wife in on the threats as well. Had Hannah promise to do me a mischief if I allowed any harm to come to you.”
I chuckled as I moved back from the step to lean against the door.
“Think of the injustice, getting my wife in on her threats. It’s not done, I tell you.”
“Are you afraid of your wife, Dud?”
Dudley sputtered. “Wouldn’t you be? The woman’s unpredictable.”
“But you married her,” I reminded him.
“That I did,” he replied, rather dreamily as he gazed up at the night sky.
It took me some time to realize that Hannah and Dudley were not playing a jest upon us, but were indeed married. Though I could guess Hannah’s intentions behind marrying Dudley, I did not at all understand why Dudley would choose to marry Hannah. She was wild, headstrong, and impulsive. In short, she was a whirlwind. Dudley was staid, or so I had thought throughout the years of our acquaintance. Now I had my doubts that I had truly seen the real Dudley.
“ Why did you marry her?” That came out harsher than I wished, so I corrected my question. “What I mean to say is, how did you meet her?”
Dudley’s smile blossomed as he sighed wistfully and leaned against the wall across from me. “She and I met at a masquerade in Boston. After a night of dancing and a moonlit stroll, I knew she was the woman that I would spend the rest of my life following.”
“Did you know whom she was? Were you not masked?”
“The masks came off quite early in our evening. We have no secrets between us, you understand.”
That must have been a wondrous experience.
“Hannah showed me a passion that I had never before encountered. For life, for love, for me.” His grin was lopsided in the moonlight. “I was not the greatest matrimonial prize, but she saw something in me that she found agreeable. The next day when I called upon her, I asked for her hand. She rocked both heaven and earth for me when she said yes.”
Dudley paused, his brows creasing. “We kept our marriage a secret from everyone for a time.”
“Were you worried that your mother would try to pull Hannah into the Holy Order?”
“Yes. Though it was useless to try to hide her. Hannah was a tool for the Order before ever she met me. For a time I thought my mother set her on my trail, but she did not. It was fate that brought us together, and together we will remain.”
It did seem that Hannah genuinely loved Dudley, and he she. As strange as their relationship was to me, I envied them their infallible love and devotion.
“If Hannah was in Boston, why would you move to Philadelphia? Unless it was your job… ” That was it. “It was your job to befriend me.”
Dudley did not move, did not blink. He stared straight into my eyes and for a moment I saw a different Dudley. He was not the carefree, poetical joke. He appeared as serious as Sam, and twice as dangerous. There was something cunning in this glimpse of Dudley that put me on alert. When he blinked, it disappeared.
“You have been good to me over the years, never thinking me beneath you, never treating me as if I was not intelligent enough to be your friend.”
Dudley paused for a deep breath. “You are the closest to a brother that I will ever have. And I love your sister like she is my own sister. I even like that scamp Levi. I would like to become a Phantom. I would like to join your family.”
“You are family, Dudley.”
“I thank you for saying so, Jack. When I am gone, I hope you shall remember me fondly.”
That took me aback. “You are not abandoning us, Dudley, surely.”
“Things are coming to a head, Jack, and soon it will be time for me and my wife to go. A choice is coming for all of us. It is best that we be prepared.”
“Jack!” Freddy called from inside the house. I rushed in with Dudley on my heels.
The floor had a layer of dust, and there were cobwebs in the doorways, but it was the state of the parlor that gave me pause. I stopped so abruptly that Dudley barreled into
I chuckled as I moved back from the step to lean against the door.
“Think of the injustice, getting my wife in on her threats. It’s not done, I tell you.”
“Are you afraid of your wife, Dud?”
Dudley sputtered. “Wouldn’t you be? The woman’s unpredictable.”
“But you married her,” I reminded him.
“That I did,” he replied, rather dreamily as he gazed up at the night sky.
It took me some time to realize that Hannah and Dudley were not playing a jest upon us, but were indeed married. Though I could guess Hannah’s intentions behind marrying Dudley, I did not at all understand why Dudley would choose to marry Hannah. She was wild, headstrong, and impulsive. In short, she was a whirlwind. Dudley was staid, or so I had thought throughout the years of our acquaintance. Now I had my doubts that I had truly seen the real Dudley.
“ Why did you marry her?” That came out harsher than I wished, so I corrected my question. “What I mean to say is, how did you meet her?”
Dudley’s smile blossomed as he sighed wistfully and leaned against the wall across from me. “She and I met at a masquerade in Boston. After a night of dancing and a moonlit stroll, I knew she was the woman that I would spend the rest of my life following.”
“Did you know whom she was? Were you not masked?”
“The masks came off quite early in our evening. We have no secrets between us, you understand.”
That must have been a wondrous experience.
“Hannah showed me a passion that I had never before encountered. For life, for love, for me.” His grin was lopsided in the moonlight. “I was not the greatest matrimonial prize, but she saw something in me that she found agreeable. The next day when I called upon her, I asked for her hand. She rocked both heaven and earth for me when she said yes.”
Dudley paused, his brows creasing. “We kept our marriage a secret from everyone for a time.”
“Were you worried that your mother would try to pull Hannah into the Holy Order?”
“Yes. Though it was useless to try to hide her. Hannah was a tool for the Order before ever she met me. For a time I thought my mother set her on my trail, but she did not. It was fate that brought us together, and together we will remain.”
It did seem that Hannah genuinely loved Dudley, and he she. As strange as their relationship was to me, I envied them their infallible love and devotion.
“If Hannah was in Boston, why would you move to Philadelphia? Unless it was your job… ” That was it. “It was your job to befriend me.”
Dudley did not move, did not blink. He stared straight into my eyes and for a moment I saw a different Dudley. He was not the carefree, poetical joke. He appeared as serious as Sam, and twice as dangerous. There was something cunning in this glimpse of Dudley that put me on alert. When he blinked, it disappeared.
“You have been good to me over the years, never thinking me beneath you, never treating me as if I was not intelligent enough to be your friend.”
Dudley paused for a deep breath. “You are the closest to a brother that I will ever have. And I love your sister like she is my own sister. I even like that scamp Levi. I would like to become a Phantom. I would like to join your family.”
“You are family, Dudley.”
“I thank you for saying so, Jack. When I am gone, I hope you shall remember me fondly.”
That took me aback. “You are not abandoning us, Dudley, surely.”
“Things are coming to a head, Jack, and soon it will be time for me and my wife to go. A choice is coming for all of us. It is best that we be prepared.”
“Jack!” Freddy called from inside the house. I rushed in with Dudley on my heels.
The floor had a layer of dust, and there were cobwebs in the doorways, but it was the state of the parlor that gave me pause. I stopped so abruptly that Dudley barreled into
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