AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He turned from it.“Thank you, Miss Stone. You may go back to your duties.”
On her feet, Louisa curtsied.“My pleasure, Your Grace.”
She left the room, feeling the weight of his eyes resting heavily upon the back of her neck. When she turned to close the door behind her—there was something more to his gaze, something that made a soft shiver run under her skin, and made her breath catch.
“Good evening. Your Grace,” she said.
“As to you Lou—Miss. Stone,” he said.
Pretending not to hear his slip, she closed the door, but her legs were a bit unsteady under her as she walked away. Her name on his lips was strange—but deep inside, she wished she would hear it more.
Chapter Four
Her face, titled up the sunlight—was there anything more gorgeous?
Alone in his late mother’s garden, as it dimmed to twilight, Isaac tried to reconcile the strange feeling inside him—that of attraction. After Helena had broken his spirit, right before his parents had passed away, Isaac had been sure that attraction to any woman would be a thing of the past.
Fancying the symmetry of a woman’s face, liking the wide eyes that showed her naïveté, silently judging if his hands could span her slender waist, were things Isaac had believed would never occur to him again—but they did when it came to Miss Stone. And it made something inside him curl-up and hide.
Sitting in the dark, he tried to find what that part of him was—was it his bravery, the part of him that had not been afraid to take chances? Was it his pride, long shattered and broken? Was it his affection, that had grown cold and bitter?
What was it that made him want to reach out and touch Miss Stone? She had told him about her past, growing up in an orphanage and that her placement in his house was the most important thing to her—and that made him wonder why.
As night fell and Isaac still had not found an answer to his questions, he left to go insideand to his quarters. There he rung for supper and after eating, called for bath water. Miss Stone was a puzzling to him, but even more worrying was this damned ball he had allowed William to cajole him into attending.
Two days passed with him dreading receiving the invite, and when it arrived, he stared at the filigreed card as if it were a rabid animal ready to snap his fingers off. Lady Crossgrove’s Estate was not that far from his home, and her son was someone he probably should know, but Isaac could bet half his estate that he did not.
Flicking the card away, he sighed, “I am going to be a pariah. All and sundry will be staring at me as if I were the newest oddity in the travelling menagerie.”
A polite knock came on his breakfast room’s door. “Enter,” he said.
MissStone came in, holding a tray with a kettle of coffee, his cup and ceramic bowls holding milk and sugar. Most days he took his coffee black, and his cook knew it, but she never failed to send up milk and sugar on the off chance that he desired something different.
“Good morning, Your Grace,” she said quietly.
He mustered a smile. “As to you, Miss Stone.”
She rested the tray on his table and curtsied.“Please call if you need anything more.”
Moving for the kettle, Isaac said, “Would you inform Mrs. Wickham to contact my tailor?Seems I need a new suit fitting for a ball.”
She still and looked conflicted for a moment, pressing Isaac to say, “Please, speak what is on your mind.”
“It seems to me that you are not incredibly keen about this ball,” Miss Stone said plainly.“It sounds like you would rather be anywhere else.”
Isaac’s lips twitched.“I would rather wrestle with the Cerberus than attend this ball Miss Stone, but I gave Lord Ashford my word and I never go back on my word.”
She nodded.“I see. If it is any worth, I know what it is to face situations you would rather not be in, but sometimes, it might be the best thing for you.”
Isaac heard conviction in her voice but could not bring himself to follow it. “Or perhaps the feeling is a warning to remove yourself from the situation or all, but hell, will erupt.”
She laughed softly.“That too.”
“Thank you, Miss. Stone,” Isaac replied while bringing the cup to his lips.“I will take your wise words into consideration.”
As she left, Isaac did think about her words—would it be best to show his face?
But then, they’ll be sending me invitations to more balls, to more soirees, and to mingle.
