The corners of his lips twitched with restrained mirth. "Please feel free to tell me when you know for certain."
Elphi nodded, hesitating before asking, "Were you at all worried your theory might be wrong?"
"Yes."
She frowned. "But then why did you go through with it?"
Rufus held Elphi's gaze, his body swaying with the motion of the carriage as it maneuvered its way into town toward Rosalind's home for what would become their wedding dinner.
He was quiet for so long that she began to think he wouldn't answer, making her feel she shouldn't have asked the question in the first place.
It was a question better left for later when they were infinitely more comfortable with one another, and sharing secrets came as easily as breathing.
"There were several reasons," Rufus admitted, at last, as the carriage rolled to a stop in front of Barkston Hall.
She blinked and frowned, almost forgetting the question that prompted his response. "Care to elaborate?"
When he remained silent, she whispered, "On one of those reasons, at least?"
Rufus looked at her for a moment before quietly stating, "It was a risk worth taking."
Dinner proved to be a laborious affair with awkward attempts at conversation that no one seemed capable of maintaining.
Especially after Reggie turned to Rufus during the soup course and said, "Forgive me for dredging up the past, Treadway, but I thought you swore off all women after your experience with Edwina."
"Reggie, darling," Rosalind quickly interjected with a pained smile as she cast an apologetic glance at Elphi and Rufus. "Perhaps a different topic would be more appropriate."
"Dear me," Reggie frowned. "I've done it again, haven't I?"
Rosalind nodded.
Rufus glanced at Elphi sitting directly across from him next to Rosalind. She sat frozen in place, her spoon laden with pea soup suspended mid-air, and her gaze locked on the area directly in front of her.
He could only imagine what she was thinking, the questions she would have—questions, if he was honest, belonging to topics he'd hoped never to have to broach in the first place.
Leave it to Reggie to ruin those plans.
If there was one thing in life Lord Reginald Keating excelled at, it was sticking his foot in his mouth. But he was such a genuinely kind person that it made it supremely difficult to hate the damned man despite such a glaring flaw.
Rufus scowled at Reggie, more than tempted to dump the entire contents of his soup bowl in his brother-in-law's lap. Heaven knew the man deserved it, and Rufus sat in the prime position for it to happen without impediment or danger of splattering anyone else by accident.
However, in the end, Rufus took a calming breath and silently reminded himself Reggie never spoke with malicious intent. "I did. But upon meeting Elphi, I simply couldn't help myself."
"Proof that women are splendid if not sometimes a terrifying and magical species, aren't they?" Reggie said as he smiled and raised his glass to his lips.
Rufus hesitated, then decided a simple nod was the wisest course of action to take in such a situation, for all their sakes.
The pauses between Reggie's attempts at polite questions followed by the equally polite if not strained answer lengthened until none came at all, and everyone—by some unspoken mutual agreement—set about eating their meal in silence.
Throughout dinner, everyone cast anxious, covert glances at the ornate grandfather clock, quietly marking the passing time with its dull tick-tock and mournful chime at the half-hour, waiting for the appropriate moment to call an end to the night.
Their posture became even more rigid, and a distinct sense of panic settled among them like a sixth guest once they finished the dessert course and the footmen cleared the dishes and cutlery from the table.
Rufus cast a surreptitious look through his lashes at Elphi. What would she say if he admitted all family dinners in the Treadway household progressed in a similar if not an even more stifled fashion?
Would she never want to share a meal with him again, or worse—wish for an annulment?
Her three ghostly companions stood sentinel behind her chair, arms crossed over their chests and feet braced wide as they stared at the top of Elphi's head in complete adoration.
"I know this is intended to be your wedding dinner, but what do you say we leave the men to their conversation, Elphi, and adjourn to the drawing-room?" Rosalind asked as she stood.
Elphi's gaze flew to Rufus before she finally nodded and followed Rosalind, a reflex that sent a thrill through him for reasons he couldn't quite explain.
Percy, Bradford, and Fitz moved aside as though they could still block her path, then floated after Elphi to the door but stopped at the threshold.
Rufus watched the women leave and felt a peculiar ache settle in his chest.
The moment the door closed behind the women, Reggie and Roderick relaxed in their chairs and exhaled as though a great weight had suddenly been lifted.
