Page 58 of The Wallflower Manifesto
“He had to go somewhere,” Dot reasoned. “Silas and I thought it was a good idea. Mr. Murphy was in need of more accommodating living quarters so he could open his new office, and he is someone we can trust to act as a sort of … chaperone,” she chose the last word with a wrinkle of her nose.
“Oh, well, that’s delightful.” Ember chuckled. “I don’t know Abe well, but I couldn’t have imagined a more ridiculous pairing.”
“Idoknow him well,” Millie found herself interjecting, frustrated that her dearest friends were so completely oblivious. Even their looks of mutual surprise irritated her, dampening her ability to rant.
She paused, realizing that perhaps she, like Abe, haddeliberatelynot told them. Was she just as bad as he was?
“We’ve been … solving a case together,” she attempted, knowing how it sounded, grimacing.
“Is that what we’re calling it?” Ember asked, her eyes twinkling. “Millie, I didn’t know you had it in you. He is a handsome devil, I’ll give you that.”
“He’s been courting you?” Dot attempted to clarify, looking like a concerned matron. “And he didn’t tell you about Freddy?”
“He hasn’t beencourtingme,” Millie protested weakly.
Dot frowned. She obviously disagreed without knowing a single detail to justify her disagreement. It made Millie want to pull a blanket over her head until the end of her life.
“If he didn’t tell you about Freddy,” Ember said, leaning back on the cushions like she was simply taking in a comedy at the Covent Garden theater, “then he probably hasn’t told Freddy about you.”
“So what?” Millie replied, clinging to her impatience because it felt better than her shame.
Dot made a face. “You’re Freddy’s sister-in-law, Millie,” she reminded her. “And Freddy is a peer. Abe is … probably not what Freddy would consider appropriate.”
“Bang appropriate!” Ember cut in, excitedly malicious. “Freddy is a possessive little snot. He willhatesharing Abe, and even though he barely knows you, Millie, he will also hate sharing you. Abe getting cozy with Claire’s sister? Oh, he’ll burst into flame.”
“Ember,” Dot said.
Do shut up, they all heard in Dot’s unspoken voice.
It just madeEmber grin again. “But we’re angry at Abe, aye? I just want to make sure I’m reacting properly.”
“Angryis a strong word,” lied Millie.
“Mr. Murphy will make it right,” Dot said gently, as though he already had and she’d seen it in a crystal ball. “He’s been invaluable in this whole affair, even back when he was spying on us. And besides, we’re all a little stupid about Freddy.”
“Yes,” agreed Millie impatiently, “you all are.”
Ember giggled.
“How is everything else going, dear?” Dot put in, frowning at both of her lesser companions. “Are you certain this doesn’t just feel larger than it is because of everything else? The letter?”
“The letter,” Millie echoed, deflating. “I should never have written it.”
This won sounds of protest from the others.
“Don’t youeversay that,” Ember snapped, her wry amusement gone in an instant. “Don’t even think it. If it didn’t need to be written, then Society wouldn’t be boiling like lobsters over it. No one makes a fuss over something that shouldn’t exist.”
“Lady Bentley is no longer the sole suspect,” Dot put in, nodding along in agreement. “The whisper campaign has worked. I daresay Mrs. Smith is enjoying her voluntary inclusion in the suspect pool entirely too much. And now no one can say a woman didn’t write it.”
“It has spoiled matches,” Millie said softly, “inspired a runaway who still hasn’t been found. And I read something last week about a coalition of servant women buying a boarding house together after reading it. I didn’t tell them to do that. I don’t even know if it’s wise.”
“Well, that is kind of the point, isn’t it?” Ember pointed out, picking up a discarded dart to examine it in her lap. She flicked her finger over the sharp tip. “They don’t need to be told. It means what you said is true.”
Millie considered this, still not convinced. It made the pain around Abe and Freddy a little fuzzier, yes, but only because there was more anxiety to share when she really thought about it.
If they hadn’t been interrupted again right at that moment, she might have never come up with an answer at all. But, as it was—
“Mrs. Cain!” called out an absolutely overwhelmed maid just as the door to the study flew open again. “I am so sorry!”
