.

Duke Carson listened to Murry’s whispered gossip. As he heard the highly exaggerated, completely misunderstood details of their "passionate" love life, the old Duke’s eyes lit up with pure, absolute delight.

Duke Carson nodded his head rapidly. He was incredibly happy. His plan to send Murry was working perfectly. The family line was secure. The young couple was wildly in love.

"Very well then," Duke Carson announced loudly, clapping his hands together once. His voice was full of deep, booming joy.

He used his cane to push himself up from his armchair. He stood tall and looked at the young, "loving" couple.

"The kitchen has prepared something very special for us," Carson smiled warmly, gesturing toward the dining room doors. "Let’s go and have a good, hot meal together like a proper family."

Damon stood up from the sofa. He offered his hand to Camilla. She took it gently, keeping her sweet, fake smile firmly in place as they followed the happy old Duke toward the dining room.