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“Yes, very,” Louisa replied.“I also started a book that a very generous man has given me. There are some places I have never heard of that I do believe I would need a map to follow their progress.”
“I do believe such gentleman would also supply you with a map as well,” Isaac smiled while rifling through his mail. “And I would imagine he would sit with you while you looked over it too.”
“I am already looking forward to it,” Louisa said, while Isaac shifted a few cards to the side with a huff. Her brow ticked up.“Is something amiss?”
“Ever since that ball, I have been receiving invites to soirees, and balls galore, and I am the least interested in any of them,” Isaac snorted. “I did meet a lovely lady, and she, it seems, is the only one who has some common sense, and only wrote to ask how I am.”
A twinge of hesitancy took Louisa’s chest.“And who is she?”
His gaze flicked to her and his smile was kind.“No one you have to concern yourself with; she knows that I am not looking to the ton for any courtship or help. And besides, I do not think she has any intentions on me, and I certainly do not have any on her.”
It was a bit shameful that she felt it and, evermore, that Isaac had sensed her intimidation from a woman she did not know, but just for the fact that this lady was from the tonmade Louisa a bit unsteady.
“I’m sorry.” Louisa sank to the seat opposite him, and her gaze dropped to her lap, and the honesty she then spoke withmade her stomach sour. “I will tend to feel inferior to those women, Isaac, because women of that life, the grace, education, training…I have none of it.”
He shifted the cup away to take her callused hands and met and held her eyes.“You have a valid worry, Louisa, buttonwomen, as lovely at they are, tend to be vapid creatures and live so loftily that they do not know how to care for others.”
Louisa hesitated, but Isaac had told her that he wanted to know about her, and he had given her the opening to do the same, so she assumed that no question, no matter how invasive, could not be answered. “Was that how your intended was? Vapid?”
He sighed.“She was, but was incredibly good at hiding it. I only realized it after she decided that she wanted to marry me but had no intent to hold to her vow…” He shook his head. “Which is why I do not think formal education, or training is the answer to being a lady. It helps mold you to the society we live in, but it is not all one needs. A lady is not expensive clothes or having a legion of maids; being a lady comes from one’s heart.”
Standing, Louisa took her tray and curtsied.“I’ll think about that too. Have a wonderful day, Isaac.”
***
The crunch of boots did not make Louisa turn her head from studying the bushes around her and she did not shift when Isaac sat besideher. “What is so interesting?”
“Were roses your mother’s favorite flower?” she asked. “Seems to be a lot here.”
“Yes, they were,” Isaac said. “When Father died, she dropped caring for the precious flowers for a while to mourn inside, but one day, I found her in the garden. She told me that she heard my father’s voice, and one thing you should know is that my father was a practical man, Louisa. Mother told me that she heard him say he hated to see her caught up in so much sentimentality that she would forget to take care of thethings she loved and that meant her roses.”
Swiveling her head, Louisa's brows inched up.“Indeed?”
“Yes.” Isaac rested his hand over hers.“She told me that she kept hearing his voice, telling her to keep planting pruning and loving those bushes because though he was gone, he did not want her to lose more of herself.”
The sun began to dip, and Louisa shook her head.“That is the most romantic thing I have ever heard in my life.”
Isaac’s thumb was making tiny circles on the back of her hand.“Which is strange because my father did not have an emotional bone in his body. I suppose that was what made this connection special, Louisa; my mother took up my father’s shortfalls, and my father shored up hers; they were equal but opposite and fitted each other perfectly.”
“I’d like to think that is the definition of a strong marriage.” Louisa leaned into his side. “Each partner, helping the other, not only with the big things but the small ones as well. And for her to hear his voice after death tells me she loved him so much that a part of him was left with her, perhaps carved deep in her bones.”
“She did love him and told me that she could never stop loving him,” Isaac said as he wrapped an arm around her and nestled his nose in her hair. “One thing I should share about my mother, Louisa, she was a clergyman’s daughter.”
Her heads snapped to the side.“Beg your pardon?”
Isaac’s smile was satisfied. “My mother was a cleric’s daughter.Granted she was educated and had not lived in poor conditions. And even while she married my father, she did not leave her humble beginnings. She tithed and made sure the poorest of the dukedom was cared for. Made sure that the three orphanages we sponsored were supplied for, and she even made sure the local church held school for the various parish children.”
“I know why you’re telling me this,” Louisa replied. “You want me to be comfortable with who I am, and not what I think I should be.”
“Yes,” he kissed Louisa’s temple, flooding her senses with his heat and woodsy scent, “believe me when I tell you wealth does not mean one is a good person.”
As the day darkened, Louisa added, “And being penniless does not necessarily mean being good either. There were some cruel poor people in the village when I was born. I may be young, but I am not completely naïve, Isaac. I used to rely on people for help every day of my life, and I barely scraped by. The older woman I lived with woke me up at the crack of dawn to tend to her pigs and fed me dry bread. I know how cruel people can be.”
His arm tightened around her, “My heart hurts when I hear that.”
When she rested on his rock-hard chest, Louisa gazed into the dark and managed to banish the old, haunting memories. It pained her, but she knew she was due inside the manor house to prepare supper. Shifting, Louisa sat up. “I’m sorry, but I have to go inside.”
His hand stroked over her arm.“I know; I am going to stay out here a little more; go inside. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
