Page 90 of How To Tempt A Bodyguard

Silence stretched between them. The noise of the training hall faded to a distant hum. They stood three feet apart, newly married, with nothing to say to each other.

"Matthew?"

The voice was female. Warm. Familiar in a way that made Florence's stomach clench.

Matthew turned, and froze.

A woman was approaching. Dark hair loosely pinned. A face that had been beautiful once and still was, though lines of experience had carved themselves around her eyes and mouth. She moved with the easy grace of someone comfortable in her own skin.

Isabelle.

Florence knew without being told. Knew from the way Matthew's shoulders stiffened. From the way his Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. From the slight panic that flickered across his features, the first time she'd ever seen him rattled.

"Isabelle." His voice cracked on the name. He cleared his throat. "This is—this is my wife, Mrs Collins."

Florence nodded. She didn't bother to smile.

Isabelle's gaze swept over her—assessing, cataloguing, dismissing—and returned to Matthew as if Florence hadn't been introduced at all.

"Is that so." Her tone was flat. Unimpressed. "We need to talk, Matthew. It's been too long. There are things you should know."

Florence watched Matthew's face. Watched him glance at her, then back at Isabelle, then at her again. Watched him fail entirely to read the situation he was standing in.

"Is that alright with you, Florence?" he asked.

She felt her expression go blank. The Tansley mask, sliding into place. From the corner of her eye, she saw Brennan wince and look away.

"Perfectly alright."

"Good. Good." Matthew gestured to Tam, who was standing nearby with an expression of profound disbelief. "Tam, show my wife to her room. I'll join her shortly."

Tam stared at Matthew. The look on his face said everything. You're the dumbest wretch ever born.

Matthew didn't notice.

"It's down the east corridor," he continued, already turning towards Isabelle. "Tam will make sure you have everything you need."

"Fine."

Her voice was ice. She didn't wait for a response. She turned and walked towards the corridor, her spine straight, her head high, her heart cracking with every step.

She didn't look back.

The room was small but clean. A bed, a washstand, a single window that looked out onto the hillside. Florence stood in the centre of it and breathed. She’d forgotten Tam was standing in the doorway until he spoke.

"Your husband," he began, "he's dumb as a doorknob when it comes to women."

Florence laughed despite herself. It came out bitter. Broken.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"No. Just the truth." Tam paused. "But he's also the most loyal man I've ever known. Anyone he cares about, he'd die for them. Kill for them. Burn the world for them." A slow scratch of his jaw, as if working something out. "He's just too stupid to read women."

"Maybe I don't want loyalty out of duty." The words burst out from her. "Maybe I want to be chosen from the heart. Maybe…"

She stopped. Swallowed the rest.

Tam stared at her. Blankly.