Chapter 11

Chapter 11

He was so gentle…

Isabelle’s heart raced as she sat at tea the following day. What had she been feeling at that moment when Lord Ashford had touched her wrist? Her cheeks once again filled with colour as she recalled their afternoon in the Evergreen.

The tender look of care in his dark eyes filled the pit of her stomach with a strange fluttering sensation. She had to concede that he was handsome in a roguish kind of way when the corners of his mouth dimpled with every smile.

“Isabelle, Lord James is talking to you.” Caroline summoned her gently, gesturing with her eyes to their guest when Isabelle looked up.

“Hmm?” Isabelle panicked slightly when she realized she hadn’t been paying attention.

Everyone in the room, including her family and guests, were staring at her with stern looks of expectation.

“I hope you were dreaming of our wedding and not some cad. I would hate to have to challenge anyone to a dual.” Lord James smirked, bristling his moustache over the rim of his cup as he winked.

Laughing nervously, Aunt Alice lowered her cup and saucer to her lap. “Of course, she wasn’t. Isabelle was just telling me this morning that her head is spinning with all the fine wedding plans. Isn’t that so, Isabelle? She can hardly think of anything else.” Her aunt’s tone carried a warning.

Regaining her composure, Isabelle sipped her tea and turned to Lord James. “Yes, of course. I’m afraid I haven’t been able to think of anything else.” She forced a stiff smile and repeated her aunt’s words.

Her response seemed to please him as Lord James slurped his tea and smacked his lips. “I can’t say that I fault you there, Miss Sutton. I’m sure you have been dreaming of this day for many years. Just the other day I had to rebuff the flirtatious advances of a young debutant, not that someone her age would ever make a good match. I have you, after all, Miss Sutton.” His laughter grated against Isabelle’s ears as she winced.

“I don’t think I quite understand your meaning, Lord James. Did the young lady’s age count against her? I was given to understand that the sooner a young lady found a match, the better it would be for her and her husband. Is youth not something that is sought after in a wife?” Isabelle raised an eyebrow, watching Lord James’s reactions quite closely.

Placing his cup back on the tray in front of him, Lord James reached for her hand and patted it gently. “Never fret, Miss Sutton. Your age is one of the things that captured my interest most keenly. Younger women have less experience in life and are more likely to die while giving birth. It was your advanced age that made me decide to propose.”

His words hung in the air like a dagger as the room suddenly filled with an uncomfortable silence. Even Richard seemed to react quite strongly to his words as his grip tightened on his cup.

Caroline and Aunt Alice seemed even more uncomfortable as they exchanged a few glances and sipped their tea.

Isabelle removed her hand and placed it on her lap despite the questioning look that Lord James gave her before speaking again.

“But that is just my opinion. Perhaps you would agree with me? Lord Sutton? Do you not think that it is better to wed a more, shall we say, mature woman rather than a young lass? They are less prone to stupidity than the first-time debutants.” Lord James didn’t seem to pick up on the atmosphere at all as he smirked.

Placing his cup back in its saucer, Richard lifted his head. “I do not think that it is proper to discuss ladies’ ages, Lord James, not when we are in the presence of such fair ladies.” He shot a half-hearted smile at Caroline.

The gesture remained unreturned as Caroline averted her gaze, looking instead at the stand of cakes as if they held a particular interest for her.

Isabelle began to wonder what Caroline was thinking when the awkward silence in the room seemed to intensify. She had never endeared herself to Caroline, yet her behaviour was beginning to spark a small amount of sympathy in Isabelle.

Do they love each other?

She glanced at Richard’s look of displeasure with the whole situation and then the uncertainty in Caroline’s eyes.

Perhaps I am not the only one being forced to wed against my will.

She thoughtfully sipped her tea as Lord James prattled on about his latest business venture that promised to bring him mountains of wealth. Again, It struck her how he never mentioned what that business venture entailed. He could have been smuggling goods in the harbour for all she knew of her soon-to-be husband.

***

Her bones ached with tiredness as Isabelle made her way up the stairs. The afternoon tea had dragged on for so long that she barely knew how she had made it through dinner. She longed for her bed and a better chance of escaping tomorrow. Perhaps if she wished hard enough, she would wake up in a different life than the one she was forced to live.

Turning the entire scenario into a story for Richard seemed damned near impossible to her without bending the truth to make it more interesting.

She was just about to turn into her chambers when she noticed a faint light coming from down the hall.

The door to her father’s old study stood ajar as soft light filtered into the hallway, casting flickering shadows across the carpet.

I wonder why Richard isn’t asleep yet.

She turned away from her own door and headed down the silent corridor.

“You’re up late,” she said softly after pushing open the door and tiptoeing inside.

