13. Edward
Edward
" W e need to talk about all our secrets."
I'd cornered Daphne in the music room after spending the better part of an hour processing what Lili had witnessed in the gardens.
My sister sat at the piano bench, her fingers picking out a melancholy melody that seemed to match the storm building outside.
The piano keys reflected the lightning flashes from outside, creating an almost theatrical backdrop for our family drama.
When she heard my voice, her hands stilled on the keys, and I saw the flicker of panic cross her features before she could mask it.
"Edward." She turned to face me, attempting her usual bright smile. "What secrets? I'm afraid I don't—"
"James." The single word cut through her pretense like a blade. "I know about you and James."
The color drained from her face so completely I thought she might faint. Her carefully maintained composure crumbled, leaving behind something raw and vulnerable that I rarely saw from my composed sister. Her hands began fidgeting with the pearl bracelet at her wrist—a nervous habit from childhood.
"How did you—" she began, then stopped herself. "It doesn't matter, does it? You know."
I moved closer, my hands clenching at my sides as the full implications hit me. "I saw you myself. In the gardens, by the old stables. What I witnessed was decidedly not a casual conversation between acquaintances." The guilt rushed over me as I had to lie to my sister to protect Lili, again.
Daphne's hands flew to her face, covering her eyes as if she could hide from the reality of discovery. "Oh God. Edward, I can explain—"
"Can you? Because from where I'm standing, it appears that my sister has been conducting a secret affair with my best friend behind my back.
" The words carried more edge than I'd intended, but the betrayal cut deep.
"How long has this been going on, Daphne?
How long have you been lying to me while I've been trusting James with family business, with access to our home, and my sister's welfare? "
"Months." The admission came out as barely more than a whisper. "Since before... well, since before you started acting differently too."
I caught the implication in her tone but ignored it for now. "Do you have any idea what this could do to our family? To James's position at the firm?"
"If Mother finds out that James has been romantically involved with you, it won't just ruin his career—she will ensure his reputation is completely shattered," I went on, my legal instincts listing the possible calamities.
"Malcolm would be left with no option but to fire him straight away and see to it that he's blacklisted from every major firm in London. "
She looked up at me then, and I saw tears gathering in her eyes. "Do you think I don't know the risks? Do you think James and I haven't discussed this endlessly?"
"Then why—"
"Because I love him!" The words exploded from her with a force that made me step back. "Because despite everything that says we shouldn't be together, despite all the reasons—it's impossible, I love him. And he loves me."
"Love isn't always enough, Daphne." My voice was harder than I'd intended, the older brother in me rising to the surface.
"James is my best friend, which makes this betrayal even worse.
He's seven years older than you, established in his career while you're still figuring out your life.
He knows better than to compromise his position this way, and he certainly knows better than to involve my sister in that compromise.
And you've considered this acceptable risk? "
"I've considered it unavoidable reality." She stood, moving to the window where rain was beginning to streak the glass. "We tried to stay away from each other, Edward. For months, we fought it. But some things are stronger than logic or social expectations.
“You don't understand what it's like being the Grosvenor daughter, Edward," she continued, her voice becoming more desperate. "Every man I meet either wants my money or my connections. James is the first person who made me feel like I was worth something beyond my last name."
The familiar scent of lemon oil and old wood that usually comforted me now felt oppressive, as if the room itself was holding its breath.
"James is my best friend," I said carefully. "But he's also in a position of trust with this family. The power dynamic alone—"
"Is irrelevant because I pursued him," Daphne interrupted, turning back to face me with a flash of defiance. "James tried to maintain a proper distance. I'm the one who kissed him first, who refused to let him push me away for the sake of propriety."
"That doesn't make this less complicated."
"No, it doesn't. But it makes it real." Her voice softened, becoming almost pleading.
"Edward, I know how this looks. I know all the reasons you disapprove.
But you haven't seen us together, haven't seen how he looks at me when he thinks no one is watching.
This isn't some casual affair or a young woman's infatuation with an older man.
