Page 167 of Courting the Wrong Duke

“Then Rosalind is going to need her friend far more than she needs a declaration of love.”

William looked away.

The words hurt because they were precisely what he needed to hear. Whatever waited at Bryn Hir, Rosalind came first, even if that meant William never had the chance to tell her what she had become to him.

After a moment, he nodded. “One problem at a time.”

“One problem at a time.”

William sank back against his pillow. “You are surprisingly sensible tonight.”

“I have been reading.”

A reluctant laugh escaped him. “How are matters progressing with Isabella?”

Gabriel brightened so quickly that William almost regretted asking. “Remarkably well.”

“Does Isabella know that?”

“She has spoken to me voluntarily several times.”

“You have been riding together for two days.”

“That is irrelevant.”

William laughed. “What did you talk about?”

“Christine de Pizan, among other things.”

That caught William’s attention. “You managed to work your reading into conversation?”

“I did not have to. Isabella mentioned her.”

“And I suppose you casually revealed that you had recently read her work.”

“There was nothing casual about it. I had been waiting for precisely such an opportunity.”

“At least you admit it.”

Gabriel grinned, though his expression softened a moment later. “She told me she wants to establish a school.”

“A school?”

“For girls. Somewhere they might receive a proper education rather than being taught just enough to make them accomplished wives.”

“That sounds very much like Isabella.”

“Yes.”

The quiet admiration in Gabriel’s voice made William smile.

“She wants them to study history, philosophy, mathematics, literature. Whatever they have the ability and desire to learn. She said women are called ignorant by the same people who refuse to educate them and then somehow expected to accept the insult as proof of their own inferiority.”

William considered that. “I imagine you agreed.”

“Of course I agreed. I am attempting to make her like me, not have me thrown from a moving horse.”

“An important distinction.”