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He did not explainhowit had come up since, so far, he had managed to conceal his injuries from the rest of his family, but he did admit he accidentally let the threat on his life slip to Josie and that she had not taken being left out very well. Adam and Joseph scoffed, shaking their heads and sitting back, evidently no longer blaming him.
“Of course, you did not tell her,” Joseph said. “She, Mary, and Lily are already far too involved in everything, thanks to Evie. If you had, they would have been sticking their noses into everything about the note.”
“Not to mention, what could she do but worry?” Adam shrugged, picking up a piece of toast to nibble on.
Only Father was silent. Elijah turned his head to look at him. Staring off into the distance somewhere at the end of the room, Father’s eyes were unfocused, as though he was seeing something none of them could.
“Father?” Joseph asked, frowning. Adam looked up, noticing their father was not in agreement with them.
“I would have told your mother,” Father admitted, giving his head a little shake and refocusing his attention on his sons. They all gaped at him. Father was the one who had drilled it into their heads that the women were to be kept well out of everything and protected, the way they had not been able to protect Evie after her parents died.
“But… why?” Joseph sounded almost lost at the realization Father would have done things differently. Elijah felt the same. He had not thought about it at the time, but he had assumed he was acting as his father would have in the same situation.
“Because your mother and I were partners.” Father looked down at his plate for a moment, then back up, taking a moment to get his emotions under control. He did not often speak of their mother. Adam was already leaning forward, hanging on his every word. Being the youngest, he had the fewest memories of her. “I know it is not common among our set to marry for love, but we did love each other. We were part of each other’s lives, and I would not have hidden something so important from her, nor would she from me.”
“Josie did ask me how I would react if she had received a similar threat and kept it from me.” Which still stuck like a pebble in his gut. Josie had been absolutely correct. The others all bristled at the idea. “I did not think of things like that. I wanted to leave her out of it entirely.”
“That is how many of our peers operate in their marriage,” his father said with a kind, sympathetic smile, which made Elijah feel even worse. “There is no shame in that.”
Except Elijah did not want a marriage like his peers. At least, not the peers his father was talking about. He wanted more than that. It had just taken him a while to realize it.
Joseph looked as if he was thinking deeply and was not entirely comfortable with his thoughts. So, at least Elijah was not alone.
Josie
Lady Chesterham’s tea was well attended, but it was easy enough to find a secluded corner where she could drag Mary and Lily, so they could speak more privately. There were many small tables set up around the patio and gardens, so the ladies could gather just outside the house if they preferred or wander through the flowerbeds and admire the scenery.
Josie thought the setup was rather inspired since she was not the type who enjoyed sitting and chatting for hours at a time. She would much rather get up and move. She appreciated Lady Chesterham’s foresight, especially since it gave her the opportunity to speak with her friends without the gossips listening in.
There was plenty of gossip flying, as there usually was at the teas. Josie thought the ladies needed the tea to keep their throats from drying out after all the flapping their tongues did. Thankfully, there were no gentlemen about, so Lily’s mother and godmother did not protest when Josie wanted to speak with Lily privately.
Parasols up to protect their skin from the sun, which was shining very brightly today, Josie led Mary and Lily to a corner at the edge of the garden, their backs against the hedges so they could see anyone coming upon them. Josie quickly revealed the events of the night before. Well, some of them.
The thought occurred, she could pay Elijah back by revealing his injuries to them, but she had decided against it. It might bring momentary satisfaction but nothing else. She would take the high road and demonstrate to Elijah what it meant to be a true partner, keeping his trust and his secrets.
She did tell Mary and Lily about her discovery there had been a threat against his life in the note from their wedding day. It made her feel better when both of them were aghast; they had forgotten about it as well.
“There has been a great deal going on, and nothing came of it,” Mary said comfortingly. Out of the three of them, Lily seemed the most upset such an important detail had completely slipped her mind. She had always considered herself a keeper of information.
“Nothing that we know of,” Josie replied darkly. Of course, something had come of it, with Elijah being attacked last night, but it was always possible there had been other attempts he had hidden from her. Something she would have to ask him about. Maybe she should not bother if he was going to hide things from her. He might not even tell the truth.
She wanted to be the person he did not hide anything from.
“I still cannot believe we completely forgot,” Lily muttered balefully. She brushed some of the dark strands of hair back from her face, a little wrinkle forming on her brow, and Josie knew she was committing today’s conversation to memory to make up for forgetting the note the last time. “I will need to update my notes.”
“See? That was the problem. You were not able to do so right away because you were at my wedding brunch.” Josie grinned as Lily glared at her, not at all soothed. That was Lily, though. She really was a bit lost without her notes. Josie sighed. “I do not know what to do. I am not even sure how Elijah feels about me or what he thinks about me, considering I wanted to marry Joseph not even a month ago.”
“And howdoyou feel about Elijah?” Mary asked softly, a knowing smile curving the edges of her lips.
“I am falling in love with him, fickle creature that I am.” Josie twirled her parasol above her head, avoiding her friends’ gazes. They had begun to speak of such things during her last conversation with them, but she had not been ready to confess that truth then… she was now. She had been too hurt this morning by his actions to believe her feelings for him were anything else.
Lily scoffed.
“We have already been over this. You are not fickle. You have discovered the man you thought you wanted was not as suited to you as the man you married. There is nothing wrong with that.”
The assertion dismissed so firmly in Lily’s brusque, sensible voice made Josie smile, although it did not entirely banish her own concerns.
“Then why does it feel like I should have realized all of this a long time ago?”
