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"She's gone," he whispered.
I crawled out from under the table with as much dignity as I could muster, which wasn't much considering my hair was disheveled and my dress had ridden up.
Several other diners were staring with expressions ranging from amusement to scandal. As I smoothed down my skirt, I caught sight of myself in the restaurant's mirror—disheveledhair, flushed cheeks, the look of someone who'd been caught doing something she shouldn't.
Is this who I'd become? Someone who hid under tables and lied to friends?
"Well," I said, smoothing down my skirt, "that was mortifying."
"Are you all right?"
"Aside from my bruised pride? Fine." I sank back into my chair, my hands still shaking slightly. "Edward, this is getting ridiculous. We can't keep hiding under furniture every time a family member appears."
"I know." He ran a hand through his hair, disrupting his usually perfect styling. "But what's the alternative? Tell everyone about us before I've secured your position? Risk Mother finding another way to destroy what we're building?"
I wanted to argue, but I knew he was right. Still, the constant vigilance was wearing on both of us.
Every public appearance required strategic planning, every conversation was carefully monitored for slips, every touch had to be weighed against the risk of discovery.
"How long do you think we can keep this up?" I asked.
"Not much longer," he admitted. "James knows what exactly is going on , and now Daphne's asking questions. Soon, someone's going to put the pieces together."
As if summoned by our conversation, his phone buzzed with a text message. Edward glanced at it and frowned.
"James wants to meet tonight. Says it's urgent."
"About us?"
"I don't know. But his timing is concerning."
The walk back to the manor felt like a march to the gallows. Every shadow seemed to hide watching eyes, and every casual greeting from staff or family members felt loaded with hidden meaning.
By the time we reached the estate grounds, my nerves were stretched tighter than piano wire.
"I should go in first," Edward said as we approached the main entrance. "Wait five minutes, then follow. Use the garden entrance."
I nodded, though the secrecy was beginning to feel suffocating. As I watched him disappear into the house, I wondered how long we could maintain this elaborate dance before something gave way.
I was making my way toward the garden entrance when I heard voices coming from the direction of the old stables. Curious—and perhaps hoping for a few more minutes before facing the house's watchful atmosphere—I followed the sound.
What I saw made me stop dead in my tracks, my hand flying to my mouth to stifle a gasp.
Of all the secrets I might have stumbled upon, this one felt like a slap across the face. The irony was so sharp it could cut glass.
Daphne stood in the shadowed doorway of the renovated stable building, but she wasn't alone. James was with her, and they were locked in an embrace that was decidedly not platonic. Their bodies were pressed together with desperate urgency, and when they broke apart, the look that passed between them was charged with intimacy I'd never witnessed between them before.
Well, butter my biscuit.
"I can't keep doing this," Daphne was saying, her voice carrying clearly in the evening air. "The lying, the sneaking around—it's destroying me."
"I know, love," James replied, his usually composed demeanor completely abandoned. "But you know what will happen if Edward finds out. If your Mother discovers what we've been doing..."
"She'll destroy us both."
"What if Edward's already suspicious?" Daphne whispered. "He's been asking so many questions lately, and Mother keeps making those pointed comments about my social calendar."
"Then we'll deal with it when the time comes," James replied. "But for now, we stick to the plan."