“Yes. He—” She frowned, suddenly aware that she had, in fact, noticed a great deal about Evan’s mannerisms.
The way he carried himself or how his brows lifted just the faintest bit whenever she said something that piqued his interest. And thatsmirkof his. That damned smirk.
She huffed in frustration.
“The point is that I am saddled with an impossible man.”
“You seem to have spent quite a bit of time… observing him,” Penelope remarked as though she had read her mind.
Isadora felt the heat rise to her cheeks. “Only because I must. How else am I to instruct him properly?”
“Why would the Duke be in need of instruction?” Penelope asked.
Oh.It occurred to Isadora then that her little rant would sound quite strange without context—which was that she was to give the Duke lessons on proper behavior.
“Well, I cannot explain everything to you now,” she replied, “but trust me when I say that he is impossible to instruct.
Penelope smirked, as though she wanted to say something but restrained herself. “No worries, sister dear. I do not doubt that your interest in him is merely for… instructional purposes.”
Isadora cleared her throat, feeling herself growing flustered at the implication.
“I apologize. I have been rambling on, haven’t I?” she said in a bid to change the topic. “You tell me something. How are things at home?”
At once, Penelope’s expression dimmed, her shoulders stiffening ever so slightly.
“Penelope?” Isadora caught on immediately.
See?she thought to herself. Evan was not the only person whose mannerisms she caught. She was just observant; that was all.
“I do not know what to tell you,” Penelope sighed, kicking absently at a tuft of grass. “Father is determined to find me a husband.”
Isadora frowned deeply. She had anticipated that would happen. “Already? I thought he would at least wait some time, given that it hasn’t been too long since my marriage.”
Penelope let out a humorless chuckle. “You give him more credit than you ought. I suspect he never truly stopped looking.”
Isadora’s fingers curled into a fist at her side. It should not have surprised her. Their father had always been more concerned with securing alliances than with their actual happiness.
Always the opportunist.
“I will speak to him,” she said firmly.
“You cannot, Isadora,” Penelope replied immediately, alarmed. “You are already in enough trouble with him as it is.”
Isadora hesitated before softly asking the question she had avoided since their last meeting.
“And you? Do you wish to marry?”
Penelope hesitated then shook her head. “Not like this. Not under Father’s will alone.”
Isadora nodded in understanding.
Her own marriage had been a result of desperation, but she would not allow the same fate for Penelope.
She turned to her sister with determination in her eyes.
“I will protect you from this, Penelope. Whatever it takes.”
Penelope let out a shaky laugh. “That is what worries me.”
