Her uncle shifted and he glanced at her at last. “I won’t let him hurt you.”
She shook her head. “The only one who has hurt me is you. Now this is my house. You made sure of it today when you marched me up the aisle to a man who did not deserve your machinations. And since it is my house, I have the right to tell you to get out.”
Winter flinched and turned on her. “Isabel—”
She pointed toward the dining room door. “You are not welcome here. Not if you are going to accuse my husband of such terrible things. Not if you are going to humiliate him in front of his friends and our family.”
“So you take his side,” Winter growled. He moved toward her, and Matthew rushed around the table at the idea that he might touch her. But he didn’t. He only leaned in. “I am your family. Angelica was. Where is your allegiance?”
She recoiled, but then she lifted her chin. In her face, Matthew saw her power and her strength. Something she normally kept quiet, but was there in all its glory in that charged, painful moment.
“If you were my family, you would have thought of me before you did what you did. And Angelica is dead.” Matthew and Winter flinched at the same time. “No one can bring her back, no matter how much you or Matthew wish you could. So I owe her nothing more than my grief that she did not get to live out her dreams. Now as I said, it is time for you to go. And until you are able to apologize and reflect on what you’ve done, you are not welcome here again.”
Winter stared at her, sputtering. Then he cast a deep glare in Matthew’s direction and stormed from the room. The chamber sat in stunned silence for a moment as Matthew gaped at Isabel. The fire had gone out of her now, replaced by regret. Pain. She had done this for him. In front of everyone he loved, she had taken a side and it was his.
“Brava!” Graham Everly, Duke of Northfield, suddenly called out as he rose to his feet, clapping his hands. Slowly, all his friends joined in the applause.
Isabel dropped her gaze from his as bright color filled her cheeks. Although they meant well, although he saw that her strenuous defense of him and censure of her uncle had softened more than a few hearts to her, it was clear she was uncomfortable with the accolades. He moved to her and caught her hand, squeezing it as he met her eyes and held them in a show of solidarity and gratitude.
“Enough, you lot,” he said, laughing to soften the mood. “This is not a play.”
It was Graham’s wife Adelaide who grinned at that. She had once walked the boards herself, in a very different life. “If it had been, it would have been lit very differently.” She stood and came around to embrace Isabel. “You were very brave. But I can see how tired you two must be after all the excitement of the past few days. I realize a wedding party would normally last a few more hours, but I suggest that we leave the bride and groom to themselves.”
She looked around the room with a pointed gaze. Matthew rolled his eyes. She had very little subtlety and yet he appreciated the gesture. In truth, he did want to be alone with Isabel now. His…wife. He shook his head at that reminder of what had transpired hours before.
“Well said, my love,” Graham said as he joined his wife. He shook Matthew’s hand, his bright blue eyes holding Matthew’s for a moment. Offering the support and friendship Matthew had always known from this group of friends. He appreciated it even more now than ever before.
The rest got up, shaking hands, kissing Isabel’s cheek. They all moved into the foyer to say their farewells. He noted that Isabel was quiet during it all. She smiled as she was acknowledged and accepted the friendliness that was offered to her, but she still held herself back. Cautious, as though she didn’t trust in this new world she found herself in. And why would she? One couldn’t expect change overnight. And there were still so many questions to be answered. By her, and perhaps by him.
At last it was only his mother who remained in the foyer as the carriages drove off into the night. She turned toward them with a soft smile. “You know, my marriage to your father was arranged,” she said. “And over time, we came to care deeply for each other. Love each other.” She blinked at the tears that always accompanied talk of the late duke. “So I wish with all my heart that despite this complicated beginning, you two will find happiness together.” She stepped up to Isabel and took both her hands. “Welcome to our family, my dear.”
She leaned in and bussed Isabel’s cheeks gently. When she backed away, Isabel smiled. “Thank you, Your Grace. I hope to one day prove that I belong here.”
His mother’s smile faltered a fraction, and she met Matthew’s eyes for a brief moment before she waved her farewells and went to her own carriage.
As she pulled away, Hicks closed the door and turned to them. “Is there anything else I can provide, Your Grace?” he asked.
Matthew looked at Isabel. Tonight he only wanted one thing, and it wasn’t anything the butler could provide. Only the woman who refused to look at him. “No. You and the rest of the staff should have a well-deserved night off. Her Grace and I will be fine.”
Hicks inclined his head and then glanced at Isabel. “Many felicitations, Your Grace. I hope you and His Grace will have many happy years together and that this home will be a comfortable one for you.”
“Thank you, Hicks,” she whispered.
Matthew frowned. It was like she was shrinking. Since her confrontation with her uncle, she had grown quieter, hunched smaller. Like she was trying to disappear. And he didn’t want that. Not at all.
“Come,” he said, offering his arm. “Let me show you your chamber, Your Grace.”
To his surprise, she flinched at the title, but took his arm and let him lead her upstairs. He guided her to the door to his chamber and opened it, revealing the drawing room. He saw it through her eyes as she gazed around. It was a masculine space. He’d changed and updated it when he inherited, and now it was all him. He would have to allow her to change that, to bring some of herself into the world he’d lived in alone for so long.
“It’s lovely,” she said, stepping away from him into the room. “The mahogany furniture is exquisite.”
He smiled. “There’s more of it in my bedchamber, if you’d like to join me there.”
She turned, her eyes wide and her breath short. For a moment, it seemed like she was struggling to find words. Then she simply nodded.
He opened the door and motioned her in. When she passed him into the room, he caught a vanilla whiff of her hair and shuddered with desire. How he had resisted her since the last time they made love weeks ago, he could not say. Right now that felt like an exercise in impossible control.
Tonight he would not exert it any longer.
