“ ’Tis over, Thomas,” she whispered.
“Bella.” Lord Poole struggled to lift his head.
“No, don’t speak, Thomas. Just listen.” Isabella swallowed convulsively. This was her chance to set things to rights, and she seized upon it. “I am in love with Damien, and I am going to marry him.” She held up a staying hand when Lord Poole opened his mouth. “No, don’t say anything. I will marry the earl, and there is nothing you can do to prevent it.”
Isabella’s eyes narrowed as Lord Poole placed his hands over his ears to stop the sound of her voice. She pried his fingers away and squeezed his hands.
“Hear me well, Thomas,” Isabella commanded. “I will never acknowledge the kinship between us. I demand that you keep yourself out of my sight and out of my life. You will leave England as soon as possible. Forever.”
Isabella watched the agitation change to defiance in Lord Poole’s face.
“You will leave,” Isabella repeated, her voice turning hard, “for if you do not, I will tell the whole world the truth about Emmeline’s death and the part you played in her suffering. The scandal and malicious gossip will be beyond endurance, Thomas. You will be ostracized, shunned completely by the society you so admire.”
“Why, Bella? Why are you so hateful?” Lord Poole’s voice was agonized.
“I do this for my sister,” Isabella replied, her expression stiff. “To bring her a small measure of justice.” She cleared her throat and continued. “Before you leave England, you will cancel the mortgage debts you hold against Whatley Grange. That is the price of my silence, Thomas. Do you agree to my terms?”
There was a long silence. Isabella fixed her eyes on Lord Poole’s ashen face and waited expectantly for his reply.
“It will be as you say, Isabella.” Looking utterly dejected, Lord Poole turned his head away from her.
Isabella hardened her heart against his suffering. “I expect you to be gone from this inn by daybreak. Farewell, Thomas.”
Emotionally drained, Isabella staggered to her feet. She blindly reached out a hand for Damien. He caught her by the arms and pulled her roughly against him. Isabella closed her eyes and rested her forehead against his broad, muscular chest.
“Please, Damien,” she whispered softly, “take me away from here.”
Chapter Twenty-seven
Damien carried Isabella up the inn staircase and into her bedchamber. She did not protest. He kicked the door shut with his booted heel, then gently placed her on her feet.
“Thank you, Damien.”
Isabella’s tone was quiet and contained. Damien tilted his head to one side and looked closely at her face. The paleness had eased, but her eyes were still wide and pain-filled. His heart ached, knowing she had suffered, even though he did not yet fully understand what had occurred. He watched Isabella with concerned eyes as she crossed the small chamber and stood at the window, staring out into the darkness, her body turned toward it.
Desperately needing to touch her, to somehow assuage her pain, Damien stepped forward and circled Isabella’s small waist with both arms. She leaned back against him, and he heard her drawing a deep breath.
“I don’t want any secrets between us, Damien. Yet I know not how I can repeat the unspeakable things I have learned tonight.”
Damien forced himself to rein in his impatience. When he entered the private dining parlor, he had felt the tension gripping the room, had seen the fear etched on Isabella’s face. But he had been ignorant of the cause.
Finally, in a halting voice, Isabella revealed the truth of Emmeline’s death. At first Damien was certain he had misheard, but when Isabella haltingly repeated the tale, the shock within him turned to pure horror.
Poor Emmeline. How lonely and bewildered she must have felt, having no one in whom to confide this horrible secret. Damien’s stomach revolted at the image of Poole and Emmeline together.
“I should have killed him,” Damien snarled. “I should have beaten him senseless.” ,
Isabella lightly touched the forearm that was wrapped about her waist. “No, Damien. I don’t want this ugliness to have any more power over our lives. Thomas has agreed to leave England. I pray that in time we will be able to forgive him.”
“I hope I shall be able to forgive myself,” Damien said, “for failing to protect Emmeline when she needed me most.”
“Don’t blame yourself. Emmeline made the choice not to tell you what was happening. You cannot be held accountable for what you did not know.” Isabella turned around to face Damien. “Goodness, your jaw is turning purple. Does it hurt a great deal?”
“I barely feel a thing,” he answered honestly.
She gave him a watery smile and placed her arms around his neck. He rested his hands comfortably on her hips. He found himself grinning back at her.
Leaning into him, Isabella said softly, “I want to marry you, Damien. Will you still have me?”
