Deceived Read Free Page B

was often an empty-headed gossip, but she was rarely cruel. Even when she was, it wasn’t purposeful. She just liked to know about other people.
    But Josie knew how damaging gossip and whispers could be.
    “And then there is Claire!” Mrs. Westfall continued.
    Josie tensed further as thoughts of her friend’s desperate situation mobbed her. “Yes, there is no need to mention Claire.”
    “How can one not when one talks about the Woodleys?” her mother said, waving a hand in front of her face. “I used to be sorry I had a daughter who did not create interest, but then Claire ran away with that scoundrel. Now I am pleased.”
    Josie shook her head. “Thank you, Mama.”
    Mrs. Westfall stopped and looked at her, and the color faded from her bright cheeks. “Oh, darling, I’m sorry. That sounded like a judgment and it wasn’t meant as one. We are who we are, aren’t we?”
    “Indeed.” Josie sighed as she took the envelope back to look at it. “But instead of rambling on about gossip, why don’t we open this note and find out what it says?”
    Mrs. Westfall nodded, leaning forward as Josie broke the familiar seal and unfolded the pages.
    “It is from Audrey,” Josie said. “Welcoming us back to the village, et cetera, et cetera. Ah, well…” She trailed off in her reading, knowing that blood was flooding her face.
    “What? What?” Mrs. Westfall all but ripped the pages back from her and read the last part out loud. “Oh goodness, Audrey is inviting us to her nuptials at the family home in just three days time!”
    Josie nodded slowly. “Yes, that is what I read as well,” she whispered.
    “The whole family will be there,” her mother continued. “Oh, how nice it will be to spend time with them again.”
    Josie squeezed her eyes shut. “Not the whole family.”
    A frown was Mrs. Westfall’s response. “Well, no. Not Claire, of course. But there will be Audrey and Edward, Gabriel and Evan.”
    Josie pushed to her feet at the mention of Evan’s name. She moved to the window and stared out at the garden behind the house. “Of course they will all be there. They wouldn’t miss this grand event, would they?”
    “You know, we weren’t invited to Edward’s recent nuptials,” her mother said behind her. “We simply cannot miss this set. If we do, we won’t be invited to Gabriel or Evan’s weddings, for certain.”
    Josie gripped a fist against the glass. “But perhaps we shouldn’t intrude.”
    She knew her mother would not accept that option, even before she squealed out a sound of derision. “Gracious no! We will go, Josie. I will pen a response right away.”
    Josie leaned her head forward until the window cooled her suddenly hot brow. “Of course. You know best.”
    She heard Mrs. Westfall stand and suddenly she was at Josie’s elbow. “You know, dearest, in the not-so-distant past, Audrey was on wallflower row with you. And now she is marrying and people even whisper it is for love ! That should give you hope.”
    She pressed a quick kiss to Josie’s cheek and then flitted out of the parlor, invitation in hand, to pen a response. Once she was gone, Josie rested her arms on the window and her head in her arms.
    God, this was a disaster. She didn’t want to go to the Woodley estate. She didn’t want to sit and watch Audrey marry and know that Claire, her best friend, her confidante, her sometime protector, wasn’t there to see it. She most certainly didn’t want to see Evan!
    She made a face as she straightened up and returned to the paperwork she had discarded, but she could no longer concentrate as she flipped through the pages. All she could think about was Evan. Evan’s cruel words so many years ago and Evan’s handsome face that she often found in crowds, sought at parties, the face that followed her into her dreams. An unwanted passenger that always left her confused.
    “Damn him,” she muttered.
    And now she would be attending a family wedding where he would be front and