Chapter 5

CHAPTER5

“How did I get here?” Henry sighed with the words as he climbed off his horse.

Passing the reins to the stable boy who had hurried forwards to greet him, Henry looked at the house before him, the Sinclair estate.

This early in the morning, the summer dew was still present on the grass. In the sun that rose over the distant rooftops of nearby houses, the white Palladian-style frontage seemed to gleam. The roses that framed the front door were untidy and in need of pruning. There were other elements too that suggested the house needed some work and some money spent on it, such as the chipped front step.

It seems the Earl of Sinclair needs some money.

Henry pushed the thought away. Rather than hurrying up to the house, he stayed very still on the driveway and scratched his chin in thought. He’d been up for most of the night, thinking over what he had committed himself to, but he saw no way out of it.

He had to marry Isabella if he was going to protect her reputation. It was against his plan, in every way, but that didn’t mean he had to break his vow to his father completely.

As long as I never sire an heir, I will keep to my promise.

With this in mind, Henry breathed deeply, lifted his chin higher and stepped up towards the door. Taking off his top hat, he tapped on the door and waited. The butler greeted him with no knowledge of who he was, and he had clearly not been told to expect Henry’s arrival. It seemed that Isabella was not convinced Henry intended to stay true to his word.

Henry was shown inside by the butler and taken all the way to a small parlor, where he was asked to wait for Lord Sinclair. As the door closed behind the butler, Henry looked around the room, trying to discern something about the family he was soon going to be connected to.

There were fabric samplers on one side of the parlor, suggesting one of the daughters had a keen interest in embroidery, and there was sheet music spread out on top of a harpsichord. Closest to where Henry stood was a table on which lay a book that detailed research on the human mind. Henry reached for it, rather startled that one of the daughters would have such an interest. He decided it might belong to the father instead.

“Your Grace?” an excited voice called to him as the door opened.

Henry felt his stomach sink as he looked at the Earl of Sinclair. Henry had indeed met Lord Sinclair before, but it was some years ago. Back then, Lord Sinclair’s reputation had been even worse than Henry’s was now. He was known for being a rogue with both ladies and his money.

Lady Isabella is his daughter? She is nothing like him!

It was with some relief he noticed the stark differences in their appearance. The only thing father and daughter seemed to have in common was their brown hair, though he could remember Isabella’s was a little wilder. He’d imagined the night before running a finger through the locks that had escaped her updo.

“You’ve come.”

Lord Sinclair bowed in greeting and stepped forwards, before rubbing his hands together, as if he was about to make a good return on a bet he’d made on the horses. The closer he came, the more Henry could smell the stench of alcohol.

“Lord Sinclair.” Henry bowed, trying to take a subtle step back so that he was further away from the strong odor of ale.

Has this man been drinking so early in the morning?

“I take it you have come after the… the erm…” Lord Sinclair struggled for words.

He waved a hand in the air as if that would do for a word. Rather amused by the man’s struggle to come up with a word, Henry waited for Lord Sinclair to think of something to say.

“The unpleasantness of last night,” Lord Sinclair finished.

Henry felt the temptation of his hands to ball into fists at the words.

“Your daughter and I ran into each other at an inconvenient moment. I hope you understand that, Lord Sinclair.”

“That is what she says, and what you now say too… but who knows.”

The way Lord Sinclair shrugged had Henry rethinking everything he knew about the night before. Was it possible that Isabella had tricked him? Had she conned him into offering to marry her after all?

“Yet, I understand you have come to make things right today,” Lord Sinclair threw in, gesturing for Henry to sit and taking a seat himself. “Of course, we can discuss the formalities, such as her dowry, the cost of the wedding and the money…” he trailed off with a certain gleam in his eyes.

Henry didn’t sit, despite Lord Sinclair waiting for him to do so. He felt so disgusted at the way Lord Sinclair preoccupied himself with talking about the money alone that he actually walked away across the room, putting distance between them. The Duke made the appearance of walking towards the window as if he wanted to look at the view outside.

Something through the glass caught his eye. There was a rider out on the estate. It was hardly a huge estate for being in the center of London, but it was ample enough and backed onto a parkland that it would afford a good ride. The horse galloping through that open space raced with vigor, traveling fast towards the house. Only when the horse reached the driveway did the rider tip back her head, making her cloak drop and revealing her face.

Lady Isabella.

She was flushed with her morning ride. There was something in the athleticism of the way she rode and gripped the reins that had Henry’s blood stirring. He was reminded of the feeling of Isabella above him the night before.

