Page 88 of The Earl's Reluctant Artist

Eliza exhaled long and slow. Her fingers twisted together in her lap.

“I know something,” she began. “Something I ought to tell Tristan. But if I do, it will ruin everything. I would no longer have any of this. The atelier. The room. The…” She trailed off, her voice faltering.

“The what?” Clara leaned forward, her eyes intent.

Eliza’s shoulders sagged. “The connection. I would no longer have him.”

Clara’s gaze softened, and she dropped her arms. “Oh, darling.”

“I know.”

“How about you think about it like this. What if he finds out some other way? Which would be worse, him hearing it from you, or him hearing it from another?”

Eliza swallowed. “I suppose some other way would be worse.”

“Then you must tell him,” Clara said firmly. “And soon.”

Eliza opened her mouth, words perched on the edge, when the door opened again.

Aunt Evelyn swept in, her cane tapping against the floor. She looked from one young woman to the other, her sharp eyes narrowing.

“Aunt Evelyn,” Eliza greeted them, her voice soft.

Evelyn’s eyes continued to dart from one person to the other. “Am I interrupting something? What is going on here?”

Eliza began, “It is nothing. I…”

But Clara cut in before she could finish, her voice quick. “Eliza wants to tell Lord Vale something. Something that may or may not destroy their marriage.”

Eliza’s head snapped toward her cousin. “Thank you for that,” she muttered, shooting her a glare.

Clara only shrugged.

Evelyn studied her with calm interest. “Do not fret, dear. Tristan is my nephew, and of course, my loyalty leans toward him. But I know better than anyone how destructive secrets can be, especially once revealed.”

Eliza straightened. “You do?”

“Oh, believe me. I have had a fair share of secrets that I decided not to reveal to my husband.”

“So you kept things from Lord Howard?” Clara asked.

“Oh, plenty,” Evelyn replied without hesitation.

Clara frowned. “Did any of those secrets threaten to destroy your marriage?”

Evelyn’s mouth tugged at one corner. “Several, if I am being frank. And here is what I learned. Sometimes, we do more damage by speaking than by keeping silent. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise. On the rarest of occasions, honesty may not be the best policy.”

Eliza nodded, taking in Evelyn’s words one after the other. She understood the older woman’s perspective.

Clara shook her head at once. “I cannot agree with that. Your marriage with Lord Vale is still in its early days. It is better that they speak everything now. That way, it does not weigh them down later.”

Evelyn waved her cane lightly. “In the end, the choice is Eliza’s. But she must be honest with herself. Is she keeping this secret to protect him, or is she keeping it to protect herself?”

The words sank deeper than she thought, and Eliza lowered her eyes to her lap, her heart pounding.

Clara surprised her by nodding. “For the first time, Lady Evelyn, I agree with you.”

Evelyn gasped, clutching at her pearls. “What do you mean, for the first time? You mean you have never once agreed with me?”