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“You are not going anywhere near her, Sidney!” He jabbed a finger in Richard’s face, almost poking him in the cheek. “I’ll see you unemployed for this. I’ll make sure Professor Ainsley knows the reason why I’m pulling the funding for the expedition and that you will be blacklisted from working with any of his colleagues. You will not take what is mine.”
There was a gasp from Isabel. She stared at Richard.
“Richard?”
Richard tried not to look at her. If he did, he would end up losing his resolve and confessing everything. That he would not do in front of witnesses, especially not Galliston. He glanced at Thomas.
“Could you take Miss Moore out for a moment, Thomas? I want to speak to Galliston.”
“I’m not going anywhere!” Isabel held up a hand to ward Thomas off as he stepped towards her. “I want to know what’s going on. Why are you threatening Richard, Your Grace? How is that going to make anything right?”
Galliston spluttered, “You expect me to stand back and let him steal you away? A nobody?” He sneered at Richard. “I would be challenging you to a duel if you had any noble blood in you, but I would be wasting my time challenging someone who is nothing to anyone.”
“You would risk your reputation by challenging me when you know killing someone in a duel is akin to murder in this country?”
Galliston shrugged.
“If I win, then I will get off. Everyone understands the culture of honour. If you win, however, you will hang. Sounds a good idea to me.”
Lady Dunley gasped, and Isabel’s face paled even more. Then she stepped towards Galliston and slapped him. The sound of the slap seemed to echo around the room. Everything stopped, Richard trying to understand what had just happened. Isabel squared up to Galliston, colour returning to her cheeks.
“You will never speak about Richard like that again,” she said in a low voice, almost as a growl. “You will never speak about challenging him to a duel. Even suggesting it makes you less of a gentleman. And even if you went ahead with it and you won, that is guaranteed to make sure I never marry you.”
Galliston’s mouth opened and closed. He stared at her.
“He ... he’s threatening your honour and our engagement! Do you realize what that means?”
“I know what you think it means. And I see it as dishonourable to challenge anyone to a duel where the other person will lose out no matter what happens.” Isabel folded her arms. “You call yourself a gentleman, and I’ve seen nothing of the sort. Yes, you were charming and courteous towards me, but since you were made aware of Richard, you’ve turned into a man that makes me uncomfortable. I don’t appreciate you thinking that you have something to prove. It’s not a nice quality, in my eyes.”
Richard was left bewildered. He had not expected Isabel to stand up for him like this. He glanced at Thomas, who was staring at Isabel like he had never seen her before. Isabel prodded Galliston in the chest.
“I agreed to marry you because I thought it was the right thing to do. But now I’m beginning to question it. I won’t have you target Richard because you see him as a rival. And he is certainly not a nobody. He is something. He is a bright, hardworking, and dedicated person. He knows what he wants in life, and he’s always worked hard to get it. Whatever Richard has wanted, he has got despite the fact he had no money to make it easy. Instead, he has contacts and his own mind. Both of those have got him to where he is now, and that makes him someone. Title and money don’t mean anything when it comes to Richard Sidney because he’s better than that.”
For a moment, the room was silent, and Richard was left reeling. He stared at Isabel, but she was still glaring at Galliston. The duke was swaying, his face going red where he had been slapped. Even Thomas was left speechless.
It was Lady Dunley who spoke first, which made Richard jump. She came across the room, holding her hands up.
“I think we need to separate and calm ourselves down before we start this conversation again.”
“Start it again?” Galliston snorted. “I’ve made my position clear, Lady Dunley.”
“But I don’t think everyone else has. And we’re all getting highly emotional right now.” She squeezed Isabel’s shoulders. “Maybe we should all take a step back and think about our composure before we start again.”
That sounded like a good idea, although Richard wasn’t too keen on the way Lady Dunley was looking at him. He didn’t need to guess what she was thinking right now. She thought he had done this all wrong, that he had bungled it.
She was right about that, for the most part.
“I think that’s a good idea,” Thomas spoke up before Galliston could respond. “Why don’t Lord Galliston and Lady Dunley come with me, and we can take a moment to calm down? That would be the best alternative.”
Galliston’s head snapped up.
“Are you mad? I’m not leaving your brother and my fiancée alone.”
“If you want my brother to leave Miss Moore be, it has to come from her. You saying it is just making things worse. And we need to remain calm and civilised, don’t we?” Thomas gestured towards the door. “Why don’t we let Miss Moore and my brother say what they need to say without us around? We’re just going to exacerbate the situation.”
For a moment, Richard thought Galliston wasn’t going to agree. But Lady Dunley was nodding.
“I think that’s a good idea. Whatever Isabel needs to say, she can say it without us present.”