“Did you hear me, Your Grace?” Lord Sinclair tried to bring Henry’s attention back to the room.

“You wished to talk about money,” Henry spoke tightly. Isabella’s eyes shot towards the window. When she saw Henry, she leapt down from her horse and practically ran into the house. “Something tells me we are about to be joined by another.” Henry placed his back against the window, his eyes on the door.

“As I was saying, Your Grace, the money…”

Lord Sinclair was clearly one-track-minded when it came to these affairs. He had not busied himself with talking about the scandal. He hadn’t even sought to confirm that Henry was here to make a proposal but had just accepted it as a given.

The door to the parlor abruptly opened, and Isabella rushed inside. She tripped on the edge of a rug and nearly fell onto the settee where her father was sitting but managed to put out her hands to grip the back of the chair to stop herself from falling any further.

“Quite an entrance,” Henry said with humor.

Her eyes simply shot towards him, narrowing to thin slits. That expression was a far cry from the one that had intrigued him so much last night. As much as he hadn’t wanted to be fascinated by her the night before, he had been.

“What is happening?” Isabella asked, looking between Henry and her father.

“He is here to discuss the particulars of… of… what happened.” Lord Sinclair still struggled with how to talk about it.

Henry was rather amused to see Isabella look at the ceiling as if pleading for help from God with dealing with her father.

“Your Grace, please, allow me to speak to you for a moment.” Isabella hastened across the room. Henry’s eyes darted to where she put her feet, half expecting her to trip again. This time, she managed to stay upright. “What happened would blow over for you in a few days, a couple of weeks at most, would it not?”

“Yes. That I do not deny. The ton is more forgiving when it comes to gentlemen. Yet my reputation is not the thing that concerns me.” He shook his head, just as she came to a stop a couple of yards away from him.

Isabella wrung her hands together, and he recognized it as a stressful habit of hers. She fidgeted so much that she pulled at the riding habit she was wearing and her long sleeves. The dark green fitted habit flattered the curves of her figure and brought out the color of her eyes.

Stop looking at her so much.

“This will be about saving your reputation and protecting your family,” Henry said simply, seeking to hold Isabella’s gaze.

“Well said.” The Earl nodded, and his words were not welcomed by either of them, who glanced quickly at him.

“We will marry, Lady Isabella. That way, the scandal of what happened last night will be forgotten in a couple of months,” Henry stated.

“Not completely,” she whispered.

“It will be the best we can do.” Henry shrugged. “Now, that is sorted out.” He stepped away from the window, intending to depart.

“Wait, before you go, Your Grace. I will consult my books.” Lord Sinclair was on his feet. “I will just confirm the exact value of Isabella’s dowry.” With these words, he hurried out of the room.

Apparently, the Earl had no qualms about leaving them alone without a chaperone, not after Henry had already confirmed they were going to be wed.

In the silence that followed, Henry gazed at Isabella, finding it quite entrancing that she stared back at him. Despite the heaviness of his glower, she kept her chin raised and didn’t waver.

“I suppose I should congratulate you on a ruse well pulled off,” he said after a minute of silence.

“What do you mean?” She frowned.

“Quite a performance last night, entangling us together in such a way. You trapped me into marriage so expertly that I never even suspected it. Bravo!” He raised his hands and clapped.

She backed away from him. The way she increased the distance between them and lifted her chin a little higher had his hands pausing. She was strikingly attractive, really. It was distracting.

“Is that what you think?” Her voice suggested disgust. “After I pleaded with you last night not to hold true to your promise to marry me and have now just asked again? Are you deaf or just dumb, Your Grace?"

Her question was such a surprise that a laugh fell from his lips.

“You are a plain speaker, Lady Isabella.”

“With you, it seems, it comes naturally.” She stepped forwards, moving her hands to her hips. “I have no intention to be insulted, not by any arrogant man such as you, and not defend myself. I will always defend myself when I am accused of something I am not guilty of.”

Henry matched her stance, walking towards her with his hands on his hips.

“If that was not your aim, why were you out there last night? Tell me that.” He tilted his head to the side, smiling. They were so close that he could smell her scent. The rosehips were mixed with the smell of fresh grass, as she had been out riding. He rather liked that scent. “Because you hardly seemed in a hurry to leave. Perhaps you just liked what you saw,” he added in a whisper.

“Insufferable.”

Isabella shook her head and stepped even closer to him as if she was preparing for a fight. He was rather reminded of going to one of the illegal boxing matches in London, seeing the fighters stare each other down before their tussles. Unable to resist, he matched her step and moved even closer to her.