This is real, Edward. James sees me—not the Grosvenor name, not the inheritance, not the social connections. He sees me, and he loves me anyway."
"This is what?"
"This is the kind of love that changes everything. The kind that makes you willing to risk your entire world because the alternative—living without it—is unthinkable."
Her words hit closer to home than I cared to admit, but I couldn't let personal experience cloud my judgment about my sister's welfare.
"And what happens when Mother finds out?" I asked bluntly. "When she decides that James has overstepped his bounds and threatens his partnership? When she cuts you off from the family for defying her expectations?"
"Then we'll face it together."
"Together and penniless. Together and ostracized from society. Together with James's career in ruins."
"If necessary, yes." Her chin lifted with the stubborn determination I remembered from childhood. "Some things are worth more than money or social standing."
"Daphne—"
"What about you, Edward?"
The question came out of nowhere, hitting me like a physical blow. "What about me?"
"Don't pretend you don't know what I mean. You think I haven't noticed the changes in you? The secret phone calls, the modified schedule, the way you've been acting like a man with something to hide?"
I kept my expression carefully neutral, though my pulse had begun to race. "I don't know what you're implying."
"I'm not implying anything. I'm asking directly." She moved closer, studying my face with the intensity she'd inherited from our Mother. "Is there someone, Edward? Someone you're keeping secret for the same reasons James and I have been hiding?"
"That's irrelevant to this conversation."
"Is it? Because if you're going to lecture me about inappropriate relationships and professional boundaries, I'd like to know if you're speaking from experience."
The silence stretched between us, heavy with unspoken truths. I could see in her eyes that she already suspected; she was simply waiting for confirmation.
"My personal life isn't the issue here," I said finally.
"Isn't it? Or are you just better at hiding it than we are?"
"Daphne—"
"It's Lili, isn't it?"
The words hung in the air like an accusation. I felt my carefully constructed defenses crumble under the weight of her certainty.
"I don't—"
"Oh, Edward." Her expression shifted from confrontational to something approaching sympathy. "You're in love with her."
I wanted to deny it, to maintain the pretense that had served me for weeks. But looking at my sister's face, seeing the understanding there instead of judgment, I found I couldn't continue the lie.
"Yes," I said quietly. "I am."
The admission felt like stepping off a cliff. For weeks, I'd managed to compartmentalize my feelings for Lili, to maintain the fiction that I was in control of the situation. But speaking the truth aloud to Daphne made it real in a way that terrified me.
"And she feels the same way?"
"She would be the one to answer that."
"But you can't be together publicly because of the acquisition. Because of Mother. Because of all the same reasons James and I can't be open about our relationship."
"The situations are hardly comparable—"
"They're exactly comparable," she interrupted. "We're both in love with people our family would consider inappropriate. We're both risking our reputations and our futures for relationships that society says are impossible."
I studied her face, seeing something that looked almost like guilt. "That's why you encouraged us, isn't it? The London tour, insisting I show her around, pushing us together at every opportunity. You were hoping we'd fall for each other."
"I thought..." She hesitated, then continued more quietly. "I thought if you two found happiness together, it would prove that love could overcome social barriers. That maybe there was hope for James and me too."
"So you used us as test subjects for your own relationship theory."
"I gave you opportunities to discover what was already there," she said defensively. "I saw how you looked at her, Edward. How she responded to you. I didn't create those feelings—I just stopped you from overthinking them into oblivion."
"And then you warned me to be careful. At the auction, you seemed genuinely concerned about us getting involved."
Daphne's expression shifted, becoming more troubled.
"Because by then I realized what I'd done.
I'd pushed you toward someone wonderful without fully considering the consequences.
When I saw how deep your feelings had become, when I realized Mother was already suspicious.
.." She wrapped her arms around herself.
"I panicked. I wanted you to be happy, but I also didn't want to watch you get destroyed the way James and I would be if we were discovered. "
"So you had second thoughts about your matchmaking?"