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Chapter Twenty-Two
Isaac was starting to recant his statement to Louisa how London was one of his favorite places. If these Lords did not stop enraging him, he was liable to wish the whole city burned to ashes.
“Come on, good man—” a baron mopped his sweating brow. “See fiscal sense. If we are to line the city’s coffers, you need to join us.”
“It is Your Grace to you, Newman,” Isaac snapped. “And mayhap you would like to see it that you play your part instead of undermining your barony because of your gambling habit. I may not reside in the same circlesyou do, but be sure, I am not ignorant.”
The baron paled while Isaac let the rest of his irritation flow over the gathering of greedymen. “The people I serve have had it hard in the last year, and I will not be putting them under distress so our Price Regent can buy another of his mistresses a golden calf or a palace on the continent instead of what it is needed for. If you are about done with this obtuse charade, I will be taking my leave.”
His words echoed in the silent chamber, and with no one daring to meet his eye or contradict him, Isaac stood.Good day, gentlemen.”
He strode out of the chamber, utterly incensed. He got to the main chamber and, after donning his coat and hat, called for his carriage. Five long days of nothing, of foolish back-and-forth while he had more important things to do.
The night was coal-blackas the carriage drove back to the hotel; the last night that he would stay in it.Isaac arrived in the lobby and was about to head off to his rooms when the concierge called after him.
Still irritated, Isaac turned while managing to school his face into one of stoic neutrality. “I’m sorry, Your Grace, as I assume you are ready to go your quarters, but a parcel was left for you.”
Isaac’s eyes dropped to the wrapped square in the man’s hand, and on the top of the package was his name that was scrawled in a familiar hand—Helena’s. For a moment, he was tempted to tell the man to discard it or throw it away; but he forcedhimself to be cordial.
Even if Helena had placed her literal heart into that box, she was wasting her time. He took the package with a sharp nod. “And send up the same supper I had last night, thank you.”
Mounting the sweeping staircase, Isaac walked to his suit and,after a quick use of his key, opened the door and entered the room. He dropped the box on the closest table and tugged his jacket off. Instead of opening it, he poured a glass of water from a covered pitcher and drank it.
What does Helena think she is doing? Why is she beating a dead horse, or does she not realize that I am not interested?
Finally, he put the glass away and went to unwrap the package. His brows lifted as he plucked up a golden gilt lacquered compass. Its ornate fleur-de-lys north and south cardinals and lotus-bottom design in the middle had been hand-drawn. The gold chain that dangled from its ring was finely coiled and made of the best ore.
Isaac sat back in his seat, staring at the thing thatunquestionably had to cost a fair amount of money. Either that or it was one of her many memorabilia her father had collected over the years. But why send him a compass? His eyes then landed on the card nestled inside the velvet lining and took that out too.
Perhaps this will guide you back to a treasure and safe haven.
He dropped,both items back in the box faster than if he had been splashed with hot oil. Thenerveof Helena, to think that a trite gift, no matter how expensive it was, would magically turn him back to her. And her pride and vanity leaped off the page into his face as if were a flash of cold water.
I would chance tearing food from a lion’s mouth than go back with you. I know happiness, Helena, and it is not with you.
He knew that he would be lookingover his shoulder every day and monitoring her every day to make sure that she did not betray him again, something that Isaac knew would have exhausted him. Besidesthat frustration, Isaac knew that he would never be happy with her, because he would forever becompeting with her vanity and pride for a space in her heart.
He closed the box intending to send it back to her father just in case he did not know that she had taken it. That should be a statement to tell Helena that he was distancing himself from her andthat he wanted little to do with her and her family. What he needed to dowas to get home and answer all the questions he knew Louisa must have by this time.
He bathed then had his supper before the fire. He could quickly call his vehicle and go home. Still,he decided to stay that night, and only prayed that Louisa would understand when he apologized for his hesitancy in speaking the wordshe knew she wanted to hear.
When he retired at ten, he vowed to make it all right—and finally give her the flasks of perfume he kept forgetting.
***
The carriage pulled up to the Montagu manor; Isaac breathed out a breath of relief and gazed at his ancestral home as if it were the haven he needed. He left the carriage to the warm, welcoming foyer of his homeafter greeting his footmen, he turned to the stairs and mounted them, eager to rid himself of the worry about Louisa.
As he removed his jacket, and while loosening his cravat, he walked into the study, and his eyes landed on the letters on the table. He flipped through them, noting one from Westminster, perhaps some feeble attempt to censure him, and others from the heads of the charity schools he patronized. Lastly—there was one from Helena.
Instantly, his mood soured.
Ripping it open, he found ashort note, announcing that she planned to see him the next day on a morning visit. But wait—he spunthecard back to him and read the date; it was dated the day before, which meantthat she was coming that afternoon.
Devil and damn.
What more was there to cut into his time to explain and straighten things out with Louisa? It seemed as if the whole world was against him in this one effort.After telling them about Miss Follet’s impending arrival, he rang for a maid and settled back into his chair.
Helena was due to come any moment now, and even if he wanted to, he could not dare speak with Louisa. He did not want to rush that conversation, and when they did speak,it had totake enough time, be intimate, and private.
