She had no idea.
“Good morning, Josie.” Rex came striding into the room. Unlike Mary, he had taken the time to dress, but Josie still blushed when she looked at him. There was a grumble to his greeting, despite his effort to sound cheery.
“Good morning. I am so sorry to be an inconvenience.” Josie grimaced. “Perhaps I should have gone to Lily’s, but…”
“No, no, it was best you came here,” Mary reassured her. By his expression, her husband did not agree, but he did not dispute her statement. “Lily’s parents and godparents would have been about, and it is not as if Lily can answer questions about lovemaking, even if they were not present.”
“You are here with questions about lovemaking?” Rex’s expression went abruptly from disgruntled to sheer mischief, and he straightened his stance. “Was Elijah not good with his explanations?” His blue eyes snapped with glee that made Josie giggle, despite the circumstances.
“Well, he left this morning before I could ask him anything.” There was no keeping the unhappiness out of her voice. The more she thought about it, the angrier she got.
“Twit.” Rex shook his head. Again, like with Mary, his agreement of her assessment helped to cool her temper. “If you have any questions, you should come to the Society of Sin soiree at Lady Greywood’s tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” Josie’s eyes widened. “I can come?” That was most unexpected. Even knowing the circumstances behind it, Rex seemed to take her marriage to Elijah as an indication she would want to attend an event.
And do you not?
Of course, she did. She was curious.
“Yes.” Rex shook his head. “As far as I know, Elijah is planning to attend. You are invited as well—with or without him.”
Oh, Elijah was planning on attending, was he? Josie’s temper flared far brighter and higher than ever. That… that… twitty twit! Her chin lifted.
“I will be there.”
Elijah
Returning home, Elijah did not know if he was more relieved or peeved to discover Josie had gone to Hartford House. Knowing how active she was, he was not at all surprised she had refused to stay home, even though she should have been learning the ropes of the house. On the other hand, when he checked in with Mrs. Brandon, she seemed well content with the direction Josie had given her before leaving. Which did not make him feel any better.
He should have gone about his day, but after checking in with his father and relaying Nathan and Anthony’s information, he found himself hanging around the front room, spying out the window for a flash of blonde locks. So, he saw Josie when she returned home, her lady’s maid trailing just behind her with several packages. Gritting his teeth, he realized she must have gone shopping. Though what for, he could not imagine.
Bounding into the foyer, he came to an abrupt halt when Josie entered, blinking in surprise to see him.
“Ah, there you are,” she said as if she was the one who had been left waiting for him to return. Technically, she had been earlier this morning, but now it was midafternoon. He had returned long before she had. “I hope your business was completed successfully?” A delicately arched eyebrow skewered him.
“Yes.” The feeling of being wrong-footed when he had come home before her did not sit well, but it did remind him he had been the first to leave the house this morning. Likely, she would not have left if he had not. “Did you enjoy your visit with Mary?”
“Always.” Her smile was dazzling. “If you will excuse me, I must put away my purchases.”
“What did you get?” Asking felt odd, but he was the one now paying for her extravagances. The dazzling smile became enigmatic as her chin lifted in challenge. One that made his palm itch… but to caress or spank?
“Some things for me. I will show you later.” Her tone was tart and left no room for argument.
Assuming this was part of his punishment for leaving her on their wedding morning, Elijah did not protest as she waved her hand, effectively dismissing him before heading upstairs. Watching her go, he did not even realize he was staring after her until she disappeared from sight, and he was still standing there like a fool. Shaking himself, he hied off to his study.
Interrupting his day to take his new wife to bed would certainly cause the servants to gossip, which risked getting back to the traitor. He needed to keep his distance from Josie strictly within the bounds of propriety, even now that they were married, at least until his mission was complete. Thankfully, she should expect no less since theirs was not a love match.
Why, then, did it make him so deuced uncomfortable?
Chapter 14
Elijah
Josie was still annoyed with him, though she was pretending not to be.
She would not fully meet his eyes over the dining room table. Her gaze glanced over him, dismissing him in that quiet way she had, the manner she had often employed once she had become old enough to realize how it grated on him. Unlike previous times, she still smiled and spoke to him as if she was not ignoring him, but he keenly felt the lack of her eye contact.
Especially since she looked directly at his father and brothers when she spoke to them, including Joseph. Which made him grit his teeth, even though she did not look at Joseph any more often than she did the other two. Thankfully. If she had, he did not think he would have been able to contain his reaction.