On the other hand, Rufus fought the foreign impulse to chase after Elphi and whisk away his new bride to a quiet place free of the three ghosts glowering at him from the door.
Elphi followed Rosalind down a dimly lit hallway past several closed doors to a room at the end of the corridor. A warm fire crackled in an ornately tiled fireplace along the far wall opposite a cozy-looking green velvet sofa and pair of matching sitting chairs.
"I hope you'll forgive Reggie," Rosalind murmured, motioning for Elphi to sit next to her as she sank onto the sofa.
"For what?"
Rosalind hesitated, "Perhaps I had it wrong... am I to understand you knew of Edwina and Rufus?"
Elphi inwardly cringed. She wanted to avoid discussing that particular topic as much as she wished to steer clear of any mention of her past engagements.
Hoping to put the matter to rest, Elphi pasted on a friendly smile. "No, I didn't, but neither is there anything to forgive."
Rosalind smiled in return. "I'm pleased to see you're still as kindhearted as I remembered."
Elphi let out an unladylike snort of laughter. "That is not a word my brother would use to describe me."
Rosalind's smile faltered, and the two women fell into an awkward silence only broken by the sound of the crackling fire until she muttered, "You must think me the worst hostess."
"Not at all," Elphi murmured with a shake of her head.
Rosalind scoffed and chewed on her lower lip as she stared at the fire for a moment, then turned to Elphi. "Is there anything you wish to know about what to expect on your wedding night?"
Elphi blinked and swallowed. Did she dare admit her wedding night wouldn't happen for a while yet, or was it better to keep quiet and learn what she could for when the moment eventually did occur?
"I only ask," Rosalind rushed to add, "because I remember that your mother died when you were young, and I wasn't sure if anyone..." she paused and lifted her shoulders in a dainty shrug as she leaned forward and lowered her voice. "Well, to be honest, my mother wasn't much help explaining what was ahead of me."
"Really?" Elphi whispered back, scooting to the edge of her seat.
Rosalind sighed and shook her head, "Not in the least."
She glanced over her left shoulder toward the open door, then scooted to the edge of her seat cushion till her knees bumped Elphi's. "Suffice it to say, knowing what I now know occurs in a marital bed, if my mother had followed her own advice, it's a miracle my siblings and I were ever conceived."
Elphi covered a shocked laugh.
"Do you remember what Winnie Matthews told us her sister said about it when we were at Sanrow?"
"Oh, goodness, I'd forgotten all about Winnie and her shocking older sister," Elphi chuckled, then frowned and pursed her lips as she stared unseeing at her lap.
After a moment, she turned to Rosalind and whispered with a giggle, "Something about seeing rainbows and moonbeams exploding—or was that a different conversation?"
"No, you remember correctly," Rosalind quietly laughed as she rolled her eyes.
She covered her mouth and leaned close, lowering her voice further when she said, "There are little flashes every once in a while where I admit it's a silly but apt description. But I'd be lying and setting you up for disappointment if I made it seem that every time feels heavenly... most times, it's just a matter of fulfilling one's wifely duty so you can go to sleep."
Elphi frowned. "Then why be intimate at all?"
Rosalind's lips curled in a lopsided grin as a mischievous twinkle came to her eyes.
She cast a quick look over her shoulder to the door, then leaned forward and whispered, "Well, the mandatory answer is for children, of course... but sometimes it's because you hold out hope you'll get your chance to see a few rainbows and moonbeams explode."
Elphi blushed and covered a giggle.
"Do you wish to know more?"
Elphi's eyes widened. "There's more?"
Rosalind nodded and cupped her hand at the side of her mouth as she quietly revealed the basic details involved for intimacy. When she finished, she straightened and covered a chuckle as she looked at Elphi. "Oh, dear, you look ill."
"I don't doubt it," Elphi whispered, pressing the back of her chilled right hand to her flushed cheeks. She flicked an embarrassed glance at Rosalind and chuckled. "Those exploding rainbows and moonbeams better be sublime if I'm to endure what you just described."
Rosalind burst out laughing and covered her mouth.
"Do you think the men discuss it in such terms?"
