Matthew stilled at the mention of his mother, his breathing shallow as he remembered her. Though there was not a great deal of memories there. Just a few glimpses… a few feelings.
“No, Diana. My mother would not have done such a thing,” he replied softly.
Diana seemed almost startled by his response. Or perhaps it was his tone.
“Well…” Her own tone softened immediately. Instead of the heat and fire from a moment ago, there was… a wariness, but perhaps a bit of calm alongside it. “I wish only the same, Matthew. The opportunity to improve the house that I live in.”
“I see.” He paused for a moment and glanced around the room with fresh eyes.
There truly was nothing he valued in the old furniture. And the new furniture… well, it was not so bad.
But he had given enough in this exchange, and he was uncomfortable with the direction in which everything was going.
“As you were,” he stated firmly, turning and striding back out of the room before he could say anything else. Or give anything else away.
There was a reason he did not speak of his mother. Because of what he did remember of his mother… it was impossible to be cold and detached the way his father had always wanted him to be.
And comparing her to Diana… well, he dearly wished that his mother was alive so she would see the headstrong, stubborn young lady now replacing their old furniture with whatever she wished, in direct opposition to his rules.
It seemed like the kind of thing his mother would like.
With a sigh, he made his way down the hall to his study, grateful to find that nothing inthisroom at least had been touched.
With that, the next few days passed quickly enough, though he did not see Diana. Rather, he did see changes within the house.
The furniture seemed to have been replaced to her satisfaction, and with the exception of an old high back chair he had sent to the country estate, the rest was disposed of without concern.
But his admiration for his new wife… that was certainly a concern. One that he was not entirely sure he liked.
Chapter Ten
“Hello.”
Diana glanced up, startled by the sudden voice. The fact that no one had been announced and yet there was a young woman standing before her was certainly unexpected.
“Hello,” she replied, casting a quick glance toward Margaret, who had quickly risen at the intrusion.
“Oh, I am sorry, I am Isabelle. Matthew’s cousin. We were introduced at the wedding, you recall?”
“Ah, yes. Isabelle.”
Dianadidremember meeting Isabelle, now that she mentioned it. And though she had not spent much time with the lady at the time, she did look vaguely familiar.
“I am sorry. I am so used to gadding about in the house with John that it did not occur to me to announce myself.”
“It is no trouble,” Diana replied, wondering just what it was that had brought Isabelle here today. And especially to her rather than Matthew.
“I thought we should get to know one another. We shall see each other quite a bit, I am sure. John and I are often with Matthew, and I suppose that we shall now include you as well.”
The bright smile that Isabelle gave her indicated that she was pleased with this development, and Diana could not help but return a slight smile of her own, though she was still a little uncertain about this lady.
“I should like to get to know someone who is so important to Matthew,” Diana said carefully.
Isabelle’s smile widened even more. “Indeed. Matthew is extremely important to me as well. I very much wish him to be happy. And I do hope that you shall be able to make him happy.”
Diana was not so sure herself, but she didn’t say anything, and Isabelle did not press the issue.
“Now, let us get to know one another, and we shall soon be just like old friends,” Isabelle declared with finality, sinking down into a chair across from Diana’s.
