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“I believe he did. Did she really ...” Isaac wondered, and it was Louisa’s turn to affirm what he had seen.
“I do believe we just witnessed something rather miraculous,” Louisa said finally, looking after the duo who had just gone inside. Then, when Gregory came striding out of the house, he did not look at either his brother or Louisa. Instead, he went directly to the carriage, removed his elegant riding coat and fancy dress shirt, and began loading the food into his arms wearing nothing more than his undershirt.
The second time that Gregory walked by them into the house, Louisa and Isaac realized that they both had to stop just staring at him; otherwise, they would never get any talking done between the two of them.
“Has he ever done this before?” Louisa asked as she led Isaac over to a bench in the garden. She had to trust that her mother would follow through on feeding her father as she said she would, knowing that she had to take this opportunity to discuss some important business with Isaac.
“Never once,” Isaac informed her. “My brother has always had a ... mischievous side to him, but I’ve never seen him as outwardly entranced by someone as Sophie just then. I promise that he is usually far better behaved than that.”
There was a pause in conversation as the pair sat down a comfortable distance from one another. She turned her back and saw that she and Isaac were quite visible to everyone inside the house, so she knew that she would be getting many questions later. But for now, she did not mind. All she cared about was that he was here with her, and they had time to talk.
“I hope that this is not an impertinent question,” Isaac began, “and if it is, please do not feel pressured to answer it, but ... how are you?”
Louisa tittered at Isaac’s concern surrounding such an ordinary question. “That is very kind of you to put the question in that way, Isaac, but I’m afraid I am going to have to give you a rather vague answer. To tell you the truth ... I have absolutely no idea how I am.”
Louisa glanced in Isaac’s direction, and instead of receiving a comedic response as she expected from him, he gave her a thoughtful look. “That is not a vague answer at all,” he retorted. “When I was in your shoes back when Father first had his attack, I felt exactly the same way. The only difference is that I had it much easier than you have. I cannot imagine the strain this added care must be putting on you. Will your family hire some more people to come and assist with your father’s care?”
“I wish we could,” Louisa informed him, “but I’m afraid that we cannot afford it. Especially now that we have exactly zero income for the foreseeable future ... we will be living off of what we have, and that is it.”
It was the first time that Louisa had said that out loud, and she surprised even herself by saying it to, of all people, Isaac. She knew that her family’s state of affairs was dire now that her father was not well, but having now put that statement out into the world made it all the more real ... and all the more terrifying. She felt her breath quickening, and the panic that she had been keeping at bay for the last few days tried desperately to creep in, but when she looked into Isaac’s kind, caring eyes, it retreated as quickly as it had come on.
“I had not even stopped to consider that, and that is just awful,” Isaac responded. He looked off into the garden for a moment, took in a deep breath and then said, “In that case, I would like to offer you …”
“No, no,” Louisa stopped him, boldly placing a hand upon his arm. When he felt her touch, his attention was immediately drawn to it, and when she felt his eyes upon her hand, she withdrew it as quickly as she had placed it. “You have done far too much for my family already. I cannot ask of you anything more than your friendship during this time, and as it appears I already have that, I am the luckiest woman in the world.”
Louisa could not resist the way in which Isaac was looking at her, which was as though he wanted to sweep her into his arms and rescue her from all of the hardships that her life was throwing at her. She desperately wanted to accept his help, but a combination of her stubbornness and the implications that his assistance would have aroused encouraged her to deny it. Isaac seemed to want to protest, but in the end, he simply nodded and accepted his fate.
“I am very glad of our friendship, Miss Louisa,” he said quietly, tracing a whorl in the wood with his finger as he spoke. His blonde hair, so neatly pushed back away from his face, took this opportunity to flop from its place to in front of Isaac’s eyes. He looked so innocent and earnest that it made Louisa’s heart want to jump from her chest and into his hands. “But are you certain there is nothing I could do that would be of assistance to you?”
Louisa considered Isaac’s question for a long time, and then finally, one thing popped into her head. “The only thing I could think of is actually probably the biggest, most helpful thing that you could do for all of us,” she responded, “but I do not want to intrude on the proceedings between you and my father or make you feel pressured into doing something that you do not want to do.”
Isaac furrowed his brows and looked momentarily lost until recognition crossed his face. “Oh! Of course!” he cried, pushing his hair away from his face. “I had got so caught up in my concern for your father that I had forgotten the reason why you and I had met in the first place. If you are referring to the purchase of your home, I was all set to sign the final papers when I stopped hearing from your father suddenly three days ago. We had agreed upon a price, and if you were to find me those papers, I would be more than happy to sign them and pay you immediately. I hope that that money will allow you to find a better, more suitable home for you and your family, as well as help to take care of you and your mother and father until he is well enough to return to work.”
Louisa could hardly believe her luck. “That is wonderful news!” Louisa cried, so happy that she wanted to fling her arms around him. “I shall discuss this with my father tomorrow, and knowing him, he had the papers all drawn up and was just about to send them to you when he had his accident.”
“I shall sign them as soon as I receive them,” Isaac promised. He suddenly looked towards the house and nodded to someone. “And now, I am very sorry to have to leave you, but I believe that I must collect my half-undressed brother and make sure that he returns home in a respectable state; otherwise, I fear what the rest of town might have to say about our visit here today.”
Louisa followed Issac’s eyes and saw that Gregory was pacing in front of the carriage, still wearing only his undershirt as his top, and looking rather ... hot and bothered. She smirked, turned back to Isaac, and said, “Yes, I do believe you had better get him into a cold bath before he makes a fool of himself.”
Isaac looked to Louisa when she said that with a look of delighted surprise on his face. That soon dissolved into unbound laughter, until they both managed to collect themselves enough to bid farewell. They stood in front of each other, unsure of what to do to say goodbye, until Isaac hurriedly took Louisa’s hand and kissed it quickly, saying, “Until we meet again, Miss Louisa.”
Isaac sounded so nervous and did not make eye contact with Louisa as he retreated from her side. When he was finally standing by the carriage with Gregory, Louisa shook herself from the love-induced daze that the kiss had created and waved goodbye to the brothers. They both waved back, and as she watched them mount the now-empty carriage and head off towards home, she only wished that they could take her with them.
