“What is going on with you, Ophelia? Rose asked. “Why would you lie about your tutoring?”
Ophelia’s grip tightened on the arms of her chair, her panic rising.
“The truth is I have been painting,” she confessed. “For other noble families. In disguise.”
Amelia and Theo’s conversation ceased, and once more, Ophelia felt the full weight of her friends stares.
“Whatever are you doing that for?” Seraphina asked after a tense moment of silence.
Ophelia swallowed, the urge to tell the truth bearing down on her now more than ever.
“I…” she rasped, looking from set of concerned eyes to the next. “My father needed help. Some bad investments caught up with him.”
Shame poured through her as she made her confession, compounding her heartache.
“Why did you not tell us?” Rose asked, reaching for her hand.
“We would have helped immediately,” Seraphina added.
“Wewillhelp immediately,” Theo corrected.
“No,” Ophelia said sharply, pulling her hand away from Rose’s grasp. “I am not a charity! That is why I did not want to tell you.”
“This is not charity, darling, this is love,” Amelia countered quickly, “Our sisterhood is sacred! If one of us is need then we all help, that is what we do!”
Ophelia hated how Amelia’s words brought tears to her eyes. This was not her! She never used to cry so easily! She was strong! She was capable! She was…
“I am so tired,” Ophelia whispered, bowing her head. “I am so sorry I snapped at you all. You did not deserve that. I have justbeen trying so hard to help my father. It was difficult enough to help with the money, but then when his health started to decline? And then his insistence that I marry? It just has me all out of sorts.”
“We understand,” Rose promised.
“How long have you been struggling in secret?” Seraphina gently asked.
Ophelia drew in a steadying breath.
“For a while now,” she confessed. “However I was starting to make headway. I was hired by a…um…a business, who commissioned a series. It paid very well. It has us nearly caught up on our debts.”
“Well, that is wonderful that you were able to do so,” Amelia praised.
“What sort of business?” Theo asked. “I would love to visit their establishment and see your work.”
Ophelia pressed her lips together for a moment, then decided to make one more confession.
“The Devil’s Masquerade,” she answered quietly.
Her friends stared at her in shock.
“TheDevil’s Masquerade?” Theo asked.
Ophelia nodded, blushing.
“You met the owner?” Amelia asked, leaning forward in suspense.
The rest of her friends followed. The mystery of the club’s owner had fascinated every member of the Londontonfor years. Papers had been trying relentlessly to exploit him.
“No,” Ophelia lied, feeling no need to confess that particular secret. It was not just hers, after all. And she had sworn to Tristan that she would never tell a soul. Even if she despised him more than ever now, she could not betray him like that.
“No, I just spoke with someone from the inner circle,” she went on. “We discussed what they wanted and I provided it for a price. No real introductions were made.”
