Joseph’s eyes went wide, and some of the color drained from his face. “Perhaps they don’t know I’m here?”
Ellen sent him a flat look, then took his hand and led him to the door. “Polly saw both of us come in last night, she witnessed you walking up the stairs with me, and she did not see you come down again. She would have told my sister as much.”
Joseph winced, but he didn’t have time to say anything as they headed to the hall, then downstairs. The slightly terrified look Joseph wore as they descended the stairs, then stepped into the doorway to the breakfast room, where Lenore and Phineas were, indeed, placidly enjoying their breakfast, was comical.
“Good morning,” Ellen said, holding fast to Joseph’s hand.
“Good morning, Elle,” Lenore greeted her with a knowing grin. “Good morning, Mr. Rathborne-Paxton.”
“Good morning,” Joseph mumbled.
Phineas was reading the paper and had a cup of tea in one hand. Without looking away from his paper, he asked Joseph, “So, is it pistols at dawn then? Or do you prefer swords?”
“I beg your pardon?” Joseph stammered.
Phineas peeked up from his paper over the rim of his glasses. “For besmirching my sister-in-law’s honor,” he said, then blinked at Joseph as though he were thick. “That is generally how one handles these things, is it not?”
“Phin, stop teasing the man,” Lenore said, reaching around the corner of the table to smack his arm. “He’s embarrassed enough already.”
“Not nearly as embarrassed as I was when the two of us were caught together,” Phineas winked at her.
Ellen peeked at Joseph, interested to see what he would think about the fact that hell and curses had not rained down on him for their indiscretion.
“We are quite a modern family,” she whispered to him, then tugged his hand to bring him farther into the room.
Joseph seemed completely flabbergasted that he could sit down at a breakfast table with her, her sister, and her brother-in-law after their wickedness the night before. He eased into the meal and corresponding conversation with relative ease, though, particularly as no one else seemed to make the matter into more than it was. Before long, Joseph was even debating items that Phineas read from the paper. It was as though they were a true family.
Because, of course, they were. As Ellen sat back and enjoyed her eggs, it occurred to her that she was happy. Not because the ball had been a success or she had gained any sort of social acceptance. She was happy because the people she loved got along splendidly, and they were all together.
That warm feeling stayed with her as she ate ravenously to restore the energy she’d lost through the night. It hit a small bump in the road when Phineas pointed out one of the stories he’d just read.
“Apparently, Westminster may have some difficulty paying for his ball last night,” Phin said.
“Oh?” Joseph asked, frowning.
Phineas nodded. “It’s right here, in The Times. That land deal he’s been spearheading in Fitzrovia? It seems as though it’s hit a snag.”
“What sort of a snag?” Joseph asked, suddenly filled with apprehensive excitement.
Phineas folded the paper and handed it across the table, pointing at the article. “It seems there’s been trouble with the supplier that Westminster usually uses for building materials. They’ve come up short of stock or some such. It appears as though Westminster may have to hire different suppliers of material, and perhaps entirely different contractors, if he wishes to finish the homes he’s building on the deadline that has been set for financing.”
Joseph’s eyes went wide as he read the article. Ellen practically held her breath, waiting for him to finish and tell her what the article said.
As soon as he put down the newspaper, he glanced to her with a look of triumph and said, “It’s exactly as Long predicted it would be.”
“I have always said that man knows more about things than anyone suspects,” Phineas said with a look that was both wary and impressed.
Joseph reached for his napkin to dab his mouth, then pushed his chair back and stood. “I must go speak to Westminster at once,” he said. “Surely now he’ll see that everything I warned him about is true.”
Ellen stood as well. “I’ll go with you,” she said, her heart racing. “The duke already knows I’m involved.” And Ellen had the feeling that Joseph was stronger when she stood by his side.
Joseph stared at her for a moment, then seemed to come to a decision. He nodded, then stepped away from the table. Ellen moved with him, and the two of them met at the far end.
“I need to return home first,” he said as they made their way into the hall. Ellen glanced back at the breakfast room in time to see Lenore nod at her, as if her sister understood she had a mission to accomplish. “I cannot visit Westminster in the same clothing I wore to the ball.”
“Certainly not,” Ellen said, blushing over the implications that would have.
They made their way as quickly as they could to Rathborne House. Once again, it was far easier simply to walk than it would have been to have a carriage prepared or to find one to hire. The distance wasn’t that great in either way.