A tiny voice in the back of her mind asked why. Ellis had been keeping secrets from him all along. What was one more?
But this wasn’t her secret. It was about Roman’s wife. She already felt guilty for keeping things from him. She couldn’t add another.
Pandora clasped her hands firmly in her lap. “I don’t think you should tell him any of it—about Harker or how you might feel. You’ve already made your decision that you’d like to come to Bath and be a librarian. I think that’s a wonderful idea.”
Min sent her a dark look. “Don’t try to persuade her based on your own experience. Just because Bane treated you horribly doesn’t mean Keele will do the same to Ellis.”
Pandora pursed her lips at Min. “Nor should you force your opinion on her just because you managed to reform a rogue, and so did Jo. That doesn’t mean that Ellis will.”
“Is Keele even a rogue?” Iona asked.
“He was,” Ellis said. “When he was younger, before his father died. Then he grew serious and married to save the marquessate.”
“So, he’s a rogue that reformed himself,” Min said. “Splendid. I think you should tell him. What’s the worst that could happen?”
That she would be abandoned again. Ellis couldn’t face that.
“‘Never allow a rogue to see your heart,’” Pandora said loudly. “That is directly from our rules. Ellis will break that if she reveals herself to Keele.”
“We’ve all broken the rules at some point,” Jo muttered. “Including you.”
Pandora made a sound in her throat. “I’m aware. I’m the reason the bloody rules exist. Forgive me if I’m trying to save one of our own from potential heartache.”
“Your points are well made,” Ellis said with a grateful nod. She couldn’t discount how aligned she was with Pandora above the others. Her advice was, by nature of their similarities, more helpful.
Ellis glanced around the circle and smiled at each of her friends. “I’ll think about all you’ve said. I think we need to take Jo downstairs so she can eat.”
“Thank you,” Jo said with great relief, prompting them all to laugh.
They stood and made their way from the drawing room. Min and Ellis brought up the rear, and on the way out, Min touched Ellis’s arm. They stayed back a moment as the others started toward the stairs.
Min looked at her imploringly. “If you love Keele, you must tell him. If there’s even the smallest chance you could find happiness together, don’t you think you should take it?”
“What if there’s a greater chance that he doesn’t want me?” Ellis asked. “I don’t wish to suffer that kind of rejection.” Again.
“I don’t want that for you either.” Min looped her arm through Ellis’s and leaned her head against Ellis’s.
They walked downstairs together, and Ellis was just happy to have her sister back.
Chapter 16
After dropping Ellis at Wellesbourne House, Roman continued to the Phoenix Club, where he would bide his time while waiting for her. He wasn’t in a particularly social mood, but he could sit in a corner of the library and sip one of the club’s excellent—and smuggled—Scottish whiskies.
Since it was still early in the evening, he didn’t encounter many gentlemen as he made his way upstairs to the library, a quieter space than the larger, more populated members’ den, which was on the same floor. Not long after he situated himself in a comfortable chair, a waiter came to deliver a whisky. The employees knew what he liked.
Taking his first sip, he noticed Sheff and his new brother-in-law, Evan Pierce, walk in. They scanned the library, and Sheff’s gaze settled on Roman. Sheff leaned toward Evan and said something, then they headed in Roman’s direction.
“Evening, Keele. Mind if we join you?” Sheff asked.
“Not at all.” Roman held his glass on the arm of his chair.
Sheff moved a third chair to be closer, whilst Pierce sat in the one that was already angled near Roman’s. “Whisky?” Roman asked.
“Of course.” It seemed Roman almost always encountered Sheff here. At least, that was the case before he’d married. Now, Sheff did not come round as much.
Seeing him now, Roman couldn’t help thinking of the letter he’d received from Sheff’s mother. But then it hadn’t been far from his mind since he’d received it earlier.
While Roman could come up with the money to pay her tomorrow, he wasn’t sure he should. He’d considered insisting she sign a document saying she wouldn’t request more money, but the more people he involved in the transaction, the more likely the entire sordid situation was to become known.
