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“I’m sorry, Papa,” she whispered.
A moment later, booted feet stood before her, and her father bent down to give her a kiss on the top of her head.
“Do not worry, sweetheart. I will make this right.Oliverwill make this right.” There was a darkness to his tone that made Josie’s heart ache. Oliver was Elijah and Joseph’s father, and he had been friends with Josie’s father for decades. If this caused a split between the families…
“I do not think Joseph actually sent the note.” Despite her hopes, she did not wish to marry him under such circumstances, especially not if he still wanted to marry Miss Bliss.
“I will make this right,” her father repeated.
It was her own life, yet she had no say. All she could do was watch as her father and Rex strode out the door into the night, heading to Stuart house to… well, to do whatever it was he thought would fix the situation. Likely to demand Joseph marry her.
What an awful, awful mess.
“What actually happened?” Lily asked, squeezing Josie’s hand, refocusing her attention. There was nothing she could do about her father. She filled her friends in on the details, not sparing her description of her poor decisions.
Miraculously her mother stayed quiet during the entire recitation, appearing to be still stunned into silence by her father’s order. Josie was thankful for the reprieve, though as she finished her recitation, her mother started sniffling again, her skin beginning to redden and blotch, a sign she was actually in distress. Josie braced herself for the oncoming recriminations, but to her shock, her mother jumped up and rushed over to Josie, wrapping her arms around her.
Rose-scented perfume, the scent her mother always wore, flooded her nostrils as her mother hugged her tight, and tears sprang to Josie’s eyes at the sudden show of motherly support.
“That… that… vile blackguard! How dare he! Young women should be able to walk along garden paths without being accosted by villains!” The utter indignation in her mother’s tone brought more tears to Josie’s eyes. She had been blaming herself for going into the gardens alone, but her mother was correct.
What kind of vile human assaulted a young woman because she was alone? Sheshouldhave been safe. Her largest concern should have been that she would be ruined because people assumed she went willingly with some man into the darkness, not being attacked and almost ravaged.
And now she was at the mercy of more men, waiting for her father and the Marquess of Stuart to decide her fate.
It was thoroughly infuriating, which was why tears ran down her face as the emotions as the events of the evening caught up with her. She felt like a wisp on the wind, blown about, with no say about where she went.
Chapter 3
Elijah
“I did not write that note.” The anguish in Joseph’s voice was unmistakable. Pacing back and forth across the floor, he looked ready to fall apart.
Elijah could not blame him. The life he wanted was falling apart around him, and he had not even been at the ball. He had been blissfully unaware of the drama until his father’s footman had arrived to pull him away from the Farthingale’s soiree.
“Do not be a fool. Of course, you didn’t.” Their father rubbed his forehead, drawing attention to the ever-growing amount of grey in his dark hair and the wrinkles creasing his brow. His elbows propped on his desk, he stared straight ahead, eyes unseeing, his mind clearly racing with the implications of the evening. He seemed at a bit of a loss. For the first time, he truly appeared to be old. Seeing him so stressed made Elijah even angrier at the entire situation. “No one thinks you did.”
“No, but someone did and ensured it would be found and that everyone would think I had. Someone set this up.” There was no doubt in Elijah’s mind. Josie said someone had jostled her in the ballroom, and she had lost the note. Since she did not have the mind of a spy, Elijah did not blame her for not realizing it was on purpose. Elijah banged his fist against the bookshelf he was standing beside. The pain was slight and not nearly distracting enough from his turmoiled emotions. “They deliberately coaxed Josie into the gardens, using Joseph’s name, and attacked her. But why? For what purpose? Is there some rival for Miss Bliss’ affections we are unaware of?”
“No, no one.” Joseph shook his head, disgruntled.
Though Miss Bliss seemed to suit him very well, another year unwed, and she would be considered firmly on the shelf. Though she was a sweet young lady, the number of suitors vying for her hand was very low. In Elijah’s opinion, she would make an ideal wife—quiet, unassuming, and undemanding. However, she did not have a large dowry, her parents were only modestly well-connected, and although she was beautiful, it was not in a way that stood out. He believed Joseph was right about his lack of rivals.
“Maybe as a distraction?” Adam, their youngest brother and the most unassuming of the three of them, piped up. His normally cheerful expression was somber, his eyes slightly unfocused as he ran through all the various scenarios. Out of all of them, he was the best strategist and the best at seeing patterns in information, making him an invaluable codebreaker.
“A distraction? From what? Why ruin three lives for a distraction?” Joseph fumed, pacing back and forth across the carpet. He scowled at the ground. Though Elijah had confiscated the letter from the gossips, it had already been too late. Truthfully, taking it might work against them, too.
Would the Blisses even allow Joseph to propose to Miss Bliss with this scandal hanging over his head? They must be desperate to marry her off by now, buthowdesperate?
A knock at the door had all three brothers whirling around. Elijah’s heart jumped in his chest.
“Come in.” Father’s voice was tight as though he was bracing himself.
Cooper, the butler, opened the door, holding a note in his hand. As always, his expression was faultlessly blank. He was every inch the proper butler. No one looking at him would ever guess he was also a deadly assassin and one of the Marquess’ guards.
“This arrived for you, my lord.” He came forward and handed it to Elijah’s father, retreating from the room as quickly as he’d arrived.
“What is it?” Elijah asked before father even had it open. Father glanced at him with a touch of reproof, and Elijah subsided, though it was hard to contain his impatience. He was a man of action, but right now, there was nothing he could do, and it chafed.
