Page 22 of Pursued Beyond Treachery (Harrowed Hearts #2)

J ohnathan took the steps of Kendall House two at a time, an easy feat for his long legs.

To his surprise, Javenia passed him up and was in the house before he’d even reached the front door.

He glanced over his shoulder to see where she’d come from and noticed her father motion from the open carriage door.

Retracing his steps, he approached the older gentleman, noting Javenia’s mother and sisters within.

The man’s face looked haggard. “Lord Newhurst, I am relieved to see you here.

I need to return my wife and daughters to the house, but I will return for Javenia in an hour's time. Will you be so kind as to make sure she does not do anything brash such as hailing a hack and racing across town?” Lord Upton glanced at the door and sighed. “Again.”

Johnathan bit back a smile. “I will do my best.”

“That is all we can do where Javenia is concerned, is it not?”

“Indeed.”

Lord Upton touched his hat, shut the door, and knocked on the roof. The carriage slowly pulled away, but Johnathan did not watch it go. Inside Kendall House he found Eddie pacing the front entry.

“What happened?” he asked.

Eddie stopped long enough to look at him and then motioned for him to follow him up to the second level where they found an empty sitting room. Johnathan took up the pink and cream brocade chair near the fire.

“I still cannot believe it, John.” Eddie sat across from him in a matching chair and stared into the fire. “After all these years.”

“I do not follow.”

“She talked to me.”

He squinted at Eddie, wondering if the stress had thoroughly stolen his senses. “I heard Melior was carried out of Lady Lincolnhurst’s house.”

Two slow blinks met his question, then Eddie’s vision seemed to clear. “Oh, yes. Melior.” He glanced down at his hands. “She is resting now. The doctor came and said her pain would pass. Nothing to worry about.”

Johnathan leaned forward until he caught Eddie’s gaze. “Then why are you so distressed? What are you not telling me, Eddie?”

His friend’s attention drifted to the fire. “I am not unwell, only surprised.”

“That Melior was injured?”

“No, Melior’s complaints are of a natural source, it is only”—Eddie’s voice dropped to a near whisper— “Lady Braithwaite spoke to me.”

Johnathan wanted to breathe a sigh of relief at Melior's apparent health, laugh at Eddie for the moony way he’d spoken, and shake him all at once. By the way the man had been pacing, he’d expected to find that Melior had taken to her deathbed. Instead he’d found a lovesick fool.

Odd, he’d never even considered Lady Braithwaite to have any such effect on his friend. And yet here they sat, Eddie off in his own thoughts, a silly smile upon his lips.

Johnathan stared at him. It always surprised him how much the Kendall siblings shared in their appearances, from dark brown hair to bright blue eyes, and even their full pink lips.

Each one of those features was accentuated in the firelight and for the first time, he wondered why his friend had not married before now.

Surely he would make some young lady very happy, but Lady Braithwaite? It was no wonder he remained unattached if she was his idea of a perfect woman. Not that Johnathan had anything against her, but she was as prickly as a cactus, and if rumors were true, about as dangerous as one.

He relaxed into his seat. “Well, I must say I am taken aback.”

“I know. We have been acquainted all these years and not once has she approached me on her own.”

“No, Eddie. I meant I was surprised to find you have a tendre for her.”

Wide blue eyes met his. “You cannot tell Nate or Al. They would tease me to within an inch of my life. And if Lady Braithwaite found out, she’d have me drawn and quartered.”

“She’s not an executioner, but that sort of weariness is exactly why I am astonished. Other than her l-l-looks”—Johnathan took a deep breath, trying not to let his nervousness about ladies and relationships bind his tongue— “What can you possibly find attractive about such a woman?”

Eddie’s eyes unfocused once again. “The woman can command a room with a mere glance, she is poised and controlled and puts up with nothing other than complete respect from her peers, but most of all, it is her fire that draws me in. It’s not flamboyant or uncontrolled like other ladies.

It simply exists in the containment she’s built for it.

It lights her jade-colored eyes whenever she finds a case of injustice, and I find myself wishing I held a singular gram of her conviction and strength. ”

Johnathan crossed his arms. It was even worse than he’d thought. Mere infatuation was one thing, but Eddie had grown poetic. His words showed he’d had ample time to consider her, years perhaps. He frowned. The lady had not always been available .

“And how long have you felt this way?”

