‘We don’t know what Pellham did for certain,’ Dr Kapoor murmured, ‘only the extent of the injuries.’
Josephine hardly dared breathe as the conversation around her started to turn to some of her own questions.
‘Huntingly’s weapon backfired, and they were Pellham’s Flintlock pistols,’ the captain frowned. ‘That’s evidence enough for me. If a man can’t be honourable in a duel, no soldier will defend him in battle.’
‘It may have been loaded incorrectly,’ Dr Kapoor insisted, with a glance at Josephine. ‘I have known terrible injuries from the like.’
‘Unusual with seconds present. And it nearly took Huntingly’s arm!’ the captain argued.
‘What happened to Pellham?’ Josephine’s voice rose above the rest, drawing the conversation to an abrupt halt.
Everyone turned towards her as a memory of the unusual scars that scored Huntingly’s arm and chest reached through her thoughts. She swallowed: she had to know the truth.
‘Yes, what did happen to Pellham?’ her older sister echoed in a tired tone. ‘And do I need to talk to Thomas?’
The viscount lay his hand over Phoebe’s. ‘There’s nothing you need worry about just now,’ he reassured, ‘and there were never any charges, so Huntingly is free to look for a wife if he wishes. Though I’d be surprised if Matilda doesn’t lead Thomas a merry moorland dance if he tries to shoehorn in a match before her season!’
At this, they all laughed as the viscount lifted his wife’s pale hand and kissed it.
‘And may I ask how you are feeling this evening, Viscountess?’ Dr Kapoor added with a kindly smile. ‘Did you try the roasted apples? Unlike many of my colleagues, I do not believe pregnancy to be a disease, but rather a physical state that deserves medical care and attention.’
Josephine half-listened as the viscount and Dr Kapoor steered the conversation away from bloody duels. She was relieved her sister was receiving such good care, but also highly distracted. Huntingly’s mocking eyes flitted through her thoughts, and a blush stole across her cheeks. How she’d ever had the audacity to ask him to marry her was becoming a mystery of epic proportions. Thomas’s judgement had never been in more doubt, and nothing was more important than knowing the truth.
‘Whatdidhappen to Pellham in Italy?’ she repeated, stilling the conversation a second time.
‘I think enough has been said on this subject, Josephine,’ the viscount replied. ‘It’s a discussion for another occasion.’ He frowned in warning, and she understood, of course. He was trying to protect Phoebe, and a wave of guilt rose within her as she acknowledged her sister’s pale and anxious face. Yet, she had no time to waste either. Unless Huntingly was intending to publicly humiliate her, she was committed to marrying him, which meant she had to find out the truth. She tried to stem the panic coursing through her limbs as she looked from the viscount, to Phoebe, to Dr Kapoor and lastly to the captain, before drawing a shaky breath. ‘You see, I need to know,’ she blurted in a rush, ‘because I’ve asked Lord Huntingly to marry me!’
There was a moment’s pregnant silence, and then everyone began speaking at once.
‘Jo! What on earth do you mean?’ Phoebe gasped.
‘Did you saymarry?’ the viscount demanded sharply.
‘I always said it’s the quiet ones you have to watch!’ the captain groaned.
‘I hope you have not overly excited yourself.’ Dr Kapoor frowned.
‘It’s only because Thomas already agreed to a match… for Matilda.’ Josephine flushed. ‘And I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that she’d rather join the foreign legion than marry any gentleman just now…’
Thomas berated her through her panicking thoughts:
‘What a goose you are, Josephine. Of course I haven’t arranged for you to marry Huntingly…! You had your turn and I’m not leaving anything else to chance. Matilda will marry Huntingly this year, and there is nothing more to be said.’
‘…so I went to see him this morning.’ She pushed her spectacles back up her nose, conscious her least shockable sister was looking more shocked by the second. ‘It was quite clear from his reaction that he hasn’t given the match much thought at all, that Thomas is right and he is simply looking for a respectable name to align with his own.’ She drew a deep breath. ‘As you all know I have three seasons behind me and no expectations, so it just felt… sensible to offer myself in Matilda’s place, and he has accepted, which is why I ask about Pellham.’
She swallowed and pushed her chin a little higher, though she was conscious she was trembling too.
‘Jo, no!’ Phoebe exclaimed wretchedly. ‘I knew you were distracted… butthis? A thousand times, no! Why didn’t you come to us? Alexander could have spoken with Thomas and?—’
‘Most likely achieved nothing,’ the viscount drawled, his eyes glittering. ‘Surely you know your eldest brother by now, my dear? Not that I approve of your reckless course of action, either, Josephine.’ He frowned heavily, before nodding at his brother. ‘Tell us everything you know, Elliot, and we’ll see if a plan can be fathomed.’
‘Well, that’s just it,’ Captain Damerel replied, shooting Josephine a worried glance. ‘I know very little, only that Pellham died in Italy.’
There was another silence as Josephine felt a coldness whisper across her skin.
‘Go on,’ the viscount drawled, his eyelids sinking even lower.
‘It was just after we both sold out last year. Huntingly went on a short tour while I came home. Next thing I heard was that Pellham had been killed in some skirmish in Rome… swords, or so I understand.’
