Page 93 of Infamous

If he had really been there at all.

Liza was trying to catch her attention, to divert her from this horrifying train of thought.

‘Edith, are you listening to me?’

Eddie just blinked at her, feeling close to tears. It was all just toomuch.

‘You’renot in the family way?’ Liza said suddenly.

‘In the .?.?.?’

‘There is no need to look quite so shocked, it is a perfectly reasonable question considering the circumstances.’

‘No,’ Eddie choked out. ‘No, that isn’t it at all, we have never .?.?. I would never .?.?.’

Liza sighed and placed both of her hands flat on the table in front of her, considering Eddie thoughtfully.

‘Look, I am well aware of how Nash behaves. I know what sorts of lies he tells about me and our marriage to get silly girls to lift their skirts, but let me tell you plainly – we may quarrel while he is in the process of writing something, but once his work is finished, all is well again. I do not entirely blame him – he is an artist, after all, and he had a difficult start in life with a father like that – but hehadpromised not to go to bed with you, which is why—’

‘He .?.?.? He had promised .?.?. aboutme?’

Fresh horrors were dawning. The thought that Nash and Liza had discussed her like this – that Liza had suspected, or even perhapsexpectedthat their relationship would be romantic – was utterly mortifying. How long ago had this discussion taken place? When she had been invited to Bede House? Even earlier, when Liza had seen Eddie and Nash ensconced together in the study at his party?

It was further confirmation that she hadn’t really known him at all.

‘Well. If there’s no chance you might be with child, that makes things a lot simpler.’

‘You do not seem upset,’ said Eddie faintly, putting her head in her hands and focusing on the soothing, dependable grain of the wood in front of her. ‘About any of this.’

‘You are very young, Edith. But when you love somebody for as long as Nash and I have, you get to know all their faults and foibles – and then when you have a clear idea of the state of things, you assess, and decide whether you can stand to put up with them.’

Eddie just stared at her, feeling hollowed-out and exhausted. Clearly believing that these matters had been neatly tied away, Liza cleared her throat and glanced upwards.

‘I thought I saw some fresh damage to the house on my approach?’

‘The ceiling in the long gallery fell in,’ Eddie said.

‘Of course it did.’ Liza sighed, drumming her fingers on the table, and then stopping abruptly. ‘Right. I assume you have been eating, even without any staff? Were you planning on breakfast?’

‘Er. Yes. I could make .?.?. Would you like an egg?’

‘Best make it two.’

Eddie went down to the kitchen feeling as if she were still sleeping. She lit the fire with relative ease, having seen the process demonstrated many times, and then fried four eggs until they began to bubble and curl at the edges. It was easier to focus on them than to think about anything else; eggs were just about the only things that still made sense. She slid them onto a mostly clean plate, located two forks and then took them upstairs.

When she entered the dining room, Nash was there.

He looked very pale. He had purpling circles under his eyes, and he still hadn’t shaved. The overall effect was a little pathetic; Eddie was irritated to discover that she still found it endearing. She glanced him over, looking for injuries, or for any sign at all that he had been involved in a dramatic grapple for his life the night before, and found none.

It was hard to read the atmosphere between him and his wife; Eddie half-expected Nash to turn on her and demand that she leave rather than interrupt their private reunion, but he only glanced down at the brown package that Liza seemed to have delivered to his hands and cleared his throat.

Liza took charge.

‘Ah, there we are. Thank you, Miss Miller. Nash, the poor girl looks half-dead – you must send her back to town to be revived.’

‘Hmm?’ said Nash. He glanced up at Eddie, his face breaking into a tentative smile. ‘Yes. Yes, I do think .?.?. It will be time for Miss Li’s wedding soon anyway, will it not?’

‘Yes,’ said Eddie. ‘Just before Christmas.’