Matthew cocked his head. “Did you meet her at a party, like Archie did with Mama?”
Marigold snorted into her glass of wine, and Archie’s cheeks flushed a dark pink. “That’s also not a good story for supper, lad,” he murmured.
“No,” Whit said. “She was admiring my horse.”
Aunt Margaret’s brow raised. “Is that a euphemism of some sort?”
Whit chuckled. “Lily has a remarkable gift for assessing horseflesh. The first thing she did when I told her I’d recently purchased my new stallion was to inform me I’d been swindled.”
“Swindled?” Her father scoffed. “Dreadful.”
“I agree.” Whit held Lily’s gaze, and she couldn’t look away. “I was more than irritated at first, but her fire mesmerized me. Herknowledge and willingness to tell a stranger that he’d been a fool…” The corner of his lip pulled up. “I was smitten.”
Her mother sighed dreamily. “She was smitten, too. For the first time in her life, she was talking about something other than horses.”
“Mama,” Lily protested, but her father spoke over her.
“It was no surprise to me when he asked me for your hand.” The man’s lips flattened for a moment. “If I hadn’t said yes, she would have run off with Whitby, anyway.”
She likely would have. The Philip who courted her had been charming, roguish, with a crooked grin that made Lily ache between her thighs. His teasing left her feeling clever instead of silly, asking questions and listening to her responses, andrememberingwhat she’d said weeks later. Soon she was staring out the window of their townhouse, hoping he’d come to call, collecting his cards and letters, then tracing her fingers over the words until she’d memorized them.
Much like she’d done with his most recent letter.
“As I said, shortly after she accepted my proposal, my father fell ill.” His expression darkened.
The viscount leaned back in his chair. “I’d forgotten we’d had to postpone your wedding for so long.” He shook his head. “I hated to see the old earl suffer.”
“As did I.” Philip cleared his throat before continuing, the rough sound echoing through the eerily silent dining room. “After he passed, I was away from Lily for months to manage the transfer ofthe estate and support my mother. But we could set the wedding date as soon as the year of mourning ended, which was—”
“Christmas Day.” Lily’s words fell between them, shattering like broken glass and spilling across the table.
Every eye stared at her, but she could only see Philip, the pain as he remembered losing his father, the fear that he would never be the man the prior earl had been. The joy in his letter when he wrote to her about planning their wedding on the family estate in Lancashire.
He toyed with the stem of his wineglass, staring at a point in the distance as though lost in his memories.
Hisemptywine glass. Lily cocked her head. Philip was never without a drink, typically whisky or brandy. This glass wasn’t merely empty, butclean, never filled.
When Philip spoke again, his words were rough. “Yes. We set the date as Christmas, so we could celebrate with everyone we loved best in the world.”
His voice echoed in her mind, the memory pulled from a place so deep she never thought she’d access it again.
I bought this ornament for you. Next year, we’ll hang it on our own tree, with our family…
She slammed her eyes shut against the memories and cleared her throat. “But you wanted to take a ride in your new curricle.”
“And there was an accident,” Matthew whispered, the reverence in his tone settling over the table.
“There was.” Philip pressed his lips into a flat line. “I nearly lost my leg, and the recovery was abysmal. But your aunt Lily was there to help me recover.”
I can’t survive without you by my side, Lily…
“You needed your doctors and medicine to control your pain. Not me.” Her help hadn’t been enough. He’d still been limping on their wedding day, his eyes glassy as they recited their vows.
His face blanched. “That’s not true.”
I swear I’ll never leave you, not after everything you’ve done for me…
“What kept you away?” The entire table startled at Ben’s words, and the man’s dark eyes were narrowed at his brother-in-law. Rose put her hand on his arm to still him, but he continued undeterred. “No one has seen you in months.”
