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The stain just had to be moved elsewhere instead of being dealt with. Richard didn’t think anyone could be more selfish than his brother, and then he met the new Viscount Dunley.
Thomas would get on really well with him, for sure.
Richard put a couple of books onto the shelf and found himself wandering over to the window. They were opposite Hyde Park, which stretched out before him with a huge expanse of trees. He could see people walking out on the paths, the colour of their attire a vast array. It was like seeing peacocks strutting around.
Richard knew he wouldn’t be able to cope with being a member of the nobility. He didn’t care for the snobby attitude or the flamboyant social engagements. There just seemed to be a lot of them, and he didn’t think he could cope with all that. Thomas might be able to go around and be able to fit in, for the most part, but that wasn’t what Richard could do. He preferred to be left with his books or a small company of people. Smaller crowds were far more entertaining and inclusive.
Isabel was of the same mindset. She liked a smaller group of people to interact with. Too many, and she began to get flustered. Richard had seen this happen before, an incident that Isabel didn’t like to revisit. She kept her distance from gatherings that she was permitted to attend.
Now she was going to have to go to several. Richard was under no illusions as to why she was in London. She was looking for a husband. Then they could sort out their money situation. It was the most practical thing to do; everyone else was doing it, and Isabel had to think about herself and her future.
So why did it leave a nasty taste in Richard’s mouth? He really didn’t like the idea of Isabel going to a ball and flirting with gentlemen to get them interested in her. They would certainly find her attractive, but maybe not the topics of conversation she liked to bring out. Richard could listen to her all day.
But he was gentry, not nobility. They preferred their ladies to be refined, graceful, and talk about simple subjects that didn’t require too much thinking. Intelligent minds weren’t what gentlemen looked for.
You make it sound like she was yours to begin with. She will never consider you for a husband, no matter what you think.
I’m not thinking about marriage. I’m just worried about my friend.
Even as he argued with himself, Richard had a feeling that he was not completely honest with himself.
He didn’t have Isabel’s new address. How was he going to contact her? Was he ever going to see her again? Richard hoped so. After their surprise meeting after so many years, he wanted to see her again. Make up for the time they spent apart. Hopefully, Isabel would be agreeable to that.
If he was lucky, he might be able to find out. Although Richard wasn’t sure what people would say if he appeared on Isabel’s doorstep without an appointment. The countryside’s rules were a little relaxed compared to the big city.
“Aren’t you supposed to be working?”
Richard spun around. A tall, well-built man in his thirties with brown hair was standing in the doorway to the office, looking at Richard with a disapproving frown. Richard straightened up.
“That’s what I’m doing.”
“Professor Ainsley told you to stare out of the window, did he?” The cane the gentleman was holding tapped on the floor, the sound echoing around the room. “Maybe he should hire a new assistant. I know he won’t approve of dawdling.”
Richard bristled.
“I think, with all due respect, that’s none of your business.” He went over to a stack of books and began to put them back on the shelves. “If you’re looking for Professor Ainsley, he’s speaking to his housekeeper. I don’t know where he is in the house.”
“That’s fine. I’ll wait here.”
Richard bit back a groan. Why couldn’t the gentleman go and wait in the morning room downstairs? That was where all the guests went. Why did he have to wait here while Richard was trying to concentrate?
He wasn’t going to get anything done by standing there scowling, so Richard turned to the books. Then he realized that he had put them up in the wrong order. In his haste to get back to his task, he hadn’t checked them properly. Sighing and hoping the gentleman didn’t notice, Richard began to rearrange them and put the unwanted books aside.
“How long have you been working for Professor Ainsley?”
“This is my first day. I only arrived a few hours ago.”
The gentleman grunted.
“I’m sure he’ll be able to grant you a bit of leeway, seeing as it’s your first day. Just as long as you don’t mislay anything of his.”
“I’m not liable to do that.”
“From what I’ve seen so far, I don’t have much faith in that.”
Richard gritted his teeth and focused on his task. He wasn’t going to snap and get involved in an argument. If this were a man who was considered an investor by Ainsley, then it wouldn’t do him any good to say anything further. Even if the gentleman was getting on his nerves already.
This was another reason Richard wouldn’t be able to cope as a member of the nobility; everyone seemed to be looking down their noses at anyone who didn’t have a title. Richard couldn’t stand people like that; they drove him mad.