His friend’s gaze focused sharply on him. “I understand that tone; I am not unprincipled if that is what you think. I did not take note of her while she was married… at least not much,” he muttered. “But she has been widowed for two years, is that not long enough?”

“Perhaps too long. You have nearly lost your senses over her. You must know she will never have you. She has no need to marry, not with the fortune Lord Braithwaite left her.”

Eddie slumped. “I know.”

The silence in the room became so thick one might cut it with a knife.

Finally, he said, “And that is why this secret must stay between the two of us. Nate and Al would not be so discreet as I know you will be.”

Johnathan cut off a groan. Why was he always the keeper of everyone’s secrets, especially when it came to women?

He’d been sworn to secrecy by Nate several years ago when he’d admitted his attraction to Melior.

And while Al and Javenia had never extracted such a promise from him, they both came to him when they had questions about each other.

“John? You will hold my secret, won’t you?” Eddie’s hands gripped the armrests of his chair as if ready to bolt if he did not get a satisfactory answer.

“You know I will.” Johnathan leaned forward. “On one condition.”

Eddie mimicked his position. “And what is that?”

“Answer a few questions I have about women without becoming a nuisance.”

A bark of laughter disrupted the calmness of the room. “I am not sure I am the right man to ask about such things. More than once Nate has warned me from giving advice when I’ve never tried to woo a lady myself.”

“But the women of the Ton flock to you.”

“That’s because I am the nephew of a generous duke and they hope for a piece of his wealth and consequence. I am a commodity to them, a means to a connection, nothing more.”

“Even so, you hold their attention and what’s more, you understand what they are saying… or more to the point, what they are not saying. For starters, I heard whispers between Javenia and Susannah about some fan language. Am I missing something?”

Eddie rubbed the top of his lip, but it did not hide his smile.

“You are laughing at me.”

“No, I am not,” Eddie choked out around a grin. “But it will take me some time to explain all the ins and outs of the fan. For now, just two of them will do. If a lady closes her fan, she wishes to talk to you.”

Johnathan nodded.

“And if she flutters it slowly with her right hand, it means ‘approach me.’”

“What if she flutters it quickly with her left?”

“She wants you to leave her alone.”

Johnathan’s brow scrunched. Susannah had done both flutters. Had she wanted him to leave at first, then changed her mind?

“And what does it mean if she blinks rapidly like she has something caught in her eye?”

This time Eddie did laugh.

“You promised not to laugh.”

“No, you asked that I not be a nuisance, but I never promised anything.”

Searching his mind, Johnathan realized Eddie had never made the requisite promise.

“But to answer your question”—Eddie clasped his hands and leaned back into his chair— “Women bat their lashes because they think it makes them look alluring. Most of the time it just makes them appear ridiculous, but it is a clear indication of their interest.”

A slow smile spread across Johnathan’s face and he let his head fall back on the chair. Staring at the ceiling, he replayed his interactions with Susannah. She’d batted her lashes more than once at him.

Warmth spread from his chest through his entire body as he let hope take flight. There was a chance.

“Now who’s the one mooning over a girl?”

Johnathan’s attention snapped back to his friend. “Stop it, Eddie.”

He held up his hands. “I’m not doing anything. Simply stating the truth.”

A sigh broke through Johnathan’s resolve. The sound encouraged his friend. “It’s no secret anyway. You know that by now.”

“I do, but it s-s-still m-makes m-m-me—”

“Nervous. Yes, I know.” Eddie sobered. “I need to warn you, though. Melior has noticed a certain amount of affection between Miss Wayland and Mr. Wallace. It might be good to tread carefully until she has made it clear who she favors the most.”

And like that, the hope he’d gathered like fallen leaves blew away on the wind of Eddie’s words. Johnathan was beginning to despise Mr. Wallace. No, he was beyond beginning and well into actual loathing. And yet, from all he knew, the man would make a decent match for Susannah.

He shot to his feet. “I need to go. Please tell Melior I wish her well in her healing.”

Eddie rose. “John, I—”

He held up a hand. “You spoke the truth. I would expect nothing less from a friend, but I promised Lord Upton that I’d not let Javenia hail a hack before he returned and yet I’ve been shut up here with you for nearly half an hour.”

Eddie nodded and let his gaze drop to the floor. “And my secret?”

He stared at his friend silently, letting him grow restless in his seat. A little retribution for laughing at him. Then a slow smile formed. “Is safe with me.”