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“I am,” Charles said, as dramatic as anyone could sound. “Look how late I slept in. That’s so unlike me.”

“You are really going to stand there and lie to my face?” I teased, shaking my head. “Come along. Felix says there’s breakfast waiting.”

“Ah, he woke you up, too? I’m sure it has nothing to do with being tired of the food sitting untouched in the sunroom.

” He slung an arm around me, leading me downstairs, chattering the entire time, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he would be as friendly with me had he realized that I had spent most of the night allowing his brother to defile me outside.

I had never even dreamed of letting Charles know that side of me, afraid that the way he saw me would change, and if he knew that I had feelings for his brother?

I couldn’t imagine the fallout from that, the way my lifelong friendship would undoubtedly shatter into pieces in the face of such a monumental betrayal.

Despite my relative comfort with my sexuality, I knew that if I was suddenly to shout it from the rooftops, I would lose nearly everything.

That Arthur had kept the truth behind his blackmail from Charles told me that his brother was not privy to the relationship he and Rudolph had shared, that he would not be privy to whatever was developing between myself and Arthur.

Wrapped in these thoughts, I allowed Charles to lead me to the sunroom, only half listening before he shook me by the shoulder.

“Are you still drunk?” he asked, and I laughed as I sat at one of the chairs at the breakfast table, beginning to help myself to the pastries that had been left for us.

“No,” I said. “I was just thinking about continuing to work on the poaching case now that I’m back.”

“You’ll continue to work on that despite the ball being so soon?”

“It’s not as though I have anything to do in terms of the ball,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m merely a guest.”

“Oh, Thomas, my naive friend,” Charles said, stirring an inordinate amount of sugar into his tea and looking out the sunroom window to the lawn stretching away from the manor, the late-summer sun having already burned off the dew.

“You have no idea how highly your taste is esteemed by the rest of us. You’ll be in the thick of it, mark my words. ”

“Why would you hold my taste in high esteem?” I asked, genuinely amused at the idea of it. “You said yourself that you ordered a suit simply because you knew I couldn’t be trusted to do so myself. I’ve never been to a ball, much less had any say in the planning of one.”

“But you’re from London,” Charles said. “None of us have been there in ages. The Nelsons have been trapped in France, and Arthur never leaves the estate.” He dropped his voice to an almost conspiratorial whisper.

“Besides, I have an idea. Arthur is obviously in the market for a new lawyer, and if he sees how good you are at planning the ball, then he might feel like you’re the obvious choice to hire. ”

“Or he could feel that way if I actually work on a case for him,” I said, busying myself with preparing my own cup of tea and hoping he didn’t see the way my neck turned red at the idea of Arthur hiring me.

The idea of having a natural reason to spend more time with him was enough to foolishly get my hopes up, and for the briefest of moments I could picture it: a life out here in the country, covert meetings in the library, Arthur’s lips on mine whenever I wanted them there.

With the line we had crossed the night before, however, this dream was no longer viable.

I had to tell myself not to pay heed to idle fancy.

I had put a time limit on our relationship, and for good reason.

I could not expect Arthur to put himself in danger just to remain with me.

“The question of my taste in things is one that’s easily answered, Charles.

You know I’m not a man who pays attention to trends or fads.

If I’m asked for my opinion on a ball, I’ll be next to useless. ”

“Are you trying to convince him to help with the planning?” Rudolph’s voice came from the far side of the sunroom and I looked up from my drink, watching as he slunk in, clearly as hungover as I felt. “Why are you so hellbent on not helping?”

“I’ll still help,” Charles said, sounding indignant. “I just think it would be a good idea for Thomas to be included.”

“True,” Rudolph said, and he looked at me like he had immediately figured out what had transpired the night before. I wondered if he had seen Arthur in his high-collared shirt and had now used my similar dress to put two and two together. “After all, he’s part of the family now.”

“Exactly,” Charles said, tapping the table as though Rudolph had just said something profound. “That’s exactly right.”

“After all, we’re all so fond of him,” Rudolph said, and I shot him a look as if to say he needed to watch the knife’s edge he was walking.

He just grinned in return and poured himself his own cup of tea before gesturing towards the ceiling.

“Arthur mentioned that he’d like to chat with you if you have time,” he said, and I knew at that moment that was his real reason for coming down here, to send me upstairs to see Arthur.

Had he been recruited as some co-conspirator in our affair?

A go-between to divert attention from any clandestine meetings? “Something about legal documents.”

“See?” I said to Charles, using his shoulder to get up from the table. “Arthur has no need for my input as a party planner. It’s my legal mind he’s after.”

Charles patted my hand as though comforting me, an expression of mock sympathy on his face. “Of course, dear Tom. Your brilliant legal mind….”

I smacked him lightly on the arm before glancing at Rudolph, who was pointedly stirring sugar into his tea, and taking my leave of the sunroom.

Had I known how great a mistake I was about to make, I would have lingered in the sunroom a little longer, as the meeting in the library would set in motion events I could not fathom at the time.