Oh!
“Does such rancor mean you will continue to pursue this outlandish impeachment case against my father?”
Glancing down, Kendall frowned, as if puzzled that he held her hand. He released her and sat back, folding his arms across his chest. The muscles in his sleeves bunched and caused Isolde to wonder what the motion would look like were he in his shirtsleeves . . . or perhaps with no clothing at all.
Vividly, she remembered the firm heat of his chest under her cheek, the faint puff of his breathing lost in sleep. How simple it would have been in that ice house to lift her chin and press her lips to the underside of his jaw, the crook of his neck, the alluring hollow where his clavicle—
Willing participation. . . his words.
Isolde blushed anew.
And how paradoxical, to be so frustrated with this man and his rigid view of their life and world, and yet find her heart racing from the lingering sensation of his hand encircling hers.
“The impeachment is already well under way, Duchess,” Kendall said, “with or without my presence. The verdict on Jarvis’s trial will be handed down in the next day or two. The decision there will likely influence thevote in Commons, assuming it arises within the next week. There is little I can do at this juncture, other than recuse myself if the case is brought before Lords.”
“But ye will not aid my father in any material way?”
Kendall snorted. “One could argue that Hadley trapped us in this quagmire”—he motioned at the space between them—“in order to force my hand. To compel me to call off my dogs, as Allie says. So, no. I will not help Hadley. But as I said, events have already moved beyond my control.”
“Eventsyouset in motion.”
“There is a fine line to walk here, Duchess. I need to distance myself from Hadley’s disgrace as much as possible.”
“To protect your own interests?”
“Yes,” he snapped, “which you would be wise to heed, as my interests have now becomeyourinterests and, most importantly, those of our future children. As I have already said, your allegiance belongs to me now. The sooner you accustom yourself to that fact, the more smoothly our lives will proceed.”
“Accustom myself to severing acquaintance with lifelong friends? At your decree?”
“Precisely. I am pleased that your expansive university education has finally permitted you to grasp the nature of your new life. I will always command your allegiance, from now until your last breath.”
“Like hell you will, Kendall!”
“I will not have my duchess cursing like a fishwife!”
“Like. Hell,” she enunciated, sharp and staccato. “Ye will never cleave me from the bosom of my family.”
“Your loyalty is mine,” he growled through his teeth.
“Nae, it is not,” she replied in an equally savage tone. “Ye willneverbe my first choice. I will always choose my family over yourself. My loyalty is theirs forever.”
“No, it is not!”
“Oh, but it is! They love me. You do not. They will always love me. You never will. I would choose them a thousand times over your sorry self. Because they are deserving of my love and affection.” Her voicecracked with unshed tears. “Because they will never abandon me. And as such, I will never abandon them. I cannot say the same of you!”
Kendall sat back, as if her words had dealt him a blow. His expression shuttered.
“That might just be your cross to bear, Duchess. I did not want you. I did not wish for your hand. You wouldneverhave been the bride of my choice,” he said through clenched teeth. “But you areminenow. The sooner you accept the realities of your new situation—the sooner you yield to it—the better.”
And with that, he stared in silence out the window once more, allowing the rocking jangle of the carriage to fill the space between them.
17
Mr. Stephen Jarvis has been convicted of fraud and embezzlement of investors’ funds. A jury handed down the verdict yesterday evening. The question remains: How will Mr. Jarvis’s conviction affect the impeachment vote of Lord Hadley in the House of Commons?
—article inThe London Times
Kendall had bollocksed things up with Isolde.
