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It was not that Josie was unhappy with their nights, but she was definitely not happy about their days. Elijah was avoiding her, for goodness sake! Well, she could not be sure, but that’s what it felt like. They had barely seen each other outside of meals and the bedroom. Things were very heated and pleasurable there, but last night, he had not even gone in the same carriage with her to the Finchburys’ ball! He had met her there, danced with her twice, then disappeared to do who-knows-what, only to reappear at the end of the ball when it was time to leave.
There had been no opportunity to talk. The moment they got into the dark privacy of the carriage, he had pulled her onto his lap to kiss her breathless and fondle her to insensibility.
“Is that supposed to be a revelation?” Lily teased, and Josie stuck out her tongue at her friend. Lily seemed to have very little interest in the gentlemen of London, much to her mother’s and godmother’s dismay. Though she was beautiful, sweet, and intelligent, Lily cynically attributed the gentlemen’s interest in her to her connection to her godmother, the Duchess of Richmond.
Some of them were drawn to her by that connection, but by no means all of them, if only she would see it. Today, she was dressed in a lilac-and-white striped walking dress, which clung to her curves and made her dark hair and eyes look stand out nicely against her creamy skin and the dress. Her quiet beauty was a large draw to the men—though Lily was cynical about that aspect of their interest as well, come to think of it.
“Any man in particular?” Mary’s tone was far more sympathetic. Leaning forward, she poured the tea for them all with an adeptness Josie envied. Not that Josie could not pour tea, but she had a tendency to pour too fast and overfill the cups. Mary filled it to the correct line in every cup. “Yesterday, we heard the banns read in church for Joseph and Miss Bliss.”
Josie winced inwardly. Yes, this was why she had gone to her mother’s first, for all the good that had done her. She did not want Mary and Lily to know how flighty and inconstant she was. There was nothing to do but tell the truth, no matter how uncomfortable it made her.
“Elijah. I am happy for Joseph… no, truthfully.” Mary and Lily had exchanged another look, and she sighed aloud. “I know it sounds fickle, but I think my feelings for Joseph are gone. What hurt more was losing the dream of marrying him than actually losing him.”
“That actually makes sense.” Lily nodded thoughtfully, her dark eyes unfocused for a moment, the way they often did when she was analyzing a situation. “The two of you might have been a good match when you were younger, but…”
“I outgrew him.” Josie wrinkled her nose. “Which sounds like an awful thing to say, but it is true.”
“What is Elijah doing now? You looked happy enough at Lady Greywood’s last week.”
Lily sat up straight, affronted. Unlike Josie, whose interest in the Society had been more prurient from the very beginning, Lily regarded the activities of the Society as a science experiment, maybe a social experiment. They had been present for Mary’s pre-wedding night education from Mary’s cousin, Arabella and Arabella’s friend, the Countess of Spencer. After that, Josie noticed Lily’s distraction whenever Arabella or the Countess and their husbands were around for her to observe.
Lily was the one who had noticed that the Earl and Countess of Spencer disappeared almost every ball, only to reappear an hour or so later, with the occasional wrinkles in the countess’ skirts or the Earl’s cravat a bit askew.
“You went to a Society event, and you did not tell me?” Indignation was written in every line of her body. “What was it like? Did you participate? Do you think Mary’s observations have been accurate?”
“Hey!” Mary scowled. “There is nothing wrong with my observation skills.” For someone who had spent most of her life on the sidelines, observing rather than participating, Mary was affronted Lily might be maligning her.
“There is nothing wrong with her acuity for observation, though she did leave out some details. Did you know men leave behind a mess for us to clean up when they are done with the marital act? And that they want to put their fingers and things in our bottoms?!”
Mary blushed bright red, clashing horribly with her strawberry blonde hair, and Lily’s mouth dropped open.
“Josie!” Mary hissed her name, leaning forward, eyes darting back and forth, and Josie scoffed.
“These are things she should know, Mary! Elijah put his finger in my bottom at Lady Greywood’s and said he would do more, eventually.”
“I really need to start watching when I walk into a conversation.” Evie’s appearance at the door of Mary’s drawing room caused an immediate commotion. The three of them jumped up from where they were seated and rushed to greet her. Evie’s expression was hilarious, obviously having overheard Josie’s statement, but that did not stop her from hugging Josie fiercely.
“I did not know you would be here!” Josie said as she stepped away from her friend.
“I did not know if I would be able to make it. I have a new position as a ladies’ maid for the Countess of Perth.” Evie’s lips twisted in a wry smile, and Josie finally noticed Evie’s appearance. She was so used to Evie’s various outfits, she did not always take note of them and what they meant. No longer wearing the drab browns and greys she had donned as a regular servant or scullery maid, she was now garbed similarly to Daisy, in slightly more fashionable and more flattering attire. “I shall probably be there at least ‘til the end of the Season.”
“Will you be coming home then?” Josie perked up. Having Evie back in the household would make things far more tolerable, even if Elijah continued his baffling behavior. Maybe she could even help Josie made sense of it.
“Possibly. It depends on if I find anything.” Evie sighed.
They made their way back to their seats, Evie joining them on the couch. Someone looking in the doorway might be taken aback to see a ladies’ maid sitting and gossiping with three fashionable young ladies of theton, but Mary was not at-home to anyone but them. The butler, Cormack, would see to it they were left alone, and Rex had already met Evie.
“So far, whoever is behind these plots is acting as a puppet master, sending their minions to and fro. My uncle and Elijah are not any further along in their investigations than I am. The traitor has covered their tracks well.”
“I suppose one would need to,” Mary murmured with a tiny smile. Evie wrinkled her nose at her, and Josie giggled. Like Lily, Mary could be very quiet, but she had a wicked sense of humor.
Deciding to ignore Mary’s comment, Evie turned her attention to Lily.
“Anything on your end? Especially from France or Russia?”
“One of my correspondents on the coast has mentioned some unusual activity near the Talbot estates—the usual smuggling, but there were rumors not only goods were being passed along. No way to verify it from here, of course.” Lily frowned, clearly disliking not having the information to help.
“Talbot estates… that is on the east coast,” Josie said, reaching for the information her mother had drilled into her over and over. It was not too far a reach. The Earl was new to his title after the recent death of his father and unwed, which meant Josie’s mother had been interested in him. Unfortunately, in her mother’s mind, he had not appeared in London this Season. “Lord Sebastian Jones, thirty-three, unwed, and not here for the Season, though he is several months out of mourning.”