Richard looked up and blinked a few times in the dim light of the candle on his desk. “There are a few things that I wanted to go over before turning in. Have Caroline and Lord James gone home already?” The tired expression on his face hinted at the intense concentration he had been giving to his ledgers.

“You would know if you hadn’t made yourself so scarce after dinner.” She shut the door behind her before taking a seat in front of the desk.

The rows of leather-bound ledgers and rolled-up parchment reminded her of her father and the endless evenings he would spend in the study.

Even the smell of linseed oil used to polish the mahogany desk took her back to the past, where she had lived a simpler and far more certain life.

“I’m sorry if you felt abandoned. I just couldn’t take any more of Lord James’s stories. The man lacks propriety at the best of times. Between his prattling and Aunt Alice’s encouragement, I didn’t think I would make it through the rest of the evening.” Her brother leaned back in his leather chair and stretched, using the back of his hand to stave off a yawn.

Cocking her head to the side, Isabelle looked at him. “Are you changing your mind about the engagement? You won’t hear any protesting from me if you are.” A tiny spark of hope ignited in her chest.

Richard allowed his mouth to curve into a lazy smile as he looked at her. “You know I can’t do that. I won’t act coy and pretend you didn’t overhear our conversation the other evening. The arrangement with Lord James must go ahead. He is your burden to bear as much as Caroline is mine.”

His words shocked her, making her raise her eyebrows. “Richard, I have never asked, but do you love Caroline? I know it was Aunt Alice who pushed the two of you together, but you always seemed so complacent with it all. I saw the looks or lack thereof during the tea this afternoon. I guess what I am trying to ask is, are you happy with her?”

“I am as content as I am allowed to be under the circumstances. It was Aunt Alice who chose Caroline. You are correct in saying that, and you, of all people, know how adamant she has been in finding us both suitable matches. Caroline and I may not be the best of matches as far as love and companionship are concerned, but we will make an agreeable one in the eyes of the ton.”

Her mind swam with exasperation as she shook her head in disbelief. “I don’t understand, Richard. How can you be this cavalier about spending the rest of your life with someone you do not love? It burdens me every day that I am to marry Lord James.”

Richard cocked his head to the side and examined her closely. “Would you not go ahead with an unagreeable match if it meant that you could save the family library? I know how much those old books mean to you; it is why I am bequeathing them to you once you are married. Just as much as you care about those old books, I care about the family name and finances. I would like to think that you would do the same in my shoes.” He gestured to the ledgers lying open before him.

“Just how bad are the family finances?” Isabelle decided to push aside the feelings of discomfort that her brother’s words had created for her. He was making a good point; she just didn’t feel as if she could face the reality of it all, not when she was tired and still looking for a way out.

Running his fingers through his hair, Richard allowed his tired eyes to fall back on the pages before him. “There isn’t any left. Apart from your dowry and a little sum that Aunt Alice has provided, we are all but ruined. I tried for years to salvage the debts that Father left in our name, but there is nothing left to sell. All the extra businesses and properties have been sold. You and I would have been on the street if Aunt Alice hadn’t stepped in as she did.”

The truth shook her as she listened to his words. She knew very well that the family finances were meagre, yet she hadn’t thought they were as bad as he was saying. Luxurious foods had certainly been cut back on over the years, while Aunt Alice had favoured new dresses and suits. All in the name of finding suitable matches for them both.

“Isn’t there anyone else who can help our family? I know that Lord James has offered his help, but I just don’t understand how it is that he’s helping you. I don’t even know what he does for a living. Surely there is a long-lost relative or some kind of funds we can tap into. A more agreeable man who can become my husband.” She almost lost her breath as she pleaded with him. “If you call off the wedding rather than me, it won’t be so serious. You can say that you found Lord James to be lacking in character.”

“Isabelle, please stop!” He raised his voice slightly, shutting his eyes in aggravation before massaging his temples.

“I was only suggesting that …” She spoke more softly after his reproach, feeling as if they had lost a moment of bonding.

Why do we have to miss each other like this?

Her eyes welled up with tears after having thought they were getting somewhere.

“You heard what Lord James said the other night. He will ruin us if anything goes wrong with your engagement. Short of ruining the man before he does it to us, there is no possible way to call off the engagement now.” The tiredness in his voice was all but apparent when Richard sighed.

“But if you could only tell me how he plans on helping the family …” she tried again, pleading not to be left in the dark.

“That is a subject for men and men alone; you are not to concern yourself with such matters. Go to bed and dream of your wedding day. There is no escaping it now that it has been decided.”

Hopelessness filled her chest as she shook her head before hanging it in disbelief.

Perhaps I will be better off just accepting my fate.