“Don’t tell me you got married for this reason,” Taylor said. “Just to make it easier to achieve this vendetta you have.”
“No, that’s not the only reason,” Arthur argued.
“But it is one of them?”
“If it helps, I can’t see why I shouldn’t take advantage of it.”
Taylor sighed. “You don’t seem to realize how fortunate you are,” he said. “It’s as if you can’t see what a beautiful wife you have—and against all odds, she wants to spend time with you. I can’t imagine why any lady would, but she clearly does. Rather than appreciating her, though, you’ve decided to focus on the past.”
Arthur said nothing.
Taylor wasn’t quite right, of course. He was correct to have noticed that Arthur was hoping his marriage to Isabella would change the way he was perceived—not only by the ton but also, and perhaps more importantly, by the people he was hunting. If they thought he had lost focus, they might lower their defenses.
But there was more to it now. He did genuinely care about Isabella. He was glad to be married to her—he thought he would have wanted that marriage even if it didn’t have any of the helpful implications that it did.
And he wondered—washe making a mistake here tonight? Should he have stayed by her side and danced with her? MaybeTaylor was right. Maybe he should have allowed himself, for one night, to simply focus on being a husband, to stop worrying about everything else that usually plagued him.
Why hadn’t he been able to do that? Why had he walked away from Isabella when she had looked at him the way she had, so clearly desiring a dance? It wasn’t as if he hadn’t wanted one. He would have loved to take her in his arms, but he hadn’t been able to do it. Why?
Maybe it was just that he had wanted it too much. That sounded nonsensical, and yet, in a way, it seemed to make perfect sense. There was a part of him that feared that if he allowed himself to hold her, he would never be able to bring himself to let her go. And that was dangerous. Arthur knew all too well how much you could stand to lose by letting yourself care too much about people. He was determined never to feel the pain he had felt at the loss of his parents again.
“Well,” Taylor said, “what’s done is done, I suppose, and if you want to discuss business, we might as well do it.”
“I thought you said there was no new information,” Arthur accused. Had Taylor been holding something back?
“No, there isn’t,” Taylor said. “But Lady Reevesishere tonight.”
“What?” She washere?Of course, it made sense that she would be, he supposed. This was a society party, and all the members of the ton were likely to show up to it. Still, because of what he knew about Lady Reeves, she felt more like a figure out of a fairytale than someone who might actually appear at a party. While he’d thought about talking to her, the fact that he might actually be able to do so was almost surreal. “Where is she?” he asked. “Point her out to me.”
“No,” Taylor said.
“What do you mean,no?” Arthur was furious. “I have to know who she is, Taylor. You must point her out to me.”
“And what will you do when I have?” Taylor asked. “Are you going to march over to her and demand all the sordid details of a years-old love affair with your father? In front of all these people? Are you going to disgrace your father like that?”
“Well—no, of course I’m not going to do that.”
“Then what? You have no plan for confronting her, and without a plan, how can you possibly hope to achieve anything. How will it help you to know who she is? I won’t tell you. Not now. Not until I’m sure you know what you’re going to do with the information.”
“You are maddening,” Arthur said. “I could easily find out, you know. All I would have to do would be to ask around.”
“Yes, you could do that—if you wanted everyone to know that you were investigating her,” Taylor countered. “You wouldn’t be able to keep it a secret for very long if you were going around talking about it to anyone who would listen. There’s a reasonyou have me make these inquiries for you, remember? So that nobody will tie you to the investigation.”
“Yes, but I never dreamed that you would use your power over me to keep me away from the information I so badly need!”
Taylor sighed. “Be sensible, Arthur,” he said. “I’m your friend. You asked me to help you with this because you trust me, so trust me now. I’m acting in your best interests, even if you can’t see it. You shouldn’t be worrying about this. Not tonight.”
“I’ll always worry about this.”
“Then allow me to keep my eyes on her,” Taylor suggested. “Let me keep track of her movements tonight, and I’ll report to you in the next few days. Maybe we will learn something. But it’s as you said—the last thing you want is for the people involved in your parents’ deaths to know that you’re on their trail. Much better for them to remain ignorant of that fact.”
“That’s true,” Arthur admitted. “I did say that. And you’re right.”
“I know I am. Now, for heaven’s sake, find your wife and dance with her. That’s the best thing you can possibly do today. It’s what you came here to do, even if you don’t realize it.”
“Perhaps you’re right,” Arthur said.
“Aren’t I always? Let’s go back and collect her. And I would love to dance with that utterly charming sister of hers. I’ve neverseen a lovelier lady. You’ve been holding out on me by not introducing me to Miss Felicity sooner.”
