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Reaching out he gently lifted her head and offered her the kindest and more reassuring smile he could muster. “No. God no. I have no intention of doing that. She’s mypast, Louisa, and God willing, she is going to stay that way. You have nothing to fear, Louisa.”
He could see that his words were falling flat—Louisa was not believing a word of it. She was probably comparing herself to Helena in a hundred and one ways and felt that she was coming up short.
“Louisa, just because one’s name is in Debrett’s, has a mansion like BuckinghamHouse, or holdall the riches in the world, does not mean one is good person,” Isaac pressed. “I have no intentions on Helena, not anymore.”
“I—” She looked over her shoulder, indecisivenessmarking deep lines in her face. She shook her head.“I—I have to go. Please excuse me.”
He wanted to object, but Isaac knew it would not benefit either of themif he stayed and pushed the matter. Instead of forcing her to stay, Isaac tenderly held her face and kissed her. It pained him that her lips were pinched tightly, but he had to let her think this new development through.
“Believe me, Louisa,” he stepped away. “You may go.”
As she walked away, Isaac turned to his table and decided to put his pondering the mysteries behind Helena’s sudden visit away for a while and do some work. He took some documentsand paged through a few books to get the reference material he needed and set to work.
***
That evening, Isaac stepped into the garden he knew Louisa loved with expectancy that she would be there—but found it empty. She was not there and from the looks of it she probably had not been there at all. He sat anyway and stared out into the dying sunset.
If he were in Louisa’s place, he understood why she was hesitant. She was a maid; Helena was a Lady. She was an orphan; Helena came from noble breeding. She was barely educated; Helena had gone to finishing school andwas in the company ofbrilliant minds every day.
I would be intimidated too if I had a person of that stature to compete with.
A memory of his childhood pet, a Scottish Wolfhound dog with swift feet named Achilles, filtered into his mind. Countless hours had his younger self stayed and played with the pup until he had gone off to Eton, only to come home one winter to find that he had died.
Why hadn’t I thought of him for so long?
In the deepening dusk, he could see himself rubbing the ears of another hound—but brushed it off. He was a Duke—did he have time for pets?
Night had eaten away at the little sunlight and Isaac decided it was time to go back inside. Except—Louisa’s soft voice had him sitting right down again. She came to his side, as hesitantly as alittle bird would andwhen he lifted his arm and pressed her close, the hesitancy in her movements disappeared.
Louisa did not speak, and Isaac felt that holding her close was enough—until his mouth opened. “When I was a lad, my grandfather gave me a puppy. A rambunctious little thing that had feet faster than the wind. I would have named himZephyrbut it did not sit well with me. I named him Achilles.”
“You loved him,” Louisa stated outright, while resting her hand on his chest. “I can hear it in your voice.”
“I did,” Isaac rubbed her shoulder. “Up until I went off to school. I came back one winter to findthat he had had passed. Father told me that he howled and whined every day, hardly eating anything because I was gone.”
“Have you thought of getting another?” Louisa asked.
“I have not.”
“Why?” she asked.
Shrugging, Isaac replied,“I am a grown man, Louisa, and I have a hundred score of responsibilities on my hands. I don’t have time to cater to such whimsy.”
“But if it once made you happy,” she tried. “Why would it not do so again?”
He turned to her, grasping the ripe moment. “You make me happy.”
Before she could protest, his arm moved from her shoulders to the small of her back while the other cradled her cheek.His lips brushed hers in a barely-there kiss, and to his delight, she did not shy away. Louisa followed him, her lips slipping open to accept him—but connection was not there.
Smiling, Isaac deepened thekiss, pressing her lips against his, and one of her hands slid up to the back of his neck. His arm tightened at her waist as his kiss deepened, causing every inch of him to warm right through, as if he were standing beside a roaring fire rather than having a woman is his arms.
Pulling away to let her breath, Isaac pressed his forehead to hers. With him that close, she could not avoid his eyes and Isaac knew the truth of the words he wasgoing to say would resound in them.
“Listen to me, and believe me, Louisa,” he breathed out her name tenderly. “Miss Follet means nothing to me other than many bad memories that I am doing my bestendeavorto exorcise from my life.”
“I believe you,” she said. “But you must understand, it is exceedingly difficult for me to know that you fancy me when you are used to women of thatcaliber.”
Fingering her hair, Isaac said, “I’ll prove it to you, for as long it will take, I will make sure you understand.”
She sighed audibly, “Isaac…”
“Do not fret about it,” Isaac pleaded with. “Consider what I said, Louisa; good breeding does not always make good people. I have a horrible wealth of experience with Helena; she does not do anything except for profit or recognition.”
Reaching up to touch his face, Louisa said, “If she marries you, I think she will gain both, wealth and respect.”
Flexing his face so her palm rested squarely on his cheek, Isaac said, “Well, she will have to trick another into loving her because I will not be the one.”
Her gaze was tremulous. “I am not a lady, Isaac.”
Takin her hand, Isaac said, “I don’t need a lady in title, Louisa; I just need a faithful woman who will love me.”
