Chapter 17Either town society had shifted in his months away, or Vincent had; for where before it had suited him like an expertly-tailored jacket, now it sat ill-fitting on his shoulders, constantly slipping down one arm or the other, the buttons sagging loose and limp against his chest.
Oh, everyone was welcoming enough; his casual friends and acquaintances opened their arms to him instantly, drawing him back into their circles as though he had never left. But everyone he met asked after his husband, and then inquired where Edward might be, and he began to realize how much he had leaned on his friend to smooth his passage in social situations. His society acquaintances accepted his fumbled explanations without apparent disbelief, but the untruths sat heavily on Vincent’s shoulders, droop
