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His acute ears heard the soft gasps of people just outside the door to the room, the lot of them clearly eavesdropping. Isaac knew that he was airing his affairs out for the world to see but right then, he did not care. He was not being snide, and moreover, he was tired of not getting the answers Isaac knew he deserved.
He removed her hand from his person and stepped away. “But you did and I left because of it. Why didyou not marry him?”
Helena shook her head. “Father would not let me.”
A distrustful feeling ran through Isaac and settled in his bones. He felt that she was lying, if not in all, then in part. “Why?”
“I would prefer not to say,” she repliedsourly.
For a moment, Isaac wanted to push, but then, did he want to know? Was closure thatimportant to him? Couldn’the leave well enough alone and move on with his life, as he had been trying to do in the past month? How hard would it be to close that chapter of his life with a question mark stamped on it?
Not too hard—it does not matter now. It would have if I wanted her back in my life but now that I have found what I had been searching for, I do not need any answers from her.
Isaac rested the untouched glass of water on the table then dipped his head to Helena, “Goodbye, Miss Follet.”
Turning from her, Isaac left the room, ignoring the looks being shot at his person. He was ready to leave and just as he got to the foyer, William came running after him. “Montagu, slow down!”
Isaac stopped in his place and pivoted to wait for the other man, and when the Marquess joined him, William asked, “Where are you going?”
“Home,” Isaac replied. “I donot need to have supper or retire to the billiard room for cigars and brandy.Neither of those appeal to me and frankly, I have better enjoyment at home.”
William’s brow arched. “I never knew that Miss Follet would be here, Isaac. If that is why you are leaving, you needn’t to.”
“And do what?” Isaac asked while clapping a hand on his friend’sshoulder. “Stick around and field side-eyed looks and whispers behind fans? I do not need that, William, but thank you for prying me out of my home tonight, but I—this live, merrymaking over a lovely dinner and card-games, is not what is important to me anymore.”
A thoughtful look crossed William’s face but he nodded, “Safe journey, Montagu.”
With a genuine smile, Isaac turned to a footman and sent him for his carriage and after donning his coat stepped out into the chilly night and waited with a light heart for the vehicle to come around. When itdid, he hopped into it and sat back in the seat, already anticipating arriving at home and Louisa’s smile.
His mind traveled back to Helena and as he searched his soul, there was a nugget of hurt and uncertainty there but for the rest, he felt free. He could live with not knowing why Helena had pushed him away, because it was not important to him anymore.
All that was important was finding a way to secure Louisa in his life and makingher his entirely.
***
Again, as he had arrived way past any reasonable time to call on Louisa, Isaac went to his rooms, and disrobed. He donned a pair of loose trousers and a banyan before uncorking a bottle of wine and poured out a glass.
Pulling the drapes to the moonless night, he sat and gazedout thewindow. As he looked out into the empty dark expanse, an idea he had not thought about before, but it began to flicker before his eyes nonetheless—children.
A pair of russet-haired children, a dark-haired boy and probably a girl, bloomedbefore his inner eyes. They skipped ahead of their red-cheeked mother, laughing as they ran past her to the carriage waiting for them to take them to a park--his and Louisa’schildren.
The tender creek of the door had him looking up to see Louisa stepping into the room; her hair was down, and her dressing gown was a bit loose. “I thought that youhad come in.”
He stood and rested his glass on the windowsill, “Come here, please.”
She did and he wrapped his arms around her.“I missed you.”
“How was the ball?” Louisa asked.
“The usual,” Isaac replied. “Family with old money determined to show it off in every gold filigreedwalls and orient sculptures that had acquired in the last hundred years.”
“I heard that a Duke’s daughter would be there and that if you married it would be a smart match,” Louisa added.
“Ifshewas, I did not meet her.” Pressing his cheek to her temple, Isaac asked, “I hope you hadn’t worried about that?”
“No,” she shook her head on his chest. “I trust you Isaac, when you told me that you only had intentions for me, I believe it then and I believe it now.”
Taking her hand, he led them to the bed and pulled the covers away. Louisa slid inside and after shucking his housecoat, joined her. Pulling her close, Isaac said, “It was not for me, sweetheart. I would prefer to be here, with you.”
