Felix determined that hers wasn’t a real laugh. Her eyes didn’t crinkle at their corners the way they did when she found something truly funny.
Stanford waved a hand in front of his face. “If they look this way they are going to see you standing in the window. Miss Alden is going to know without a doubt that you wish it was you out there in Milton’s place.”
“That is nothing but a lie and you know it.”
“What I know is that you are pathetic.” Stanford clapped a hand on his shoulder. “You should go out there and tell her that you are sorry for everything that you have done, and then you should tell her that she should marry you instead of Milton.”
Felix poked his tongue into the corner of his cheek before scrubbing a hand down his face in frustration.
Confessing to Stanford what had happened between himself and Isabelle would result in total humiliation. Stanford would never let him live down the fact that he had gravely misbehaved and kissed Isabelle.
Felix kept his mouth firmly shut and turned away from the window.
If Isabelle wishes to marry Lord Milton, then who am I to stand in her way?
He wished that there was something he could do to stop her from making such a colossal mistake. Every man carried closely held secrets, but the most pressing question was whether Lord Milton had any that would tear apart the marriage before it even took place.
Perhaps it was cruel to do this to her, but in the long run Isabelle would realize that he had saved her from Lord Milton. She would likely never forgive him, but at least she would not be trapped in a marriage with a man who so obviously conflicted with her personality.
Stanford sighed. “I do not like the look that is on your face.”
Felix turned to Stanford with a look of supreme tenaciousness. “We are going to find a way to stop this wedding long before it ever happens.”
This is a horrible idea that will likely leave me looking like an utter fool. Why do I not care?
Felix couldn’t sit idly by while Isabelle married Lord Milton, although he was beginning to see that he could not bear for any man to marry her.
Stanford shook his head and walked over to the bottle of bourbon. He poured himself a small glass and tipped it back. “I do not know when you concluded that I would assist you in this insane mission, but I urge you to rethink it.”
Felix paced over to him, his hands clasped behind his back. “We have been friends for a long time, have we not?”
“We have.” Stanford agreed as he put down the glass. “Which is why you should listen to me when I tell you that it would be better to tell Miss Alden how you feel. She would immediately change her mind and call off her courtship to Milton.”
“She would not.”
“And how do you know?”
His stomach tied itself into a tight knot as he looked out the window once more. “I did ask her to marry me and she said no.”
“You asked her?” Stanford’s eyebrows climbed into his hairline as a stunned grin contorted his face.
“Well, I told her that we would need to be married after I kissed her.”
Stanford poured himself another glass and tipped it back. “We will need more liquor for this conversation.”
Felix rolled his eyes. “We will not. You do not need to know any more than that. I should not have told you even that much, but now that I have, you would do best to keep it to yourself. Not a single other person knows.”
“Not even Lord Milton.”
“Especially not him.”
“Then if you wish to break up this marriage, you had better work quickly. Rumor has it that he is looking to marry her and whisk her away within the next fortnight.”
Felix spun and stalked out of the room.
If there was anything to find about Lord Milton, he was sure that the servants knew something.
He stalked through the halls and out the door, heading to the garden where Mr. Peregrine was bent over the vegetables, checking the tomatoes that were starting to grow.
