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Chapter 13
“I presented myself to Miss Flaherty in a manner that was not un-gentlemanlike and was only meant to make her feel more at ease around me. The accusations that you are making against me are entirely false.” Gregory was seated in his favourite high-backed armchair with the dense history book that he was currently struggling through open on his lap. He was looking at his brother indignantly and pretending that he had not done what Isaac knew he had in front of Sophie the prior morning.
“Entirely false?!” Isaac protested, slamming his far more interesting book on Amazonian tree frogs shut and laughing at his brother. “Gregory,you took your shirt off in front of her!”
“I did not,” Gregory said sternly, looking towards the door, “and I should ask that you keep your voice down so that Mother does not hear your outrageous accusations.”
“And why should it bother you if she hears them?” Isaac asked. “If what I accuse you of is false?”
“Do stop your yammering instantly,” Gregory ordered him, trying to prop up his thick book and make it seem as though he was reading again. “I would have thought that a fellow in your circumstance would have been more sympathetic to my ... temporary insanity that I experienced yesterday.”
“Oh, so you do admit ...” Isaac trailed off as he saw the mischievous look on his brother’s face. “What do you mean, a fellow in my circumstance? I am not in any sort of circumstance.”
Gregory rolled his eyes, entirely bored with the situation. “Brother, I do not wish to have a lengthy conversation with you about yourfeelingsor yourdesires, but would have had to have been an ignoramus not to have noticed what is going on between you and Miss Louisa. All I ask is that you do not ask me to stand with you at the altar, for you know how dull I find weddings, and so I shall surely fall asleep.”
“There is nothing between Miss Louisa and I,” Isaac assured him. “She said it herself yesterday morning – we are each very grateful to have such a grand friendship at this time in our lives, but we are nothing more than that, just friends. Besides ...”
Gregory looked at him expectantly. “Besides, if you were to marry a woman in such a poor social standing, Mother would surely tear your head from your neck and put it on a post to ward off any other similar suitors for myself?”
“You’re absolutely right,” Isaac admitted. “Mother would never stand for a woman like Louisa in this household ... unless ...” Isaac trailed off and looked away, dazed by his own idea.
“Don’t ... don’t you look away like that, brother,” Gregory warned him. “I know what it means when you get that look upon your face, and I forbid you from doing whatever it is that you’re considering right now.”
A low chuckle emitted from Isaac, but he did not respond to his brother. He had a small plan, not one that he felt like sharing right now, and so he said nothing more to Gregory. He packed up his things from the library and retreated to his room with Gregory shouting behind him, “Isaac ... Isaac! Do not even think about it!”
When Isaac got up to his bedroom, he placed his fascinating book upon the bedside table and went to sit in the chair by the window. This was his favourite place in the whole house, for he could see the furthest extent of their property out of this window, and he loved to watch nature unfolding right before his very eyes.
In the spring, the way that the trees blossomed and the plants took root after the arduous, taxing winter was always a great relief. In the summer, when the warm breeze tickled the boughs of the weeping willow trees down by the stream, Isaac felt lulled into relaxation.
In the fall, when the air began to cool, and the animals began retreating to their winter homes, Isaac found himself suddenly energized and ready to face whatever came for him. And finally, in the cold grasp of winter, on the very, very rare occasion that it became cold enough for snow, Isaac got every good book from his father’s vast library and holed himself up for days at a time. He allowed himself to be swayed by the seasons and the way in which Mother Nature called to him.
On this day, however, Isaac was not allowed a great deal of time to admire nature and all of her miraculous details, for he was almost immediately distracted by something even more magnificent – the arrival of Miss Louisa Pelham and her companion, Sophie Flaherty, to their estate in a carriage.
Isaac didn’t believe his eyes at first. He had to rub them a few times to be sure, but when he was, he had to positively dash down the stairs so that his brother would not be tempted by Miss Flaherty to act in the same way he had the other morning.
When Isaac reached the bottom of the stairs and flew around the corner, he could see Gregory exiting the library at a leisurely pace. He obviously had not seen Sophie yet, and so Isaac decided to save him the embarrassment of being overwhelmed by another bout of ‘temporary insanity’, as he said himself. If Sophie really was the woman for him (which Isaac was not currently convinced she was), then he could court her when he was feeling far less ... aroused by her presence.
“Miss Louisa, Miss Flaherty!” Isaac called to them as he saw them having their cloaks taken off by a servant. “How wonderful to see you; might I direct you into our sitting room right this way?”
Louisa looked at Isaac as though he had spoken another language. “Good afternoon, Mr Quince,” she said, sounding so formal that it made Isaac feel uneasy. “Certainly, I shall follow you into the sitting room, but I am afraid that I’ve asked Sophie to attend to some other business while you and I speak.”
Louisa gave Sophie a look, and the young serving woman disappeared in a heartbeat. Isaac thought that they were both acting very strangely, but he didn’t dare ask what had happened, in fear that something more terrible had befallen her father. It was not yet the time to ask those sorts of questions. If they had to be raised, he wanted it to happen when they were somewhat alone together in the sitting room.
Isaac led the way to the room and directed Louisa to the most comfortable chair. He thought that such an act of thoughtfulness might evoke a smile or the tiniest expression of happiness from her, but when it did not arrive, Isaac knew that something bad was imminent.
“So,” Isaac began cheerfully despite Louisa’s dour mood, “to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit, Miss Louisa?”
Louisa kept her eyes trained on the window to her right and did not face Isaac once. “I have come to discuss the matter of the sale of our house,” she said seriously.
“Of course!” Isaac said excitedly. “I have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the papers to sign, as I know that we both …”
“There are no papers to sign at this time,” Louisa said abruptly. Isaac stopped dead in his tracks.
“That must be my error then,” Isaac responded graciously. “I had thought at the end of our last meeting that we had decided to sign the papers necessary to have the house sold to me, and I would provide you with the funds that I promised to your father. Perhaps I misunderstood you.”
“I believe you did. The offer that you sent to my father was far too low. We can only sell the house at a premium price; otherwise, we will have to stay on the property.” Finally, Louisa looked at Isaac. It was as though she was wearing a mask, and the real Louisa was dying to return. However, something was holding her back, and Isaac hoped that through the course of their conversation, he might be able to coax it out of her.
“Of course, I understand that perfectly,” Isaac replied. He continued trying to understand where Louisa was coming from. She must have been under an enormous amount of pressure from taking care of her father, as well as trying to navigate the household finances in addition to everything else she was already handling.Perhaps everything finally got to her,he thought,and that is why she is so unhappy today. I would be positively miserable if our circumstances were reversed, so I can’t imagine how she manages on a day-to-day basis.