"Absolutely not," Rosalind giggled. She wiped tears from the corners of her eyes as she continued a couple of moments later, "Rufus likes to believe he's a modern thinker and completely unlike our father, but you'll see soon enough. They're more alike than either of them care to admit. He would be mortified if he even knew you and I were talking about it."
"As would Roderick," Elphi chuckled. "It's little wonder the two of them are best friends. I don't know if I ought to be comforted or alarmed by their similarities."
The smile wobbled and then fell altogether from Rosalind's face. She stood, rubbing her upper arms, and walked to the fireplace, holding her hands out to its warmth. "The room has suddenly grown quite cold, wouldn't you agree? There's always such a terrible draft in here during winter."
A frown creased Elphi's brow at the abrupt change in topics and Rosalind's withdrawn disposition. Had she said something to upset her?
She opened her mouth to ask just as Rufus walked into the room.
His eyes snagged on Elphi's, and his lips curled in a tender smile that made her heart give a funny little kick in her chest. "Ah, here you are."
"Were you worried I'd gotten lost?" She quietly teased.
"No," he winked, "only that I would be if I didn't soon find you."
He walked around the sofa and offered Elphi his left hand as he said to Rosalind, "You don't mind if I steal my bride away, do you? It's getting late, and we still need to get Elphi settled at her new home ahead of us."
Elphi looked Rufus in the eye. Had she detected a flirting undertone to his statement, or was it purely her imagination and nerves?
He arched a brow and nodded his chin at his waiting hand.
Her gaze dropped and studied his empty palm and the sculpted curve of three fingers compared to the crooked pinkie as thoughts of her and Rosalind's conversation swirled within her mind.
Elphi's heart pounded a frantic beat against her ribs, blood rushed in her ears, and a flurry of butterflies swarmed within her stomach. Her hand trembled when she finally settled it in Rufus's grasp and allowed him to help her stand.
However, once at her full height, it immediately became apparent they stood dangerously close, and she tried to put some distance between them. But in her haste to escape, Elphi tripped backward on a footstool that she could have sworn wasn't there a moment ago.
A heartbeat away from falling and making an utter fool of herself, Rufus caught hold of her around her waist and hauled Elphi flat against his chest. Her hands rose of their own volition and clutched at his broad shoulders for support.
It was exhilarating and mortifying all at once, and the breath caught in her throat at his nearness.
He must have heard the little noise because his arms tightened around her waist as he bent his head and whispered, "Are you feeling unwell?"
His breath against her cheek caused a delightful shiver to race across her skin.
"I'm fine," she choked out as she turned her head, only to be startled into silence when the tip of her nose bumped his.
A mischievous-looking grin curled his lips, making the dimple in his left cheek wink at her, and Elphi found herself fighting a sudden, intense desire to kiss him. It would be simple, a mere lifting of her chin, and their lips would touch.
His nostrils flared, the hand at Elphi's waist shifted as though he sensed her thoughts, and a mix of emotions burst into his eyes, sending a thrill of excitement rushing through her entire body.
Rosalind and their surroundings were forgotten. All that mattered was that she was in Rufus's arms, a single breath away from being kissed.
"Splendid! I see Treadway found his bride," Reggie chirped as he clapped his hands and waltzed into the room, shattering the moment.
He paused at the door, a smile in his voice when he continued, "I daresay, despite the abruptness of the situation, I believe the whole ton will declare yours the love match of the season once they see the two of you together."
Elphi blinked and swallowed, embarrassed she'd so thoroughly lost herself while in the company of others but also undeniably disappointed it had ended too soon. Disengaging herself from Rufus, she tried to take a few cautious steps away, hoping a little distance would help clear her mind, but Rufus refused to let go of her hand.
"Reggie," Rosalind softly warned.
He shrugged and smiled, "It's the truth, darling, and simply had to be said."
Rosalind sighed and shook her head as she offered an apologetic look and walked with them to the front door.
"Where's Roderick?" Elphi asked, noticing how Rosalind stiffened upon hearing Roderick's name.
"He-" Rufus began to say while helping Elphi into her cloak.
"Poor fellow complained of a migraine," Reggie interrupted as he studied his appearance in the enormous foyer mirror and straightened an errant lock of his golden hair. "Looked positively wretched too, so I had Mrs. Peston prepare one of her miracle tonics and sent him on his way. Should be good as new come the morning."