“The three of you are acting like children!” She tucked the pillow between her body and the side of the carriage. “You will behavewhile we are in London. I will not have my children becoming the talk of thetonand putting our family to shame.”
Felix exhaled with relief as the carriage rolled to a stop and the townhouse came into view. Perfectly groomed vines climbed up its sides and framed the windows. The white gate was thrown open and the carriages rolled through as the servants lined up outside and waited to greet them.
His carriage was the first that came to a stop. The door opened and he stood, stepping out and nodding to the people he employed. They collectively dropped their heads in respect before their gazes turned to the second carriage.
Felix was certain that word had now carried to London about his charge. He knew thetonwould be clamoring to get a look at her to see if the rumors were true and find more information they could spread. He was sure that there would be at least one real or imagined scandal coursing through thetonby sundown.
The second carriage opened and the footman helped Victoria out before Miss Alden appeared. Her buttery yellow skirts swished around her as she took the steps slowly. There was an easy smile on her face and her eyes shone bright as she took in the flowers on either side of the path that led the way to the house.
She turned and whispered something to Victoria behind her hand and the two women laughed.
“I heard that Americans are obnoxious,” one of the staff members whispered beside him.
Felix turned and stepped closer to the butler. “Excuse me? Would you mind repeating yourself?”
The butler lowered his head, his cheeks coloring a deep shade of red. “Forgive me, Your Grace, I was only?—”
“You were only insulting a woman who is a guest of this family. You were making your opinion known and I suspect you have based it on the words of gossips. If I hear another word from you regarding Miss Alden I shall terminate your employment.”
Without another word, Felix spun around and stalked toward the townhouse. If this was the way his time in London was to pass, then he was going to need a drink and perhaps a long ride.
There were very few places he could go without young women and their mothers tracking him down. With each season that passed he had made it abundantly clear that he was not looking for marriage, but it only seemed to make the women more determined. He had heard more than one whispering at theton’s balls about how one of the women would finally be the one to win him over.
I am hardly a prize to be won with a failing duchy and three sisters who are becoming wilder every day.
Felix entered the house and headed straight for his study. The others would get settled on their own, but he had to pour over the books again; perhaps find some money that was yet to be extracted.
Well past midnight there came a knock upon his door. It eased open and Miss Alden appeared like a ghost, her dress white and her hair hanging loose around her waist. Even as she moved silently over to the bookshelf and avoided uttering a word to him, he was stunned by her beauty.
She hadn’t spoken to him in the two days since their night at the cottage. Just as it seemed like they were finally beginning to get along, it was suddenly as if all their progress had been destroyed. He didn’t know what he had done to turn her to ice.
“Miss Alden, it is late.” He stood from his desk and strode over to the fire glowing in the hearth. “You should be in bed. From what I hear, there is a long day of shopping planned for the morning.”
“A trip to the modiste is exactly what I am dreading,” she said as she looked at the leather-bound books lining the shelves. “I cannot bring myself to sleep. Not even a cup of warm milk has helped settle my nerves.”
“And so you came to speak with me?”
She laughed. “No. I came to look for a book to read. I thought I could perhaps put myself to sleep if I found the most boring book here.”
Felix bit back a smile and joined her by the shelves, careful to keep a proper distance between them. “There is a rather boring tome on the works of Shakespeare.”
“You do not like Shakespeare?” Isabelle turned to look at him, the corner of her mouth curving. “I suppose I should have guessed that. You hardly strike me as a romantic.”
“Pray tell me what part ofRomeo and Julietis romantic?”
“Eternal love at its core, although I have to admit that it is far from my favorite piece of work.”
Felix clasped his hands behind his back as she inspected his Shakespeare selection. “I would think it to be one of your favorites.”
“I may be a dreamer at times but love like that is impractical. People are rarely willing to overlook all the reasons they should not be together while holding onto the one reason why their relationship works.”
He studied her profile for a moment, trying to commit the slender slope of her neck to memory. “That is rather cynical.”
“Surely you must know that my fiancé was showing interest in another woman and that is why the marriage was called off. It was a scandal. Imagine, a wealthy daughter of a baron in New York with a fortune in inheritance, and he thought it would be better to flirt with a woman who was of no consequence.”
“Is that what you think?”
Isabelle pressed her lips together and turned slightly to face him. “I think she was a woman trying to do the best that she could with her life. She worked hard. I liked her, otherwise she would not have been my maid. She betrayed me.”
