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Chapter 5
The Duchess of Somerset’s carriage rolled up in front of the Gage townhouse the next day. A groom opened the door and helped Isabel inside.
Evie smiled brightly as Isabel sat opposite her. “How happy I am to see you! And extremely glad you decided to marry the marquess, after all. I am certain you two will be a perfect couple.”
Isabel smiled tightly. “I highly doubt it.”
Evie laughed as the carriage jolted into a start. “So, let’s talk about your trousseau!”
Isabel pursed her lips. A trousseau.Hertrousseau.
Isabel had resigned herself to never even think of a trousseau for herself, let alone order it. She had helped her sister Sam with her needs when she had married, but now that it came to her, she was absolutely lost. And if she could have anyone help her in this matter, there was no one better than the most fashionable lady of theton.
“I’ve made a list of things we need to order, and I am quite certain Madame Deville will be able to make most of it on time,” Evie said. “When did you say the wedding will take place?”
Isabel swallowed. “Sunday.”
She was suddenly feeling queasy.
“So soon! Well, I have all the faith in my favorite modiste.” Evie nodded resolutely. “But before we get there, I’d love to know how you came to accept Vane’s proposal. Has your heart changed regarding the marquess?”
Isabel bit on her lip. “It has. If it is possible, I dislike him even more.”
Evie’s mouth slacked open. “Oh, no! Why did you agree to marry him then?”
“I had little choice in the matter. The rumors became vicious, and people started declining invitations to Richard’s betrothal ball—which we would have weathered. But then he lost his fiancée over it.”
“I can’t believe it!”
“Me either.” Isabel shook her head. “But polite members of thetonrefuse to socialize with fallen women. And by all definitions of the word, I did fall.”
Evie let out a burst of laughter, then covered her mouth with her hand. “I am so sorry. I did not mean to laugh.”
Isabel grinned. “No, please! Feel free to find joy in my misery. At least something good will come of it then.”
Evie bit her lip. “I am so sorry. I feel like it’s my fault—”
“Please, do not even think that. You are not at fault that I fell onto him at your ball. If anything, it was Stanhope’s fault.” She laughed nervously and picked at her fingertips.
“You do not have to worry about Stanhope. I do not presume to know what transpired between you two, but my husband threatened him good and well.”
Isabel smiled faintly. She was grateful to Evie and her husband, but Stanhope was truly the least of her problems. He was not violent, even if too loose with his hands, but Isabel could fend off an attack from him. She didn’t fear him.
Her betrothed was another thing altogether. Behind the closed doors of his familial estate, her husband could do to her as he wished, and nobody would be in a position to lend her a hand. And living in a house full of people who loathed her was not an enticing prospect either.
“Actually, my trousseau is not the only reason why I called you today.” Isabel played with the pleats of her skirt.
“No?” Evie leaned forward.
Isabel shook her head. “There is… Well, you know Vane quite well, don’t you?”
“No, I do not know him that well at all. I’ve met him only thrice. Gabriel is the one who knows him very well. They’ve been friends for years. Attended school together, I believe.”
“Well… Do you know about the rumors about him?”
Evie grimaced, and Isabel immediately knew that she did. “About his wife?”
“Yes! Please, tell me everything you know!”
