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Isabel sputtered in indignation. Was that a threat? “How is that my fault?”
“If you hadn’t come, he wouldn’t have escaped.”
“If it had been trained properly, it wouldn’t have jumped on people and left the house at the first available opportunity. Or perhaps it was trying to escape your righteous presence.”
The marquess didn’t seem to pay attention to her words. He craned his neck, squinting into the alleyway. “He,” he said in an offhand manner.
It took Isabel a couple of moments to realize he was addressing her. “Pardon me?”
“He is a he, not an it. And he has a name.Button.”
What an inappropriate name for a monstrous dog.Isabel scoffed. “I have not been properly introduced to that dog, save for the fact thathetackled me to the floor. That does not earn one the familiarity to be called by one’s first name.”
The marquess scoffed. “It is odd to be listening to a lecture on proper decorum from a woman who tackledmeat the ball and then came to a known bachelor’s home without a proper chaperone. So calling a dog by his name might not be the most scandalous thing you have ever done. Besides, he was probably just avenging my honor after what happened at the ball.”
“Firstly, spinsters do not need chaperones. And what happened at the ball is that you tackled me! And then insulted my family in what probably passes in your addled mind for a proposal. And after that, you are acting all righteous, as if I am the one in the wrong? At least your name reflects your high opinion of yourself, LordVain!”
The marquess threw her a withering gaze. “I might be vain, but at least it is not I who spends most of her time on the floor with her skirts tossed up.”
Isabel’s mouth fell open, but no sound emerged, so shocked she was.
“And since I’ve seen you this way more than once, then perhaps we should act familiar. You can drop the lord and call me Vane.”
“You cad!” Isabel finally pushed past her lips.
“You seem to have trouble with names. It’s Vane,” he said, unperturbed, then his brows furrowed, and he dashed toward the entrance of the park.
Isabel would have been happy to leave the marquess at this moment, but she had no choice, so she followed him.
They had been walking briskly for a few minutes, and it was getting obvious thatButtonwas nowhere to be found. Isabel stepped in some mud and cursed.
Vane raised his brow. “It should not come as a surprise that you curse too.”
“Oh, would you stop with your righteous attitude? What have I ever done to you to deserve your scorn?” Isabel stopped, forcing the marquess to halt also.
He opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off with a wave of her hand. “That was rhetorical. I do not need that answered.”
“If you’re worried about your slippers, you shouldn’t have followed me out,” he said drily.
“I need to speak with you, and lord only knows how long you will be running around looking for your monster of a dog.”
Vane crossed his arms over his chest. “If you need to speak, then speak. And let us part right here.”
“There will be no parting.” Isabel squared her shoulders. “I came here to accept your insult of a proposal.”
Vane didn’t move a muscle. Didn’t react in any way.
“Did you hear what I just said?”
“Yes. Perfectly. But what makes you think that I shall accept your acceptance of my proposal?”
“Pardon me?”
“You’re scandalous, impetuous, and as it turns out, a menace around animals. What is the benefit for me to have you as my wife?”
Isabel was about to turn on her heel and walk away. She contemplated kicking some mud into the overbearing marquess’s eyes as she did so, but she took a breath instead. Her brothers’ future depended on her.
Then she remembered the spoilt little girl in the house. She might seem like an abomination to Isabel, but the marquess seemed to hold her in esteem.
