This can’t be happening right now.
There’s no way she’s going to accept the proposal.
Except, when she looked over at Felix, her lips twitching into a small frown before she forced a smile, he knew what the answer would be.
“Of course.” Isabelle shifted closer to Lord Milton. “I will marry you.”
“I forbid it,” Felix said, stepping forward with the intention to get between the two.
Isabelle shot him a withering look. “You’re done enough.”
She turned and strode through the ballroom door as Lord Milton chuckled and following behind her.
Felix began to go after them, but Edith stepped into his path with her arms crossed. She pursed her lips and shook her head emphatically. “I do not know what is going on here, but this endsnow. You are not going to keep leading that poor woman on when we both know she must marry.”
“She does not have to marryhim.”
“She may be beautiful, but nobody else would have her.” Edith’s voice broke at those words, her eyes shining with tears. “You have done enough, son. It is now time to let her make her own decisions.”
“You know that she is only doing this to save our family.”
Edith gave him another sad smile. “I know.”
“Shecannotgo through with this.”
“That is no longer your choice.” Edith opened the door to the ballroom. “You have made your bed, Felix. It is high time you lay in it.”
Twenty-Four
Isabelle forced another smile as Lord Milton droned on about his land and the tasks she would be expected to do once she was married to him.
She didn’t think there was a subject that they didn’t touch upon. Well, that he didn’t touch upon. Each time she tried to open her mouth and talk to him, he cut her off and kept speaking.
If this was how their marriage was to begin, it would be a long one without a hope of light at the end of the tunnel.
Victoria leaned over, opening her fan to give the women a small amount of privacy. “You cannot be serious about marrying this man. Especially after all you learned at the ball.”
“I am. There is little to be done about it now. I have accepted the engagement and we will be wed in short order.”
“I will simply not allow it. I see the way you look at my brother and I know that the two of you are meant to spend your lives together, not apart. Felix can hardly tear his eyes from you.”
If that was true, he would have put an end to this wedding.
There were an endless number of things the duke could do to end the wedding if he so desired. All it would take would be a single meeting, during which he would inform Lord Milton that they intended to dissolve the agreement and that Lord Milton was free to move on.
Isabelle could also be free once she was married to Lord Milton. She could finally forget about the duke and the way he looked at her.
However, the duke had done nothing more than cause a scene at the ball. He had found a way to humiliate Isabelle even more than he already had.
If it had been difficult for her to find a husband before the duke’s embarrassing outburst, it had now become impossible .
Lord Milton might not have the money to sustain them, but Isabelle knew that her father would not allow them to become destitute.
On the other hand, if she married Lord Milton, her father would follow through on his deal with the Duke. The Dowager Duchess and the girls would no longer have to worry about finances.
Victoria could live the life she wanted, with a dowry that would allow for a marriage to any man of her choosing.
I just have to keep reminding myself who I am doing this for. It certainly is not for me.
