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As Louisa wrapped up, informing Isaac of all that had gone on, he started to understand what had happened behind his back. Louisa was terrified that he would be absolutely furious, but when she gazed into his eyes after having finished, she saw only kindness and understanding.
Isaac was silent for a short while after Louisa had told him everything. He walked away from her, but not too far, just to allow himself the chance to take everything in. He leaned his back up against the tree and finally looked at Louisa. Louisa, meanwhile, held her breath for his response.
“Before I say anything else, Lulu,” Isaac said, and Louisa’s heart skipped a beat upon hearing him calling her by her informal name, “I must ask you one thing.”
“Anything,” Louisa agreed enthusiastically.
Isaac ran his fingers through his hair as he thought of the perfect way to phrase what he needed to say, but in the end, he just decided on, “Why marriage?”
Louisa jerked her head back in shock. “Why ... marriage?” she repeated. “What do you mean?”
“Why did he have to marry you? He could have simply promised to give you monetary compensation for your troubles. He also has enough power within this community that it would not have been difficult to promise that he would assist you and your family to re-enter society. So then why did he have to …”
But even as he said it, he realized exactly why Stephen had to marry Louisa. He must have discovered Isaac’s affection for the young woman and decided to take away any chance that he had of being with her. As he thought more about it, he remembered that Stephen always seemed to have a particular hatred for Isaac, but he had never been able to figure out exactly why. Now, however, was not the time to ask. It was the time to act.
Isaac took off towards the estate once more, and Louisa chased after him. “Isaac! Isaac, where are you going?” she cried as they ran, but Isaac dared not to tell her what he was going to do before he did it, for she surely would have stopped him. He charged through the back door once more and pushed through the throngs of people until he found Stephen standing in the middle of a crowd.
When Stephen saw him, he snarled, “You.”
“Stephen Strandmere,” Isaac announced loudly and proudly, “I challenge you to a duel.”
Louisa gasped. “Isaac, NO,” she tried to order him, but he would not listen.
Stephen looked around at the guests gathered near him, and then looked back at Isaac. His expression was difficult to read until he began laughing.
“A duel? A duel?! I will give you credit for the unexpected, Mr Quince, for I had not in a million years thought that would ever be an option with you. I always thought you were too spineless and self-important to do anything such as that. But, as this is a matter of honour ... I accept,” Stephen agreed.
Isaac could feel his heart racing in his chest and did his best to hide any nerves that were bubbling to the surface. He remained stoic and calm, maintaining eye contact with Stephen as they stared each other down, not daring to show any weakness in front of his soon-to-be opponent.
“Mr Strandmere, Mr Quince, this is not necessary! Can you not discuss this like civilized men? There is no need to include violence in this altercation, I forbid it!” Louisa begged. Isaac knew that he was making the wrong decision, but thinking about Stephen stealing the love of his life from him simply so that Isaac could not have her made him blind with rage. He had always known that he and Stephen hadn’t got along, but he hadn’t realized that Stephen’s contempt for him went as far as this.
“Do not fear, Miss Louisa,” Stephen said, pushing her aside to lead Isaac to the room where he kept his pistols. “This will all be over faster than you could say ‘bang’, and then you and I shall be together forever, as we should, and Mr Quince will be on his way to the grave.” Stephen pushed open a door and ushered Isaac inside while the rest of the guests murmured with excitement and tried to follow as closely as they could.
When Isaac entered the room, he couldn’t believe the number of weapons on the walls. There were rifles, pistols, swords, and every other type of exotic hunting gun imaginable. Isaac knew that because Stephen was the one who had been challenged, he got to pick the weapon, but he hadn’t expected him to have this vast collection of things to choose from. Isaac’s breathing became panicky, but he convinced himself that there was truly nothing to worry about, for he had a secret weapon that Stephen did not know about when it came to duelling.
“Well then,” Stephen said, clapping his hands together and rubbing them hungrily. “As you can see, I have a wide array of weapons to choose from, and as it was my honour that was challenged, I am able to pick the weapon. Whatever shall I choose, though ...”
Stephen began stamping around the perimeter of the room, perusing his stash proudly. Isaac knew that he was doing this to try to make Isaac feel more nervous, and so Isaac determinedly did the opposite. The more time Stephen took to choose a weapon, the more time it gave Isaac to find his centre and relax into it. He did not need to stress, for he knew that he was well equipped to take on a man like Stephen.
Finally, Stephen lingered by a set of silver pistols. “Hmmm ... yes, I suppose these shall do. Damien! Prepare these guns for our duel!” Stephen shouted to his valet, and then, without taking another look at Isaac, he strode out the door in the direction of the duelling ground. Isaac allowed himself a secretive, proud grin, for he knew that Stephen had made a fatal error in choosing those weapons, and then he followed him out the door.
But Louisa flew after him and began pecking at him, like a red-winged blackbird flying at a crow that’d just attacked its nest. “Isaac, I do not understand why you feel compelled to do this. You’re a law-bound man; don’t you know how simple it would be to resolve all of this in court? As well, Stephen is a far superior marksman to anyone in the village, and I fear that if you go ahead with this …”
“Louisa,” Isaac said curtly. “I understand your concerns, but I must tell you that they are unfounded. I knew exactly what I was doing when I challenged Stephen, and now I must ask that you give me the space to do what I must. Stephen must be dealt with in this way; otherwise, he will continue to act as though he owns us for the rest of our lives. Please ... trust me.”
Isaac looked at her earnestly, and though the sting of betrayal still hung between them, Isaac only wanted to reassure her. He knew that there was always a chance that he might not make it through this duel and so did not want the final conversation that he and Louisa had to be anger-filled.
Louisa finally seemed to be satisfied with his reasoning, and so she nodded and kissed him on the cheek. “Aim for his left side. It is far weaker, and he does not protect it,” she hinted.
Isaac took her hand and squeezed it. “Thank you, my dearest,” he whispered, and despite the dramatic turn of events, Louisa still found herself pleasantly ruffled by having been referred to as Isaac’s dearest.
