She opened the door and allowed Rose to scamper inside. Isabelle took a deep breath and sighed. “We need to talk.”
“We have already ruined your reputation. What further harm can be done?” Felix muttered bitterly.
Isabelle pressed her lips together in an effort to hold back her sharp retort. She wanted to order him to go away; to stop concerning himself with her reputation and focus on how they could fix this debacle.
She cleared her throat and adopted a rigid, defiant stance. “I shall marry the first man who makes an offer.”
All color bled from the duke’s face. “You cannot. I shall not in good conscience arrange a marriage for you when I know that you have been ruined.”
“You shall simply keep your mouth shut and I shall do the same.”
He scowled. “That would be dishonorable.”
“I think if we took the time to discuss all the dishonorable incidents that have occurred between us, we would never leave this spot.” Isabelle planted her hands on her hips. “This is the best option we have to achieve what we both desire.”
“You do not desire to be married.”
“And yet, it appears that I will be forced to walk down the aisle one way or the other.”
The duke’s jaw clenched. “This is not how I wanted this matter to unfold.”
Isabelle sighed, her shoulders slumping and her hands dropping. “Well, Windham, we cannot always get what we want.”
And with that, she turned back into the greenhouse and locked the door behind her.
She only hoped that the duke had departed before he could witness her tears.
Lord Milton stood regally in the middle of the drawing room with a bouquet of flowers in his hand, looking like the definition of charm. “Miss Alden, you look radiant this morning. I hope you are well after your fainting spell.”
Isabelle scratched at a smudge of green paint on her hand. “I can assure you I look rather a mess, Lord Milton, but I thank you for your kind words. As for the state of my being, I’m feeling much better, thank you.”
He chuckled and held the flowers out to her. “I could not help but notice the array of flowers on your dress at last night’s ball. It was the most stunning I have ever seen you look.”
She forced a smile at his pleasantries. What other choice did she have? He was the first suitor who had come calling. There was an interest in his eyes, he told her that he was willing to marry her, and it would have to be good enough.
After all, Lord Milton had a good-sized property and a fortune to his name. He would make a suitable husband, they would have children, and the Windhams would get everything they needed.
The Dowager Duchess looked up from her needlework and gave Isabelle an encouraging nod. Isabelle forced a smile and led Lord Milton to the couch.
“Please,” she said as she smoothed the skirt of her dress and sat down. “Sit with me.”
Lord Milton smiled and handed the flowers to Elizabeth, who stepped forward to take them from him. He didn’t so much as nod to her.
A foul taste rose in Isabelle’s mouth. Even though Elizabeth was a member of the household staff, her family had worked for Lord Milton’s family for years. Acknowledging her with kindness was hardly an unseemly thing to do.
He is a suitable match. I will have a good husband in him, even if we do not desire to be married. Given time, perhaps we may even kindle a warm friendship.
She folded her hands in her lap. “It was a shame that we did not have the opportunity to continue dancing together last night.”
“It may be for the best,” he said, giving her another charismatic smile. “If you are prone to fainting at balls, it may be better that we stick to less exciting activities.”
Isabelle bit her tongue. The man was so self-involved that he hadn’t once considered all she was doing was avoiding him. Instead, he sat there and gave her that smile that made it seem like she was the one completely enraptured with him.
Though she knew it was a smile that would give other women butterflies in their stomachs, it did nothing but turn hers. His was not the smile she wanted to see.
Regardless, she would have to make do with Lord Milton. Perhaps they could grow to love each other, although she held out little hope for it. They were two very different people.
Lord Milton held a polite fist to his mouth and cleared his throat. “I was thinking that if your chaperone was in agreement, we might go for a promenade tomorrow in the early afternoon.”
