Page 68 of New Blood

Jude exchanged a brief look with his brother. They’d discussed this too and had finally come to an agreement.

“Here’s the deal. The elders can’t know about this. Not yet.”

“You’re saying you won’t even tell your parents?” Mason asked, raising an eyebrow.

“That’s right.”

Because if he told his mother, she’d tell his father, and with him being an elder, he would be obliged to report it. He couldn’t put his parents in that position.

“For how long are we gonna keep this a secret?” Ransom asked. “I mean, you must be aware that anyone from the Gallagher family can simply call the Alliance and tell them about this behind your back, and then they’re gonna come down on you like a ton of bricks.”

“I’m aware of that. But we have to get the Gallaghers to accept the status quo first.”

“And how are we gonna do that?” Grant piped up. “I mean, considering the fight you and Byron had last night, I reckon nobody from the family is gonna support you right now.”

He knew that, but the fight with Byron wasn’t his only problem.

“Eve has poisoned her family against Danielle with her false allegations that she slept with William Gallagher. She has to take it back.”

Ransom laughed. “Yeah, good luck with that. The woman is stubborn, bossy, and opinionated. She’s not gonna apologize and take back what she said, no matter what you do. Take it from somebody who spent a whole day with her.”

Mason chuckled. “Yeah, that must’ve been a chore! I had to go down to the docks with Thaddeus. That was no walk in the park.”

Jude lifted his hand. “I get it. Everybody drew the short straw.” He took a breath. “I’ll need to speak to Eve to find out about those supposed love letters. Once I can prove that those letters were not written by Danielle, we can set the record straight. Then they have no reason not to accept her.”

“You mean other than the fact that you snubbed both Eve and Violet?” Mason commented dryly.

Jude shrugged. “Rome wasn’t built in one day either.” He looked into the skeptical faces of his men. “That’s all for now.”

Amongst a few quiet murmurs, they dispersed. Jude went looking for Eve. He knew she was in the house because her car was parked in the driveway. When he couldn’t find her in the common areas of the mansion, he went upstairs and knocked on her bedroom door.

He heard footsteps from inside, then the door was opened. Eve was dressed in her usual riding outfit. There was a scowl on her face. She wasn’t pleased to see him. He hadn’t expected otherwise.

“We need to talk,” Jude started and looked past her into the room. “In private.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “This is private enough.”

He couldn’t exactly blame her for reacting even icier than previously.

“About last night,” he began. “You claimed that Danielle had an affair with your father, based on some letters you’ve seen.”

“And I stand by that!”

He ignored her comment. “Where are the letters? I want to see them.”

“I don’t have them.”

“And why is that?”

“I gave them to my mother.”

“To make her aware that her husband was cheating on her?” Was that the reason her mother had committed suicide? It would explain a lot. But he couldn’t go down that rabbit hole now.

“So what? I had every right to show them to my mother.”

“Where did you find them in the first place?”

“What does it matter?”