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There had to be something they could do. Isabel had seen Lady Dunley that morning at breakfast, and she looked worn out. She was running the estate, making sure nothing went wrong while tending to her nephew by marriage. Not that she was needed for the estate, seeing as their estate manager had taken charge of everything, but the secretary seemed adamant that the man was incompetent and had no idea what to do. Isabel and her mother had argued otherwise, but their protests fell on deaf ears. The man was insufferable.
Maybe, if she did find a treatment, she could make sure he got the treatment last so he could suffer a bit more.
Cruel, yes, but Isabel was feeling petty right now. Not exactly becoming of a young lady, but she was sure even the more refined ladies of Society would end up giving up on their own manners. There was nobody who was going to notice or care.
Isabel double-checked the page she had been reading. There seemed to be something there that was useful. But she would need to check it against something else she had read earlier. But where was the book?
Putting the huge tome aside, Isabel got onto her knees and began sifting through the books stacked up around the settee. She had forgotten how heavy they were, and she had missed the musty smell. It felt good to open up a book and flick through the pages to hear the crackling and smell the paper. Strange, yes, but Isabel loved it.
She was going to miss this when she went back to London. Maybe she could take a few books back with her and read them at night. Then she could have something of hers; her cousin wasn’t going to care about these books. He preferred pristine condition. Everything here was more than likely going to be donated or destroyed. Isabel didn’t like the thought about that.
Maybe she could ask if she could take some of the books once Daniel was a little better. Although he was probably going to ask for something in return, such as pay off her father’s debts.
In a few weeks, once she was married, that would be sorted, and Isabel could be comfortable knowing her mother was financially secure and didn’t need to worry about where the next few pennies were coming from.
Married. How was it possible that something like that had been exciting initially, and only a few days later, it filled her with an emotion that churned her stomach?
“Isabel?”
Isabel looked up and froze. Richard was entering the library, closing the door behind him and frowning at her.
“Richard? What are you doing here?”
“I came to see how you were. Father told me that there’s another illness, and I wanted to check if you were all right.” Richard cast an eye over the scattered books on the floor. “Nice to see you in your natural habitat again. I take it this is going to be a brief moment before you’re taken back to captivity?”
Isabel scowled.
“Don’t talk about it like that, Richard. That’s not amusing.”
“It wasn’t meant to be. It’s just my observations.” Richard leaned over and plucked the nearest book off the top of the pile. “What are you doing, anyway?”
“I’m looking for anything that can help with this fever. It’s not breaking, and everyone is getting worse.” Isabel sat back on her heels. “Whatever the doctor is doing isn’t working, and I have nothing to do except sit there twiddling my thumbs. Maybe if I found something …”
“Isabel, it’s admirable that you want to do that, but you can’t run yourself into the ground. That will just make you sick.”
“What do you expect me to do? Sit on the settee and twiddle my thumbs?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Then what did you mean?”
Richard sighed.
“I’m not really sure. But I’m concerned that you could end up being confined to your bed as well if you work too hard.”
“Something has to be done.” Isabel looked around, brushing her hair out of her eyes. She hadn’t tied her hair back today or pinned it up, so it was getting in the way. “Can you see a book on tonics? I’m sure I picked it off the shelf earlier, but I can’t see it.”
“You want me to help you?”
“Of course.” Isabel frowned. “Why would you ask that?”
Richard faltered. He rubbed the back of his neck.
“Well, you have been different with me lately. I’m beginning to wonder if you really want my company or if this is just going to be in passing.”
“You mean you don’t want to be sneaking kisses from me where nobody can see us?”
Richard blushed. He did look really adorable when he did that. Isabel realized she was beginning to look him over, and her thoughts were wandering, and she turned away.