“I was running away from someone, and I did not know where else to go. Had I left the yew bushes, I might have been seen.”

“You were seen,” he reminded her.

“Not by whom I was running from.”

“And who were you running from?”

“That is not important.” She refused to answer him, her full lips pressing together. Henry’s eyes darted down to those full lips, thinking of what it could be like to kiss them. Had she been a widow, he might have persuaded her by now into one of those kisses. “What is important is that I never wanted to marry.”

Her words captivated his attention, and his eyes widened.

“You never wished to marry?” he repeated.

“No. What advantage is there in marriage?” she asked, holding her arms out wide. “Vowing to obey a man? Absurd. I would not keep to such a vow. Having my property owned by a man? Myself owned by a man?” She gestured towards him. “What sane woman would wish to agree to such a thing when the trade for such a state of being is merely being ignored and derided.”

There was something in her words that reminded Henry of an ugly marriage. He thought of his mother and father and bent his head for a moment.

“I would definitely rather be alone, Your Grace,” she affirmed defiantly, her eyes not blinking once. “I would read my books.” She gestured towards the book on the human mind, sparking his interest. “And keep my own company with people I like.”

“So, you think nothing good can come from marriage?” He saw an opportunity to tease her, reminding her of exactly what had happened last night and the tension that had been in the air.

“Nothing.”

“Truly? Because I could recall last night where your eyes kept wandering.” At his words, he pointedly lowered his gaze to his own chest. She folded her arms, silently refuting such a claim. “You looked quite a lot.”

Isabella scowled. “I did not.”

“You did.” He smiled a little more. “And I remember when we fell together there was a brief second where you were not clambering off me.” Desiring to test her, he lowered his head towards hers. He was so close that he could have kissed her, with his lips hovering over hers. “There are some advantages in marriage, I don’t doubt it. Some excitement.” He watched as her eyes flitted down to his lips.

Tension hovered in the air, and for a brief second, he thought she might kiss him.

But Isabella jerked her head back and ended up scurrying away from him. The hesitation had been enough for him to know she was affected by him, as affected as he was by her. She collided with a chair and fell into it.

“You have a habit of falling over,” he remarked.

“I’m a clumsy person. That or it’s just my haste to get away from you.” She looked away from him, fiddling with her riding habit.

“You do not need to fear me, Lady Isabella.” At his words, she fell still. “I’m offering a marriage in name only, nothing else.”

At last, he had her full attention. Her expression altered with her eyebrows lifting high in understanding.

Despite this excitement, we cannot spend nights together. That is too risky. Then… there could be a child.

“What did you say?” she murmured.

“You heard, Lady Isabella.”

Before any more could be said between them, Lord Sinclair returned to the room. He looked a little flustered with papers in his hands.

“Your Grace, I have confirmed the value of her dowry with my books. It stands at eight hundred pounds.”

Isabella looked away and closed her eyes upon hearing the words. Something seemed to pass between her and her father in the room, something Henry did not understand. He glanced between them but did not ask.

It is none of my business what has upset them both.

“The dowry is not my concern.” Henry’s words had Isabella’s attention returning to him.

Slowly, she moved to her feet.

“Do you not want it?” she asked, her voice light in surprise.

“When we wed, it will be yours.” He motioned towards her, seeing how her lips parted once again.

Long ago, Henry had vowed if he ever did come to marry, he would not do what his father had done. His father had taken his mother’s money and used it to line his own coffers. She’d never seen a penny of it.

“I have enough money and have no need of your dowry. It will be yours.”

The Duke walked towards the door, watching as Lord Sinclair scurried back. The Earl’s face was an equal picture of shock as his daughter’s.

“I will depart now, but I will be in touch over the next few days with a special license,” Henry hurried to explain.

“A special license? Is one really needed?” Isabella asked and followed him out of the door. They left Lord Sinclair behind in the room. He was apparently too shocked to follow them.

Henry hastened to the front door where he collected his top hat off a coat stand. Isabella stood beside him, clinging to the skirt of her riding habit.

“Isn’t the announcement of the betrothal enough to stop whispers?” she asked.

“No. Not for the sake of the family’s reputation.”

“Then, how soon will it be until we are wed?” she demanded, following him to the door.

“Eager, Lady Isabella?” Henry teased, watching as her expression darkened.

“Dreading,” she corrected him.

“Then dread the next week. We should be married by then.”

He placed the top hat on his head and stepped out, feeling Isabella’s eyes burning into the back of his neck.

There was something about that feeling he rather liked.