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Chapter 3
When Louisa and Isaac entered the house, Louisa found herself feeling rather anxious. Although she hardly knew this man, she felt immediately drawn to him. He was quite handsome in his own quirky way – he had a blond mop of hair atop his head with chestnut brown eyes that seemed to dart everywhere when he spoke.
He was extraordinarily tall, but despite this, his limbs still seemed a little too long for his body. However, this did give him a rather endearing look, especially when all of this was coupled with the most adorable smile that Louisa had ever seen on a young man.
If Louisa remembered correctly, Isaac was the same age as her. He came from a very respectable family, but they had been struck by tragedy a few years ago when his father died suddenly. However, judging by his comment about attending university, Louisa assumed that Isaac was doing well enough that he could leave his family to complete his studies.
While other people may have been put off by Isaac’s apologetic nature as well as his somewhat awkward social mannerisms, Louisa found them both utterly charming. Before her sister ruined their family, she had been introduced to far too many young men who thought so highly of themselves that they never took notice of Louisa’s miraculous qualities. She was done with gentlemen like those, and so speaking with Isaac was a breath of fresh air.
“You have a lovely home, Mrs Pelham,” Isaac said sweetly.
“Oh please,” Louisa’s mother said, “call me Martha. “Anyone who is going to purchase our home gets to refer to me by my first name!”
Isaac immediately looked uncomfortable and said, “Well, thank you, but I should mention that I have not yet made up my mind about this property, so …”
“Who is this?” Archie said a little too gruffly when he walked into the sitting room and saw Isaac sitting there. Louisa had to stifle her laugh, as she knew Isaac had felt uncomfortable because her mother had insinuated he was going to automatically buy the house, but Louisa knew that Isaac had nothing to worry about. If she knew one thing about her mother, it was that she was so forgetful that she would likely forget why Isaac was even visiting them in the first place in just a few minutes.
“This is Isaac Quince,” Louisa introduced him, “and …”
“Did I forget that you were bringing a gentleman caller here today?” Archie said, looking worried, “because if I did, I apologize profusely.”
Louisa could feel her cheeks turning red once more, and her eyes subconsciously flicked over to look at Isaac. She expected him to look rather confused or embarrassed by the repeated questions about him being her guest, but instead, Isaac simply looked ... happy. And then, when he noticed she was looking at him, their eyes met very briefly, and then they both looked away.
Louisa’s heart was pounding, and she could feel her hands beginning to shake, which was a dead giveaway that she was beginning to feel something for a man.
“I am here to enquire about the purchase of your home, Mr Pelham,” Isaac said politely but also a little too loudly. He cleared his throat and then continued at a much more reasonable volume. “I can imagine that a fine home such as this one must already have a great deal of interest.”
Isaac’s comment was met with silence from all three of the Pelhams, and Louisa felt momentarily bad for him. She wondered if he knew the full story of her sister’s elopement, and if he did, why was he pretending that it had no impact on how well their house would sell?
“Would you like to see the house and the grounds then?” Archie asked, shifting the subject so as not to have to respond to Isaac.
“I would enjoy that a great deal; thank you, sir,” Isaac replied, and then the two gentlemen set out towards the back garden.
When Louisa heard the back door shut, she turned to her mother and said, “Mama, why did you have to make that comment about the gentleman caller?!”
“What else was I to think, darling?” Martha asked, putting her hand on her daughter’s chin. “I saw my gorgeous youngest daughter standing out in the garden with a terrifically handsome young nobleman, and I thought that …”
Suddenly, the mother and daughter were interrupted by a young woman with wild red hair and green eyes bursting through the front door. “Louisa!” Sophie Flaherty, the family’s young Irish maid, cried, “Why didn’t you tell me you were having a young man ’round this mornin’? I would have cleaned myself up if I knew he and your father would be traipsing around the garden. I wore my dirtiest clothes today because I thought the only things who’d be seein’ me were the earthworms and the slugs!”
“Not you too, Sophie!” Louisa cried, putting her face in her hands. “He’s not my young man! He’s just here to see the house,” she mumbled into her palms.
Sophie looked at her queerly and put her hands on her hips. “Here to see about the house?” she asked, her voice laced with confusion. “But ... he’s such a handsome fella, I thought for sure he would be yours.”
“We all did,” Martha encouraged Sophie, and Louisa groaned.
“If you two are going to keep talking like this, I am retiring to my room and will not come out until he has gone!” Louisa cried somewhat dramatically, taking her hands off her face and glaring at Sophie and Martha.
Sophie looked at Martha, and both women shrugged. “I suppose we have no choice then but to drop the matter,” Sophie said, sounding disappointed. “But why don’t you tell me about him, so that I can decide if I want to take up cupid’s misplaced arrow for myself and aim it right at that fine young man’s …”
“His name is Isaac Quince,” Louisa conveniently interrupted Sophie right when she was about to get inappropriate. “He’s the son of the late Duke of Grenfell, and the younger brother of the current Duke of Grenfell. He just completed his time at the university as he wants to become a lawyer.”
Sophie raised an eyebrow at Louisa and said, “The son of a nobleman, and studying to become a lawyer in his own right? Mrs Pelham, could you or I have dreamed up a more perfect match for little Lulu?”
Louisa rolled her eyes. Even though Sophie was almost the same age as her (perhaps only a few years younger) and the two young women were quite good friends, Sophie loved to tease Louisa at every chance that she got. She was a playful, vibrant young woman who had been Louisa’s almost constant companion since Sophie was hired on in the house. Even if she got on Louisa’s nerves from time to time, she was still incredibly grateful to have her in the place.
“Don’t call me that,” Louisa scolded her, “and I shall decide for myself whether or not I believe him to be a suitable match for me. Although ...”
She had wanted to continue telling Sophie off for assuming that she had wanted to court Isaac right away, but then she remembered that since her sister’s disappearance with Nathan, not a single man had paid even a scrap of attention to Louisa. It seemed that not only had Evelyn ruined the family’s social ties and standing, but she had also barred her sister from ever making a good match.
