In a flash, Lord Raisin was at her side, indicating that he, too, had spotted the family.
“Shall we go over here?” he said desperately, gesturing in a direction opposite to where the viscount stood.
For her part, Isolde could not tear her eyes away from the man. It was as if her feet had been glued suddenly to the floor, and that was ridiculous. Her heart hammered as if it were trying to beat out of her chest.
What troubles me so? What might be the cause of my disquiet?
And then, quite suddenly, Lady Wrenwood was walking across the courtyard, towards them.
“Lady Isolde, what a pleasure,” she said, smiling. “And this must be your family?”
The correct thing to do, of course, was to make the introductions and exchange pleasantries, but Isolde did none of this. Instead, she blurted out, “Lady Wrenwood, your eye!”
The smile dropped from the woman’s face like a stone. She recovered it immediately, however, and her hand half-fluttered up to purplish bruise beside her eye, insufficiently covered with powder. She snatched her hand down again.
“This? Oh, I knocked my head on something. I forget how I managed it. People have been commenting on it all night, as I’m sure you can imagine!”
Isolde swallowed hard. “It looks sore. It must have hurt a great deal.”
The smile wavered again, but Lady Wrenwood’s composure was mostly restored by this point, and she managed to recover more quickly.
“Oh, certainly. That will teach me not to be so clumsy. Now, I came across to ask if you would like to join us for supper? We’ve booked one of the pavilion tables, and Amelia would so love it if you could join us, Lady Isolde.”
Isolde opened her mouth to answer – she was fairly sure that she was going to accept – but Lord Raisin interrupted before she could speak a word.
“No, thank you, Lady Wrenwood,” he said, voice clipped. By this point, James had released Isolde’s arm, and Lord Raisin took the opportunity to snatch up her arm. “We have our own plans for this evening. Good day to you.”
With that, he turned his back and strode away, dragging Isolde with him. She didn’t even have chance to say goodbye. The other three followed, looking a trifle confused.
Twisting around, she saw Lady Wrenwood standing by herself in the courtyard, and her expression was… well, it was sad.
Behind her, the viscount stood, face impassive. Isolde swallowed hard.
Lord Raisin kept up a fearsome pace, and had her arm in a vice-grip, so she couldn’t pull away.
“What possessed you to act in such a manner?' she snapped. 'Why did you speak on my behalf? And pray, what prompted such rudeness?”
Lord Raisin did not break stride. “You do not want to spend any time with the viscount, Lady Isolde, or his stepmother. I hear that she’s quite a harpy.”
“I liked her.”
He paid no attention to this. “Believe me, my dear, if you knew what I know about the viscount, you would cut him in broad daylight.”
She fluttered. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Lord Raisin gave a self-important sniff. “Needless to say, the viscount is a worthless rake, and his family can be no better. Let us leave it at that, Lady Isolde.”
“No, let us not! Tell me directly what you mean.”
He didn’t glance down at her. “I am a man of the world, Lady Isolde. A gentleman, I should say. I attend clubs, I have good friends, and I hear things. And the things I have heard about the viscount are not good at all. You’ll do better to avoid him altogether.”
Isolde clenched her back teeth. She made a weak attempt to pull her arm free, but Lord Raisin either did not notice or did not see fit to release her and continued to pull her along.
“You have no right to make such decisions for me, no right at all to tell me what friends I may keep.”
He gave a chuckle. “Not yet, at least. Now, shall we havea dance? You need to work off some of that vibrant energy, my dear!”
Chapter Nineteen
