Rose nearly began to cry as she realized Elijah had started crying on her shoulder. "Oh Elijah... I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry you had to deal with all of this alone. Hidden. I love you! I never want to see you suffer."

Elijah still cried but started to calm. "Oh Rose.. You're so kind to me. I am so sorry I could never tell you. Thank you, thank you so much for ..just.. not hating me. "

"Oh I wish I had known before." She pushed him back gently, so she could look at him, holding his shoulders. "You must have felt so alone."

Elijah looked down and nodded. "Only three people have ever known. But that's because they were like me or my priest. You're the first person who I've told that really could have hated me. "

"Oh, Elijah. I could never hate you." Rose said. Although maybe her heart broke a little. It would heal soon enough and she'd find another gay man to try and seduce into a marriage. "Simon... Simon was like that too, Elijah. And I wish I had known. It... isolated him from us. That secret. It pains me to think you might have felt the same."

Elijah nodded. "It was a reason I wanted to help him go to York. " The realization if just either of them knew Rose would understand, it might have changed everything.  "I am so sorry you weren't trusted. Knowing now, I feel shameful to have hidden it from you."

"You knew?" She did indeed feel a bit hurt, but then she nodded. "I'm glad he had at least one person to-," But suddenly she grasped and sat back as if trying to create distance between them. "He loved you?"

Elijah rose his brow. "What?! No, we were just friends. He had someone I think but never told me who. I don't know why..." he still felt hurt that Simon couldn't trust him that much.

"Oh..." Rose relaxed. "Sorry, I just thought..." She shook her head. "I'm glad he had you to talk to at least. I wish I would have known. I wonder if it would have helped him, and maybe made him feel better and stay and not... do what he did. Although I fear to think what I might have said or done had I found out back then."

Elijah shook his head, "Perhaps as I'm sure Ben would have reacted if he'd known then. There's no need to worry over the past. You are a better person now though and I'm sure it would have made him very happy if he was here."