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Chapter Thirteen.
The weak rays of dawn were gently lighting his bedchamber, but Isaac was awake—he had been for almost an hour after a troubling dream had woken him. He had lainawake, trying—and failing—to recall what he had seen in the dream.
Now, the beams of daylight were cutting through his room and spurring him to move from the bed, so he did. He slipped offthe warm coversand looked at them briefly. He could not lie—almost every night, hehad stopped himself from asking Louisa to share his bedwith him.
She is not ready yet—and frankly neither am I. I have some more exorcisms to do on my own demons before I take her into my bed and my life.
And one of those meantfinding out why Helena had suddenly reappeared in his life. What was she truly angling for? He washed his face and donned a thick banyan to leave to his study. There, in one of his drawers, laid almost two dozen of her letter, all with her flowery script and dotted with rosewater perfume.
She had written about every detail of their courtship from the day they had met in the garden to the night they had solen away at Dame Thistledown’s masquerade party. Outings to Vauxhalls’ musicals and carriage rides through Hyde Park. He had remembered all of them, and so much more, and evermore, he knew why Helena was putting their past into words.
She wanted him to relieve the lovely moments they had had, andthey still held some fondness about them if he looked at them one by one. But the vision of her in that man’s arms, an image that was burned in the wall of his mind, had soured all of them.
After ringing for his morning, coffee, he stared the latest letter impassively. What was going on at her home? Was her father in debt? Was she giving up attending the ton’s season? Had she rejected all of her suitorsand then realized that he had been the best she would have had?
“Good morning, Isaac,” Louisa’s sweet voice cut through the thoughts circling his mind and he pushed the letter away to look at her. “Did you sleep well?”
“Not so surprisingly, yes.” Isaac said. “The burdens I used to feel are not there anymore.”
She smiled and set his coffee on the table, but her eyes landed on the letter. “Is that another of Miss Follet’s?”
“Yes,” Isaac nodded while reaching for it. “There is one thing I have learned about Helena, Louisa. She has a rather insidious talent for leaving subtle hints and forcing people to read between the lines; to decipher what he meant aside from what she hassaid.”
Louisa blinked her expressive green eyeswhile she hugged the small circular tray to her chest. “That sounds exhausting.”
Dropping the letterin favor of reaching for his coffee, Isaac snorted. “Incredibly so, but enough about me. How are you?”
She shrugged. “More of the same; rooms to clean and so forth.”
“Hm.” He sipped the hot black drink. “Have you finished the book I gave you?”
“Some of it,” she replied. “But most the time I find myself daydreaming.”
Resting the cup on the saucer, Isaac braced his forearms on the table and leaned in. He could feel his eyes glimmering with the mischief bubbling in his chest. “And what were you daydreaming about, sweetling?”
“I—”
A knock sounded on the door and Louisa drew away. A bit annoyed that their tender moment had been broken, Isaac said, “Enter.”
Mrs. Wickham came in, and behind her was William. “Your Grace, Lord Ashford is here for you. And Miss Stone, you are needed in the kitchens.”
“Yes, yes, of course.” Louisa curtsied.“Pardon me, Your Grace.”
“I was the one who held you here, so no apologies needed, Miss Stone,” Isaac said. His words told the housekeeper that no fault rested with Louisa and that she was free from all blame or any punishment that might come after.
“Thank you, Mrs.Wickham,” Isaac said and dismissed her with a nod. He waiter for the door to close before he faced William. He looked too giddy and excited for Isaac’s mood and he sighed. “What hair-brained plan is running through that head of yours. Before you ask, the answer is no.”
William plunked himself in aseat and scowled. “You are absolutely no fun.”
Lifting his cup, Isaac gave him a mock salute. “So, why are you here at the crack of morning? Doesn’t your kind sleep till noon?”
“My kind?”
“Young libertine men of the peerage who have no duties to attend to,” Isaac teased. “Those who stay outuntidawn and are averse to sunlight?”
William looked fairly irritated. “Jest if you will, but I have a pressing concern. And if you must know there is a reason why men like you and I have a second-in-command calledasteward.Have you heard of it perchance?”
“And what is so pressing that has you barging into my home before the birds have woken?” Isaac asked while brushing the jab at his leadership away.
