He frowned up at her. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I shall accompany you.’
Sebastian stared at her. ‘That is very kind, Lady Somerton, but really there is no need.’
‘There is a young girl who needs a...’ she paused, struggling for a word, ‘a friend.’
‘I assure you, she is well cared for. My housekeeper, Mrs. Mead?—’
‘Can hardly manage a household and a sick girl, Lord Somerton. Trust me, I have some experience in these matters. I will be of more use to you there than here,’ she said in a voice that, she hoped, brooked no opposition.
Chapter Twenty-Three
As the coach rolled out of Brantstone’s great gates, Isabel looked across at Sebastian, slumped in the diagonal corner, resting his head on his hand as he stared out of the window, his concern for his sister written in the downward turn of his mouth and the furrowed brow.
So long used to concealing all emotion, a forgotten place in her heart stirred and she reached out and laid her hand over his.
‘Sebastian,’ she said, using his first name without conscious thought, ‘we will be there by the morning. There is nothing you can do for her and worrying won’t help.’
He made no effort to withdraw his hand.
‘I should have been there... I shouldn’t have left them... I should have brought them with me.’ The words, heavy with responsibility and guilt, rolled out.
She tightened her fingers around his. ‘You did exactly the right thing. Even if you had been there, your presence would not have stopped Constance taking ill. It is probably nothing more than a fever. It will pass and you can bring them back to Brantstone with you when she is strong enough.’
He looked up at her, his face contorted with distress. ‘They are the world to me, Isabel. My mother passed away whenConnie was born, and my stepfather died when they were still young. I am all they have and I have been neglectful of my duties to them.’
She smiled, trying to instil some confidence in him.‘No brother could have done more. I look forward to meeting them.’
He looked down at her hand and his fingers tightened on hers. ‘Thank you for coming. You are a good friend, Lady Somerton—Isabel.’
Even through the soft kid of her gloves, she could feel the strength in his fingers. Her breath quickened as his gaze met hers, and he released her hand and returned to his contemplation of the passing countryside.
Isabel leaned back against the leather squabs and closed her eyes. On one hand, it pleased her to be thought of as his friend, but, somewhere deep inside, did she seek more than friendship? Is that why she had offered to come with him? A selfish opportunity to spend time alone with him, away from the many eyes at Brantstone?
No, she told herself. Her concern was for Constance. If she had a motive it was purely selfish. She needed to ensure Sebastian’s sister was well and capable of taking on the responsibility of the house. Bringing Constance to Brantstone had to be achieved before she would be free of the last of her duties.
‘Do you have any family, Isabel?’ Sebastian’s voice jerked her out of her reverie.
She opened her eyes and shook her head. ‘No. My parents are dead and none of my siblings survived their infancy. The climate in the West Indies is unforgiving for the weak.’
He turned away from the window to look at her. ‘The West Indies?’
‘My father made his fortune in sugar, and I was born in Jamaica. A tropical fever carried both my parents off when I was nine, and I was sent home to England to be brought up by my aunt and uncle.’
‘Where was that?’
‘Near Manchester. My uncle was a mill owner.’
‘And were they kind to you, your aunt and uncle?’
For a moment she didn’t answer—couldn’t answer. Memories of the beatings and the dark cupboard under the servants’ stairs, where she had been confined for real and imagined infractions against the iron rule of her aunt, still haunted her nightmares.
‘They were childless.’ She paused. ‘My uncle was kind but my aunt had her own ideas about how to bring up a child. When I was not at school I helped with the local charities she supported. I suppose I should be grateful to her. Through that work I saw how bleak the life of the working women could be.’ She bit her tongue before she added,Any woman’s life.
He studied her face for a long moment.
‘And how did you come to marry my cousin?’
