Page 35 of Engaging Sir Isaac

The tall, fair-haired man shrugged his broad shoulders. He was a sportsman, through and through. Nearly every day she had been present, he had been out riding, training with the dogs, and hardly seemed to spend a moment indoors. That he gave her any attention at all, given at least a decade of years between them and her insignificance in the world, was a mystery to her.

Yet she sensed a kindness to him, lurking beneath the surface. There was a depth to him he did not show.

“Here. This is Livvy’s sitting room.” He knocked on the door, and his sister instantly invited whoever was without to enter. “Here we are. I promise only to keep her from drawing blood.” He made the jest lightly as he swung the door open and gestured for Millie to enter first.

Millie walked inside, reminding herself that she had to appear confident, or Lady Olivia very well might draw blood. The woman had something of a cruel streak. “Lady Olivia.” Millie offered the requisite curtsy. “I must beg a moment of your time.”

On an elegant couch with a curved back and plump cushions, Lady Olivia was lounging in a day dress and robe. She barely stirred when she saw Millie, but her eyebrow arched when she spotted her brother entering the room as well. “Can it not wait? I have been gone all day. I am fatigued.” She closed her eyes and leaned back upon the couch.

Lady Olivia was several years Millie’s senior, though younger than her brother. She no longer had the freshness of youthful beauty but had taken pains to cultivate a more sophisticated appearance. But women of her wealth and standing need not marry for their security or place in the world.

“I think you ought to listen to your guest, Olivia.” Lord Neil came through the room with an arrogant laziness, and he took a chair near his sister’s head. “You will find what she has to say fascinating, I am certain.”

“Oh? Very well, then.” Olivia sat up and wrapped her robe more tightly about herself. “What is it, Miss Wedgewood?”

Millie took in a breath; she did not look to Lord Neil. She had no wish to betray that he was actually on her side of the matter. “I have considered our arrangement, Lady Olivia, and I am afraid I cannot go through on my end. I wanted to tell you directly, so that we might end things before your mother’s house party guests arrive. I should not wish to cause a scene of any kind. I will pack my things and take my leave right away.”

Beneath her honey-colored curls, Lady Olivia’s expression barely changed. She appeared as bored as she had when Millie entered the room, and hardly more awake. “Is that all? What happened? Were you found out?”

“Not at all.” Millie kept her hands at her side, though bringing them together to twist her ring about her finger usually calmed her. Showing weakness of any kind in front of Lady Olivia could leave Millie in greater trouble. “But the arrangement is no longer prudent. I cannot, in good conscious, do as you asked regarding Sir Isaac.”

“Really.” Lady Olivia stood slowly, languidly, and came toward Millie. Lady Olivia was much taller than Millie’s petite form. She moved with all the grace of a swan, too. Everything about her spoke of privilege. “Perhaps you will rethink this when I tell you what I have learned about you, my dear.”

Every hair on Millie’s arms stood on end, while each muscle in her body grew taut. “There is nothing especially interesting in my past,” Millie said, barely keeping her words even. “Everyone knows about my sister.”

“But not everyone knows where she is now. I do.” Lady Olivia did not hide her feline grin when Millie’s jaw dropped. “Did you not know where she is, Miss Wedgewood? And that is but one thing I have learned.” She waved her hand dismissively. “I have sent a note requesting that Stephan Maritain and his wife attend our house party. They have agreed.”

Millie’s knees went weak, and she watched Lady Olivia come closer the way a mouse watched a cat prepare to pounce. She swallowed. “The Viscount, Lord Carning.” Her words came out hoarse.

“What does that have to do with anything?” Lord Neil asked, sounding bored and far away.

Millie had forgotten he was there, listening. She went cold all over but directed her eyes to his. “He is the man my sister was to marry.”

“Not just any man. The grandson of a duke, poised to one day inherit the title.” Lady Olivia walked behind Millie, circling her. Toying with her. “He has given me his word to help you, my dear, and your family. It has been, what, six years since your sister disappeared with her Welshman?”

Millie’s stomach turned. “Yes.”

“Lord Carning has graciously agreed to forget the past and put your family back in his good graces. If you insist upon going back upon our agreement, perhaps I could persuade him to remind people of the past. Of the insult you offered to his family. And leaving my home, quitting my offered friendship, would also be a rather black mark upon you.” She stopped when she had come all the way around Millie and stood closer. Her green eyes were cold as stone. “How would your dear mama take that bit of news, Miss Wedgewood? More debts might be called in. What few cards and invitations trickle into your mother’s grasp would cease. Are you prepared to be a complete outcast?”

Lord Neil cleared his throat, loudly, before his sister had quite finished the question. “Olivia. Are you threatening Miss Wedgewood? I believe she said she would like to go home. Torturing her hardly becomes you.”

“Really? I find it most suitable.” Lady Olivia smirked and turned to look at her brother over one slim shoulder. “You know nothing of my plans, brother. I suggest we keep it that way. Miss Wedgewood and I entered into an agreement. It would be quite unacceptable for her to go back upon it now. Dishonorable, in fact.” She turned back to Millie and tilted her head so that it nearly rested upon her shoulder. The effect of her chilled smile at that angle disconcerted Millie. “Do you still wish to go home, Miss Wedgewood? Or would you rather stay here, and enjoy our house party?”

Millie’s stomach rolled, but she lowered her chin and shuddered as she answered, “I will stay.”

“What of Sir Isaac?” The nobleman’s daughter stepped closer, whispering her words. “What of our agreement?”

“Livvy—”

The woman turned a glare on her brother, hissing like a cat. “I have asked you not to call me that anymore, Neil.”

Millie’s heart grew cold, gripped in icy dread. What choice did she have now? “I will do as you ask, Lady Olivia.” She caught a glimpse of Lord Neil coming to his feet, wearing a concerned frown. But he said nothing. She did not blame him. Things had turned quickly. She drew in a breath and dropped her curtsy again. “I am sorry I disturbed you.” Then she turned and left the room, forcing her steps to remain slow until she closed the door behind her.

She ran. Down the halls, her slippers making hardly a sound on the plush carpets upon the shining wood floors. She ran to her room, flew through the door, and directly to Sarah. There was no one else who would understand. But Sarah, arms full of clothing as though she had begun to pack, took one look at Millie and dropped everything in order to embrace her mistress.

“What happened?” the maid asked, dread in her words.

Millie cried and told the whole story through her tears.