“I can’t. It wouldn’t be appropriate. Your grandmother won’t be pleased.”
“You must be Lady Isabella.”
“I am she.” She bobbed a curtsy. “Your Grace, please don’t mention this meeting with anyone.”
“Because it might be considered compromising?”
“Oh, no. I wish it were only that. I mean, I don’t.” She rubbed her brow. “Helen warned me not to do anything odd.”
“You saved a poor, scared fawn. That’s not odd.”
“I should return to the castle before Mother realises I went out. I wasn’t supposed to leave my room. I wasn’t supposed to meet you here…informally. It’s all wrong.”
Somehow, he disagreed. “I’ll escort you.”
She pressed her lips together. “We shouldn’t be seen together.”
“We won’t. I’ll show you the safest and most secluded way to enter the castle unseen.”
Her obsidian eyes flared wide, glowing. “A secret passage? That’s a treat. I bet the castle holds many secret passages and nooks.”
“When I was ten, I got lost in the eastern wing. They found me the next day.”
“How exciting!”
He laughed and wondered when the last time he’d laughed so heartily had been.
“My lady.” He offered her his arm.
She slid her arm through his, seemingly not at all intimidated by his build or his title. “Your grandmother told us you went to Sandhurst. Did you enjoy it?”
“In a way, yes. I like order, discipline, and rules. I like being busy.” The busier he was, the lesser he thought.
She twitched her nose. “Heavens. That’s what my sister would say about being a proper lady. She’s so clever. You two are going to get along just fine.” She clamped a hand over her mouth. “Apologies. That was too bold.”
“No, say what you think. I’m surrounded by people who say only what they think I want to hear.”
“Not the Dowager.” She scrunched up her face. “Too bold again.”
“Not at all. That was accurate.”
He led her to the rear of the castle and opened a narrow wrought-iron gate half hidden by the English ivy.
She tilted her head back to stare at the turrets. Her sable curls fell back, stroking her cheeks. “I’ve never stayed in a castle so ancient, so big, and with so much history.”
“We had another estate close by, Maiden Hill, connected to Dockerly Castle through an underground tunnel.”
“I would love to see it.”
“The tunnel is closed now. Maiden Hill had belonged to my family since the eleventh century, but we lost it.” He held the gate open for her.
She brushed past him, and he caught a whiff of her rose scent. “How did you lose it?”
“My father spent the summer in Maiden Hill.” He made an effort to control his voice. “He met my mother in the forest where we’ve been. She was dancing and singing and he was struck by her voice…I’m digressing.”
“It sounds like a beautiful story.”
No, not so beautiful. “When my father died, my grandfather came to hate the house so deeply he broke the entail through a long and complicated process, angering Grandmother. He sold Maiden Hill to a foreign buyer, unaware of his identity. My grandfather was furious when he learnt an Austrian count, von Gruner, had bought Maiden Hill.”
