Chapter 37

“Oh, you should have seen it!” Felicity chortled, leading Arthur and Isabella back into the house. “I don’t know when I’ve had more fun in all my life!”

“It might be fun for you,” Taylor asked. He was turning in a slow circle, trying not to trip over the hem of Isabella’s gown which he had put on for the occasion. It didn’t fit him well at all—he was far too broad for it, even though he was a slender man. But he was short, only an inch or two taller than Isabella, which had made him perfect for the ruse.

Now he looked at Isabella. “I don’t know how ladies wear this sort of thing all the time,” he confessed. “It’s like torture.”

“The trousers are awfully nice,” Isabella admitted. “But I’ll be glad to get out of them and back into something more suited to me, all the same.”

“The constables just left with one of the footmen a few minutes before you arrived,” Felicity said. “Apparently, he was the one letting spies into the estate to try to harm Isabella.”

“So, the plan worked?” Arthur asked. “How did they find out who was responsible?”

“It worked better than we could have imagined,” Felicity said. “Better than any of us did imagine.”

“But come, sit down, and we’ll tell you everything,” Taylor suggested. “And you’ll tell us everything that happened to the pair of you as well.”

“Don’t you want to get changed first?” Felicity teased. “Don’t tell me you’ve gotten comfortable in that gown?”

“Well, it’s rather fetching, isn’t it?” Taylor turned in a circle, pretending to want to be admired, and Felicity laughed. “You’re right, as usual, Miss Felicity. Excuse me for just a moment—we’ll get into the story after I’ve rejoined you.”

He hurried off to change back into his regular clothes.

Arthur stepped aside to speak to the butler about something, giving Isabella the chance to pull her sister to one side. “The two of you seem to get along very well,” she said.

“Yes, Lord Henrough is delightful,” Felicity agreed with a smile. “I was glad to spend the day with him. I hope he comes over much more often.”

“Well, he is Arthur’s closest friend,” Isabella said with a smile. “I’m sure we can count on him to do that.”

Felicity nodded. “We worked so well together,” she pointed out. “When I first heard the plan, I wasn’t sure it was going to work. But knowing that he was the person I was going to be carrying it out with gave me so much confidence. It made things easy.”

Arthur returned to them. “The staff is going to prepare some tea which I think we could all use right now,” he said. “Let us go into the sitting room and await Taylor’s return. I’ll be very interested to hear your tale, Felicity.”

“Oh, it was wonderful,” Felicity enthused. “And Taylor is such a good person to have on your side when things get difficult. I can see why you consider him to be your closest friend, Arthur. I don’t think you could have made a better choice of a friend.”

“I’m so glad you like him,” Arthur said. “It’s such a pleasure when the people in your life get along with one another. I must admit, it’s a pleasure I never previously knew about.”

“You mean because I was your only friend for so long?” Taylor had re-entered the room, and he cuffed Arthur gently on the shoulder. “It must be different for you, having more than one person that you care about.”

“Well, it is,” Arthur said. “I’m able to admit it. Having a family of my own has made a great deal of difference to me, and that’s part of the reason I’m so pleased we were able to deal with Lady Reeves as easily as we did. But come, sit down, and tell me what happened while Isabella and I were away. I’m longing to hear it.”

“It started out just as we planned it,” Felicity said. She was nearly on the edge of her seat, clearly eager to tell the story, and the sight of it made Isabella smile. She also appreciated the way Taylor was sitting back and allowing Felicity to be the one to do the talking. There were plenty of gentlemen who would have insisted on talking over her, wanting to be the ones who related what had happened for reasons of their own. But Taylor was just as happy to let Felicity be the one to tell the story, and of course, it made Isabella feel good to see her sister treated well.

Felicity went on. “We started the day just after you had left as you instructed. Caroline brought the gown up to the room, making sure to walk by as many members of the staff as possible so that everyone would see what “the Duchess” was planning on wearing today. She even stopped a few people for conversations about it, pointing out that Isabella had chosen this particular purple gown, and that she, Caroline, had been required to clean it and make sure it was ready. How much extra work that had been. She told everyone she loved the Duchess but it had been quite a lot to manage on short notice. Most people probably just thought Caroline was a complainer, but one person took note of the way the Duchess was going to be dressed, just as we had hoped—though we didn’t know who it would be.”

“And then I put on the gown and sat in the window seat,” Taylor chimed in. “Since we suspected that Lady Reeves had people spying on the house, we wanted them to see that the Duchess was still here when you left, Arthur. We thought that as long as I stayed near the window, wearing the dress that everyone knew the Duchess to be wearing, no one would question whether it was real or not.”

“And that seems to have worked well,” Felicity agreed. “I was nervous, of course, because of what happened the last time, but Lord Henrough was very reassuring. He and Caroline and I stayed in the bedroom together the whole time, and Lord Henrough promised me that if anyone came into the room, they wouldn’t get anywhere near me.”

“I would never have permitted it,” Taylor assured her. “But, as it turned out, things didn’t get that far.”

