“Isolde,” he murmured, lowering his lips to hers, and –
He awoke with a start, the city’s early morning sounds loud outside his window. He blinked in confusion and shivered.
The fire had gone out completely, and the cold air against his body, still warm from the memory of the dream, almost made him ache. He curled in on himself, turning his body until he was staring at the empty bed beside him. Empty and cold.
He suddenly sat up, kicked the covers off, and strode over to the wall. He rang the bell for his manservant and waited impatiently for his arrival.
When the man finally did arrive, he looked so disheveled that Thaddeus felt a twinge of guilt for having obviously raised him from a deep sleep.
“Yes, My Lord?”
“Start preparing our things for travel. We’re leaving for Hartington at once.”
Chapter 9
Isolde took a sip of tea, pleasantly warm on her tongue, and surveyed the room around her. As Thaddeus had requested, she had attended every event that Lady Harrow and Lady Tatiana attended.
There had been a dinner at the home of a family friend, and then a ball at a lavish estate that Isolde did not think was nearly as lovely as Hartington. The feeling had surprised her, making her realize how fond she had become of her new living arrangement in just a short time.
Now, she was at a luncheon, a cheerful affair where the decadent desserts were nearly as colorful as the ladies in their day gowns. It had been a pleasant enough afternoon, and she felt she was starting to get used to being out in society more.
She had even thought, in passing, that she could get used to this – that perhaps the life of a marchioness would have suited her more than she initially thought. She’d quickly pushed that thought away, of course. That was not the plan.
A gentleman approached their table and bowed respectfully to Lady Harrow and Lady Tatiana and then waited pointedly to be introduced to Isolde. It was a pattern that had repeated several times throughout the luncheon.
Some of the ladies were also eager for introductions, but none as forthright about it as the men. The same had been true of the ball, only they would ask for a dance, rather than a promenade through the adjoining garden.
Isolde rather felt like they were taking advantage of the fact that Thaddeus was not around to see if they could tempt her away, and she did not know whether to be flattered or insulted.
And even though this played perfectly into their plan, Isolde couldn’t help wishing Thaddeus would return and scare them all away. She thought perhaps he had ruined her taste by setting a bar none of these other potential suitors could hope to reach.
It was only polite, however, to grant their requests. And it was the best way to see if any of them might be a potential match. In truth, many of them were perfectly nice, but not one had held her interest.
She wondered vaguely if there was something wrong with her, because surelyallof the eligible bachelors could not be without merit. And yet, none suited her tastes at all.
This particular gentleman was visiting from Scotland. Tatiana made the introductions and then he requested the pleasure of her company for a walk around the garden.
She took the arm he offered her and managed to stifle a giggle when she heard Tatiana whisper, “Mama, they must let her rest for a bit. The poor thing will be exhausted!” She hoped the gentlemen had not heard – judging by how he had already started extrapolating on the finer points of the garden’s construction, she doubted it.
He was apparently very into architecture and had all sorts of opinions about not only the grounds but the house as well. Isolde was having trouble focusing on what he was saying, but his accent had a pleasant cadence, and so she let his words simply wash over her.
Then she suddenly realized he had stopped speaking. She turned to find him looking at her expectantly.
“I beg your pardon,” she said, feeling her cheeks heat. “I was distracted looking at the flowers over there. What did you say?”
“I said my cousin tells me you are staying at Hartington. How do you like it? It’s a fine house from all accounts.”
“Oh yes, it’s lovely,” she replied. “A gorgeous house.” She contemplated what else she could say, and the first thing that came to mind was, “Of course, it’s quite large, and I find with Thaddeus away on business, it feels a bit empty.”
When the gentleman returned her to their table, he had a distinctly disappointed look on his face, and Isolde could not find it in herself to feel bad about that.
The next day, Annora visited again to accompany Isolde into town. Tatiana had asked Isolde when she intended to start looking for wedding things, and, not knowing what the expected timeline for that sort of thing was, Isolde had panicked.
She’d tried wriggling out of the question by suggesting that it was best to wait until Thaddeus returned, but Tatiana had only laughed and insisted heneverwent shopping, and Isolde had better not wait on him.
She had then given Isolde a list of merchants where the family had accounts. Unsure what else to do, Isolde had told her that she would begin shopping that very week.
Afterward, she had sent a note asking Annora to please accompany her. The idea of shopping for wedding things with Lord Hartington’s money – of shopping for anything with his money – was overwhelming enough. She definitely did not want to do it alone.
