His Jilted Bride (Historical Regency Romance)
escaping a tabby, and he
wouldn't so much as mutter an impolite statement in response. Yes,
Sir Wallace Benedict was odd, indeed; but his oddness was exactly
what made him a good match for Edwina.
    “ Normally, it's not a brilliant idea to lie to one's wife,”
Benjamin conceded a moment later. “But sometimes it must be done.
Perhaps that's the situation in which Elijah currently finds
himself.”
    “ No,” Elijah said, giving a lopsided shrug. “It was just a
question. Nothing more.”
    Five snorts rang out, leaving Elijah
and Henry the only two who didn't find humor in his
statement.
    “ It's never just a question,” Uncle John said. “Especially not
that one.”
    “ I don't think it's wise to lie to her about anything,” Alex
said, garnering nods of agreement from Andrew, Paul, Uncle John and
Sir Wallace.
    “ You wouldn't,” Benjamin muttered, crossing his arms. “The
fact is, sometimes it's just the way it has to be and if someone
sees a problem with it, then it's because they're too simpleminded
to understand.”
    A series of snorts, guffaws, scoffs,
and head shaking by all the other married men in the room followed
the duke's words, but he didn't seem to care. Benjamin Collins was
the kind who didn't care what others thought of him or said about
him. He was who he was, he said what he felt like saying, and did
whatever he wanted; and if you didn't like that, he didn't care.
Except when it came to his wife. Madison's opinion seemed to be the
only one he cared a whit about. Apparently she didn't mind his
fibbing or he wouldn't be advocating it so much.
    “ Tell me, Benjamin, how exactly did your wife feel when she
learned the truth? And don't think for one minute that I'll believe
that she never learned of it, I know my daughter better than that.
All three of my daughters can sniff out the truth even if it's
buried under a thousand pounds of manure,” John mumbled.
    Benjamin shrugged. “She didn't care so
much and I expect that Lady Amelia won't, either.”
    “ Didn't care so much,” Andrew muttered, shaking his head.
“From what I heard from her sister—who just so happens to be my
wife—I'd say she might have cared more than you'd like to
believe.”
    “ Well, that might be what she told Brooke,” Benjamin said with
an overdone frown. “But I don't think so. Madison has no qualm
telling me when I do something she doesn't like. If my omission had
displeased her that greatly, she'd have said so. Besides, she's the
one who insisted I lie to her.”
    Elijah's interest was piqued, but he
kept quiet. In all of his travels he'd learned that in situations
such as this that one gains far more information by being silent
than by asking questions.
    “ How the blazes did you reach such an illogical conclusion?”
Alex burst out, taking the words straight from Elijah's
mind.
    “ She said she didn't wish to discuss a certain matter, so I
didn't. Therefore, she had no one but herself to blame for my
omission.”
    Elijah nodded slowly as conversation
went on around him. His situation had many similarities, but was
still different. He chanced another glance over to Henry. Everyone
said they were identical, and perhaps they were with their father's
blond hair, blue eyes, and tilted grin, but their personalities
were not so identical. Never mind the fact that Henry would not
have made the decisions that had led Elijah to this situation, but
if he had, he'd just do whatever he felt was his duty without
worrying about hurt feelings or damaging a friendship. Henry was
more like their father and Alex in that respect. Henry relied on
logic and duty to make his decisions while Elijah had a tendency to
let his heart interfere—a trait that seemed to be leading him into
more trouble with each passing day.
    He resisted the urge to scowl at the
realization and pushed to his feet. Amelia had not looked overly
pleased about being forced to join the ladies for a bout of drawing
room chitchat. Surely by now she would

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