She looked around at the small space again. It was all her own. There would be a place for her to go when she needed a moment to feel like herself again.
It was more valuable to her than the duke would ever be able to comprehend.
The Dowager Duchess came rushing toward them. “We are late and you have yet to get dressed, Miss Alden.”
Heat flooded Isabelle’s cheeks as she nodded to the duke before following behind his mother.
The last thing she needed to do was make an enemy of the Dowager Duchess, particularly because she would soon be meeting her suitors and giving them an opportunity to tie her down forever. She needed the Dowager Duchess on her side if she wanted to survive in this world.
“She is anAmerican,” one of the women whispered behind her fan as Isabelle and Lady Victoria strode by.
The woman beside the first laughed. “I hear that all the wealth in the world would not make her the sort of woman a gentleman would wish to court.”
Isabelle longed to turn around and give them a piece of her mind, but she was doing her best to be a well-mannered young lady. However, if the glares from the women around were anything to go by she had already failed.
She took a deep breath and leaned closer to Victoria. “What is the point of walking in the park?”
“For you to be insulted, apparently,” Victoria said, shaking her head. She shot a withering glare at another group of ladies who passed them, all of them taking a look at Isabelle’s dress before turning to whisper behind their hands.
Isabelle swallowed hard, forcing the easy smile to stay on her face. “Oh good, I was sure I had the purpose wrong.”
Victoria laughed and looked over her shoulder at her mother. She turned back to Isabelle and towed her down a path that led toward a large maze carved from rose bushes. “You should not have to tolerate what they are saying about you.”
“They shall say what they please and there is little I or anyone else can do about it.”
“They will not be laughing when you find a husband that is better than theirs.” Victoria paused at a fork in the path before guiding them down the one on the left. “It is why they are being so cruel to begin with. They assume that tearing into your insecurities will force you to back away from the marriage mart and settle for the first man who comes your way.”
“We both know that will not happen.” The corner of Isabelle’s mouth twitched as she looked at Victoria. “The first man who came my way was dreadful.”
“Lord Townshend surely could not have been the worst man you have met.”
“Since my arrival in England, yes, but I suspect there will be more marching my way quite soon.”
Isabelle’s stomach lurched just thinking about getting married and abandoning the life she knew. While she was certain that she wanted to help her friend, she had been up most of the night tossing and turning, trying to figure out if this was truly the right thing to do.
Nonetheless, in the name of saving Victoria and Windham’s duchy, she would entertain the men and give them pretty smiles, and in the end she would do her best to find a husband she could bear for the rest of time. It seemed impossible but she intended to persevere.
At least, she hoped that she could.
Another pair of women passed by close to them. One stopped in front of Isabelle, her beady blue gaze dragging up and down the dress Isabelle wore. Her thin lips pursed and her cheeks hollowed slightly. She blew out a breath and shook her head, a cruel smile forming on her lips.
“I simply do not see it,” the young lady said, shaking her head. “I do not know what Lord Milton would see in a woman like yourself, and yet my brother said that you were all he would talk about last night at cards. Though from what I hear it may not have been very complimentary.”
A foul taste rose in the back of her mouth. “I was unaware of Lord Milton’s interest.”
The woman laughed and shook her head. “You poor dear. Lord Milton does not have interest in anyone other than himself. It is far more likely that he was speaking of how you shall never become civilized.”
Isabelle stood ramrod straight, giving a nod before brushing by the women. “If you would excuse me, I believe I will find someone with those legendary British manners over this way.”
Lady Victoria giggled and walked with her, rounding one of the bushes and heading straight down the path. Isabelle forced a smile before reaching up and wiping the tears from her face. She tipped her head back and stared at the bright sky until the drops of water stopped trying to escape her eyes.
Those wretched women weren’t worth her tears, and although she knew that, it was impossible not to feel horrible about herself after the things they had said.
“Don’t let what they say bother you,” Victoria said, stopping in her tracks and forcing Isabelle to look at her. “I know that is easier said than done, but women like that thrive on making others feel bad about themselves.”
“I know.”
“Good, then you know that you are infinitely better than them and you have to hold your head high.”
