Page 27 of Engaging Sir Isaac

“I had no idea he enjoyed playing,” Isaac said, catching her glance. “Not until after he and my sister were married. We have been friends nearly all our lives, and still he managed to keep that a secret.”

Millie turned her attention back to the couple at the instrument when Lady Inglewood laughed, her husband’s deep chuckle joining hers. They appeared perfectly content in each other’s company and shared such a joyful look between them that it seemed they had forgotten they were not alone in the room.

“They care very much for each other, I think,” she said softly.

Sir Isaac shifted in his chair, leaning closer to her. “I am afraid it is more than that. The two are in love. The circumstance makes it quite difficult to be near them. Only see, the way they stare at each other.” One corner of his mouth came up as he described the scene, and she obediently took in the married couple. “He dares to look upon her as though she is the only woman worth so much as a glance. And she, my younger sister, appears to completely adore him. That is always how it is with them. Quite rude, really, to speak to each other with no more than a glance, leaving the rest of the world out of the conversation.”

Indeed, Millie saw the warmth between them. Felt it. Briefly, she wondered what it would be like to experience such love and devotion. She tried to cover the tenderness of feeling with her jest. “Yes, quite rude. Married people ought not act like that. They ought to be cold to one another. We should, in fact, question whether they like each other at all rather than the opposite.”

Isaac chuckled and leaned closer, his shoulder nearly brushing hers. His breath warm against the nape of her neck. “I completely agree. Imagine, though, how difficult it is for me as a brother to one of them. Here I must sit, through every event and gathering, and pretend I do not see how my sister flirts with her own husband. I am terribly ashamed.” But the glint in his eye said the opposite. He was happy for his sister, for all he jested over the situation.

“One would think they would be more circumspect, at least with you nearby,” she said in a whisper. “What does the neighborhood think of their overly affectionate display, I wonder?”

“That is the worst of it.” He sighed and his eyes crinkled at the corners. “Everyone knows they are in love.”

Her heart squeezed at the last word, and his gaze arrested hers.

Love. It was a terrible word, really. The word her sister used as an excuse to turn her back on the family, banishing them from their place in the world. Love ruined everything. Her sister’s actions kept her from wishing to understand, kept her from sighing over poetry and novels the way other women in her position might.

Yet when Millie saw this new evidence of love, as honest and true as what the earl and countess felt for one another, she could not think it all bad. And the way Isaac stared at her, a depth in his eyes that nearly invited her in, offering to make her a part of something different—

“What are you two whispering about?” the deep voice of the earl boomed through the room, startling Millie. Isaac jerked away from her, and she abruptly realized how close they had been, nearly touching as they spoke. Leaning in to one another.

“We were whispering about how torturous it is to sit here while you flirt with your wife,” Isaac said without apology. He leaned back in his chair and waved a hand to indicate how the countess stood with her hand on her husband’s shoulder. “You are nearly as disgusting a sight as Hope and her castaway.”

That was a puzzling statement. But Millie did not get the chance to ask what it could mean.

“No one is as demonstrative as those two,” the countess said as though she disapproved, though she immediately bent to press a brief kiss to her husband’s cheek. “There. That is an end to our flirting. At least until we are all at the dinner table together. You know how I like to flirt during meals.”

Isaac groaned dramatically while the earl laughed.

“Both of you ought to stop,” the earl said, “before you frighten away Miss Wedgewood. She will return to the marquess’s house with wild tales of how we conduct ourselves.”

“She would never betray our confidence, I am certain,” Lady Inglewood said, casting a glance full of mirth in Millie’s direction.

Millie’s heart sank. Though the countess spoke lightly, her words brought what Millie planned to the forefront of her mind.

These were good people. They ought not be brought low by anything of her doing.

How had she ever thought herself capable of such duplicity? She could not go through with it.

“You have my word, my lady,” she promised, sealing her silent conviction with her word. She caught Sir Isaac’s expression from the corner of her eye. His eyes narrowed, and he appeared momentarily confused. Perhaps he sensed there was more to what she had said than continuing in the merriment.

Millie would have to find another way to appease Lady Olivia. Or else disappoint her mother even more, returning home without having assisted in their family’s recovery. If they were ever to rise from the ranks of the inconsequential again, it was up to Millie to find a different way to lift them.

At last they were informed that dinner waited for them, and Millie was escorted into the dining room on Lord Inglewood’s arm. A member of Lords, a staunch supporter of agriculture, and the man often said to be made of marble, had offered her a sincere welcome into his home and engaged her in pleasant conversation. He was much younger than she thought he would be, too.

“I hope you enjoy your time in our county. The Marquess of Alderton’s house parties are famous for their entertainments. You must be looking forward to the arrival of the other guests.”

“I am afraid I know almost no one else on the guest list,” she admitted, her hand barely touching his arm. What would this powerful peer do if he knew her original purpose in befriending his wife? Kind as he seemed at the moment, his reputation as a hard man had come from somewhere.

The countess and her brother entered the dining room ahead of Millie and the earl, but that did not stop Lady Inglewood from replying to Millie’s statement. “I hope that means you will have many new friends, Miss Wedgewood.”

Millie accepted her seat at the small, formal table. The room was not meant for entertaining large parties. There must be another table in the house, in grander surroundings, for the sorts of fine dinners someone of the earl’s standing must occasionally host.

First Mr. and Mrs. Barnes and now Lord and Lady Inglewood had invited her into their homes on an intimate level. Though she wondered at her inclusion, she did not mention her curiosity. Perhaps they simply preferred smaller gatherings.

“Miss Wedgewood, after dinner we must show the gentlemen your artwork,” Lady Inglewood said after all had settled and began their meal. “I was never all that accomplished at the intricacies of ink on wood. It is not a forgiving medium.”