“You know nothing about my attention or who holds it,” Thaddeus snapped.And you’d know that if you’d listened to me last night, instead of falling asleep, he added silently to himself.
Irritation thrumming through his body, he turned his horse back toward the main hunting party. At this point, Cassian was annoying him nearly as much as Crowley, so he decided he might as well get some actual hunting done.
He regretted this choice almost immediately, however. The group had stopped to gather pheasants they’d shot, and Crowleyhad everyone in a circle, listening to him. The longer he went on, the angrier Thaddeus became.
“I was rather put out, of course, when our dear host swept in and stole the Fairchild woman from me. After all, I had more or less claimed her. Her father had offered her hand. So I can’t deny I was upset with how things went down.”
Thaddeus slipped off his horse and marched closer to Crowley as the tension in his body ratcheted up another notch.
“But now I see fate was on my side all along. Because now what do I have before me, but a chance – nearly a done deal, I would say – to have the hand of Miss Fairchild’s sister. More beautiful than her sister – and younger, too.” Crowley winked at this, and Thaddeus’s stomach turned. “Yes,” Crowley continued, “Miss Cornelia Fairchild is as good as mine, and you can bet I’ll keep her on a much shorter leash than Hartington does her sister. None of this wandering around giving attention to every man but me, I’ll see to that.”
For the second time in as many weeks, Thaddeus found himself rushing toward Crowley filled with an anger he could barely contain. He grabbed the man and shook him, which was kinder than he wanted to be.
“I’ll not have you speak of my fiancé or her sister like that again. They will not be disrespected on my land or under my roof. Do you understand?”
Crowley stared at him, no doubt shocked that Thaddeus would treat him this way when there were others around. Thaddeus didn’t care what anyone thought, though – if he had his way, the word ‘Fairchild’ would never cross Crowley’s lips again.
There were murmurs from the other men, and Crowley smirked a little, knowing he had their sympathies. He reached up and pushed Thaddeus’s hands but found them immovable.
“Now, Lord Hartington, surely we need not come to uncivilized blows from such a trivial matter?” he asked, voice smooth. “After all, it’s just a bit of gentlemen’s talk.”
Thaddeus glanced around, realizing in the eyes of all the men here, it was he that was being disrespectful, not Crowley. The anger was still hot in his gut, but likely anything he did next would only make things worse for Isolde, not to mention his own reputation.
He dropped his hands, and Crowley dusted off some pretend specks of dirt. Without a word, Thaddeus turned and marched back to his horse, swinging up onto it and riding away to start the hunt again.
***
By the time Cassian caught up to him, Thaddeus was well into the woods.
“Harrow,” Cassian said, riding up alongside him, “what has gotten into you?”
“Leave me be,” he said without looking at his friend.
“Careful, I think I’m your only friend right now,” Cassian said.
Thaddeus didn’t reply. His stomach grumbled with hunger, and he thought with relief that it was nearly lunchtime. He couldn’t deny it to himself anymore – whenever he thought of seeing Isolde, it instantly brightened his mood.
It really was time for them to speak about their relationship. If for nothing else, than to bring some clarity to his own actions. If she rejected him, then at least he would know where he stood, and he could get back to helping her make another match, making sure the man was worthy of her.
“You can’t just refuse to speak to me,” Cassian whined. He hated to be ignored.
“I can, actually,” Thaddeus said, feeling better now that he’d decided to speak to Isolde, but still irritated with his friend. “This is my estate, so I can refuse anything I like. In fact –”
“Harrow!” Cassian shouted suddenly, grabbing Thaddeus’s reins. “Watch out!”
He turned his head to try to see what Cassian was warning him about, but when Cassian grabbed the reins, the horse pulled up abruptly and reared back. One minute, he was searching for the cause of his friend’s alarm, and the next, he was slipping backward, scrambling to hold onto his horse, but failing.
He twisted mid-air and saw the ground hurtling up toward him, and the last thing he registered before everything went dark was a sharp pain on the side of his head.
Chapter 17
Isolde lay back on her bed and sighed. Cornelia sat down next to her and took her hand, patting it gently.
Her sister had followed her back to the main house from the hunting lodge – thankfully, no one else had come. She knew it was impossible that she would never see Lady Bradshaw again, but she was wishing for it fervently.
“Why did you let Lady Bradshaw get under your skin like that?” Cornelia murmured. “I know she was being horrible, but it’s not like this is an engagement you wanted. If Lord Hartington falls for Lady Bradshaw, wouldn’t that make him more inclined to help break the engagement quietly, in a way that leaves both of you free to marry others?”
Isolde shut her eyes, not wanting to try to explain her feelings to her little sister. She had also realized, once she reached her room, that she had once again managed not to eat anything. First breakfast, now this – it was nearly lunchtime, and she was starving.