“What did happen?” Isabella asked.

“Lord Henrough caught him in the hallway,” Felicity said. “We heard him coming, so he went out to investigate, and he was able to stop him there and pin him down. It was the same masked man as last time.”

“How do you know it was the same man? We never saw his face last time,” Arthur pointed out.

“He confessed,” Taylor explained. “Once the constables were summoned, he fell apart and began telling all he knew. He could see that he was about to get himself into serious trouble, and he wanted everyone to know that he had never meant any harm to either lady—that he had only been told to take them captive.”

“And did the constables take him away?” Arthur asked.

“They did,” Taylor replied. “But not before getting him to point out who else had been involved in his scheme. One of your footmen had been bribed to give him information and to let him in through the servants’ entrance at the back of the house. So that footman has been taken away as well, and they will both pay the price for their crimes.”

“The important thing is that Lady Reeves was taken,” Arthur said. “She was the real power behind all these nefarious deeds—she was the one with a desire to hurt the people around her. I’m glad to know that everyone involved will pay a price, though, and that they won’t be able to hurt any of the people close to me anymore. That’s what I feared most of all.”

“Yes, it’s over now,” Taylor agreed. “There’s nothing more to worry about.”

The maid came in with tea for everyone, and for a moment, the conversation stalled as the hot beverage was served. Isabella wrapped both her hands around her cup and inhaled the steam. The day had certainly been an intimidating one, and though everything had worked out for the best in the end, she couldn’t pretend that she hadn’t been afraid.

Leaving the house to chase after Lady Reeves, that had been a bit of an adventure. She knew that Arthur had been unsure about the idea when he had proposed it, but Isabella was glad he had asked her. She was glad to have the chance to do something to strike back at the lady who had hurt her sister and the man she loved. It was dangerous, but it needed to be done, and she liked the fact that he was including her in it.

What she liked less was the idea of leaving Felicity alone. She knew perfectly well that she’d done nothing to protect her sister the last time the house had been invaded—in fact, in the end, that knowledge was what had persuaded her that it was all right to leave. She hadn’t been able to defend Felicity. Still, it felt wrong to leave the house, knowing that Felicity was there and that she had only Taylor for protection. Isabella’s job in life was to protect her sister.

Now that she had seen Taylor step up and do what was needed, though, she felt differently. Now, she knew she could trust him with her sister’s well-being. If he ever wanted to spend time with Felicity in the future, Isabella would have no trouble approving.

And it looked as if that was something that might actually happen if the way the two of them were looking at one another was any indication. They had clearly befriended one another. Isabella knew her sister well enough to recognize when she was fond of someone. It was a wonderful thing to see. Maybe today had been more than just a plot to defeat the villain who threatened their family. Maybe it had been an exercise in bonding as well.

For her part, Isabella knew that she felt closer to Arthur than she ever had before—closer than she had ever dreamed she would. Having gotten through what they had today, having done it together, felt miraculous, and it made Isabella believe that the two of them could face anything as long as they faced it together.

That was a wonderful thought. With that in mind, and her cup of tea in her hands, she felt more relaxed than she had in a very long time.

“You’re smiling,” Felicity observed.

“I’m happy that today went so well for all of us,” Isabella said honestly. “I never would have believed that it could be possible. Even when we set out this morning, I thought we would face more difficulties than we did.”

“Was it not difficult enough for you?” Arthur, who had overheard, was laughing. “We chased down a known killer on horseback today. Which part of that wasn’t difficult?”

“I suppose I didn’t expect to be as up to the task as I was in the end,” Isabella confessed. “And I’m happy, and proud, that it went as well as it did.”

“Well, you should be,” Arthur said. “I was proud to have you by my side.”

Taylor cleared his throat. “Miss Felicity,” he said, “perhaps you and I might find someone to escort us on a walk in the garden?” He gave Arthur a meaningful look which Isabella couldn’t help noticing.

Felicity clearly understood, for she jumped to her feet at once. “You know,” she agreed, “I think that’s a wonderful idea.”

When they’d left the room, Arthur turned to Isabella. “You really were marvelous,” he said quietly. “I was proud to call you my wife today.”

“I was proud to be your wife,” she replied softly. “I’m so grateful to you for eliminating a threat to my sister’s life. I know I’ve had my share of complaints since we’ve been married?—”

“Nothing unreasonable,” he told her. “You’ve only ever wanted to be a part of my life.”

“I wanted to know you cared about me,” she said. “And after today, I’ll never doubt it again.”

Arthur rose to his feet and held out his hands to her. Isabella came into his arms, and for the very first time, he felt as if they were doing the right thing by embracing one another. For the first time, there was no worry that he might be putting her in danger by getting too close to her, no fear that he might be distracting himself from what he really needed to be doing. For the first time, he could let himself follow his heart. And Isabella knew that she could trust him to mean the things he said to her, that he really did care for her—and that made it possible for her to trust him fully.

So, when he kissed her, she didn’t think about what it might mean. She simply surrendered herself to it and allowed herself to forget everything else.