Tehr's mind made mental note of the room layout as they passed through the manor.  He had a good eye for that sort of detail, not that he was worried about it.  He found the room sized slightly small, but still quite comfortable.  He waited for ir'Ravos to gesture for him to sit before he made himself comfortable in one, leaning forwards placing his forearms on his knees as he sat.  It was an attentive pose as opposed to relaxed, though not aggressive, just alert.  He didn't know what was coming but he was sure he'd best to have his wits about him.<br/><br/>He sighed a small sigh of relief when the halfling mentioned he didn't have to partake, "Thank you Lord ir'Ravos.  I shall decline then, but take you up on the wine.  I may be a man of vices, but fear that tobacco is not counted as one of them.  It reminds me of my uncle's workshop.  He trained me as a mage you see, and he was,"  Tehr paused and shifted slightly in his seat, "...he was shall we say... not the most successful mage I've met?  So the smell of burning plants reminds me of his failed experiments.  It doesn't bother me over much, but the idea of breathing it isn't my cup of tea."<br/><br/><em><br/>"Now, Emily seems quite interested in you,"</em>Tehr made sure he was ready for what was coming next., he had a sense of where this was going.  He'd been on the receiving end of the protective father chat once or twice before.  He nodded slightly at the mention of rumors.  It was frustrating, people never commented on what the rumors WERE, so he couldn't confirm or deny them, simply that there were rumors.  Without that evidence he didn't know where ir'Ravos stood on him specifically.  So he played it cool and thanked his host for the goblet of wine.<br/><br/>Tehr had thankfully not taken a drink of the chilled wine before Tiel, as he gave leave to be called, asked so bluntly about Emily.  He tried to mask a surprised reaction, but feared that he failed.  He composed his thoughts as the halfling man continued and thought carefully about his answer, taking a sip of the wine and setting it down before leaning forwards to explain.<br/><br/>"Lord ir'Ravos, and yes, I will call you Tiel, but let me address you formally at the moment."  Tehr began, this was a calculated risk.  Start off on professional noble terms, and then move into friendship.  Hopefully it would seem that he was opening up to the man.  "Understand that before I address that question I must make clear the stance of house Wynt.  House Wynt is one of the oldest noble houses in the realm.  Our lineage dates back to the founding of the kingdom, and while it's fallen into somewhat obscurity over the last century, our family has always assumed that it would carried on somehow.  But then a little less than three decades ago, my father and his brother were the two last remaining members of house Wynt.  My uncle, the younger of the two, had no interest in carrying on the family name.  He cared only for his magical studies, and never married.  My father however came to a shocking realization; That the glory of house Wynt had fallen so far, that we'd become so unfashionable and out of date, that no human noble houses would marry a daughter off to him."<br/><br/>Tehr sipped his wine, "Of course, I am glad to say that my father's mother was wise and made a match with a third daughter in a very influential and wealthy noble house from the land of Italia.  That was my mother of course, and it kept House Wynt alive.  My mother gave birth to three children, my older brother, James, Myself, and then my sister, the Lady Christina.  It was assumed that James, a strong and healthy boy would carry on the noble house's lineage and I would study magecraft.  I'd shown aptitude at an early age you see.  Then while my brother James..."  Tehr cleared his throat and rolled his eyes, "...rebuilt our lineage and our lands.  I would go to Londinium and rebuild our reputation, and eventually find a suitable husband for Christina."<br/><br/>"But my brother and father both died, and that left my mother as the head of the house.  But more importantly it gave me the additional duty that was to be laid upon James's shoulders.  I must find a suitable wife at some point and give the house an Heir.  For if I fail, it falls to Christina, and she would have to marry far below her station to keep the name alive.  I tell you all this, Lord ir'Ravos, to make it clear that no matter what it is that I may desire.  No matter what it is that I may wish for or want, I am honor and duty bound at some point to marry a human noble woman and sire a human son.  I have no choice in this matter.  Or at least, the only choice I have would be too grim for me to contemplate.   For I will not let my house die out, and I must as an older brother, try to help my sister find the best and most desirable marriage possible."<br/><br/>He took a sip of his wine and then settled back into his chair more comfortably, letting the 'official' nobleman guise start to slip, "As you may know, without powerful magic, humans and halflings can't produce an offspring.  This means that Emily could not be a suitable candidate for a wife for me you understand.  Now, if this were the olden days and the druids walked the circles like they did, and the church of the one god weren't everywhere, and it were the kind of kingdom where a man could have more than one wife..."<br/><br/>Tehr trailed off for a moment as he thought about how nice that might be, "Well... then Emily would be a fine woman to spend my life with.  I can say honestly I consider her a good friend and that I find her candor, wit, and humor a balm in the mire of londinium society."<br/><br/>Tiel ir'Ravos smirked and blew a large cloud of smoke from his cigar into the air, "Tehr, I understand you, but you're avoiding the question.  I simply wanted to know if you and my daughter are sexually involved.  If so, declaring it could lead to the embarrassment of finding yourself being pursued by several lasses about the manor who might like to woo a man like you.  Possibly in the hopes of claiming a place in Londinium, possibly because they are just curious.... or maybe something more than 'curious.'  As I said, we believe in enjoying life's pleasures here."<br/><br/>Tehr realized that he wasn't going to get out of the situation politically, and sighed.  "You say you've heard rumors, so I'm sure it's made your ears that I have been bedded by the queen herself.  I won't confirm that nor deny it, but I will say that if the queen were to find out that her chosen partner was bedding someone else, she might not care.  But if it became absolutely public, an absolute fact not rumor, that she had taken a lover, and that said lover was also out cheating on her with other women... well.... it would make her look weak would it not?  Mind you, rumor and scandal are one thing, but proof?  Declaration?  These things can weaken a kingdom, and must be handled delicately."<br/><br/>Tehr finished his wine and twirled his goblet, watching the light play off it as he continued, "Further more, I was raised that a gentleman did not kiss and tell.  A fact that was driven home to me quite painfully recently.  I spurned the advances of Janne d'Dale, who thought to bed and control me.  Well it came out publically that I'd spurned her attentions and I think that doing so is one of the reasons why house Dale has been moving against me lately.  So you can understand my desire to keep from committing such a faux paux again."<br/><br/>Tehr sighed, "So to answer your question in a very long, round about way, I suppose I'd say that I choose not to answer and hope you can forgive me that choice.  For confirming or denying any romantic or simple sexual involvement with Emily could lead to a whole mess of trouble later.  However I will say this;  She is a very beautiful and lovely woman, and were my situation in life different, I would be far more tempted to have approached your house for more than just a political alliance."<br/><br/>He smiled and finished with, "Hopefully Tiel, that can be answer enough?"<br/>