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Chapter Twenty-Four
William settled another glass of brandy before Isaac and joined him with a sympathetic smile. “This is the third day that you have been over here, as silent and solemn as the graveyard at midnight. Are you willing to tell me what happened?”
Grunting, Isaac reached for the glass. “No.”
The Marquess shrugged.“Fine, fine, I will leave you to brood and another day. Mind you, I am going to charge you for the last three bottles of quality brandy.”
Snorting, Isaac eyed his old friend. “I can pay you fifty times whatever you have given me and every other bottle in store. Stuff it, William—I am not in the mood.”
William leaned in and pinned Isaac with a firm gaze. “And I am not in the mood to put up with your maudlin sighs and love-lost gaze through my windows. I can see that whatever is bothering you revolves around a woman. Is it Miss Follet?”
Isaac’s fist clenched around the glass that, with a little more strength, would have beenon the verge of shattering into his hand. “No, God no.”
Sitting back, William twisted his lips.“God no, eh. So, who is the woman who had twisted your head in so many knots? Can it be that lovely red-headed maid I swore I saw you smiling at the other day?”
“And what ifshe is?” Isaac glared daringly.
Lifting his hands in a sign of surrender, William said, “I am not throwing stones or pointing fingers, Montagu. It is a bit avant-garde, but then again, you have never been one to stick to the lines society hasdrawn for you.”
Huffing in frustration before swallowing a mouthful, Isaac stared into his glass with every tumulus emotion circling inside his chest in concentric circles. Suddenly, the anger vanished, and he slumped over, resting both forearms on his friend’s table.
“I bungled it all up, Langley,” he mourned. “I had not realized how much Louisa had made a mark on me. She showed me that it was not worth it to hang onto the hurt and pain from Helena,and I realized it was true. I tried to put her behind me, in the past, as she should be and move on—but then, here she came to throw me off.”
“Throw you off how?” William asked.
Swirling the drink, Isaac scoffed, “Telling me how she still loves me, how her indiscretion was because I was not there and how weak she was to temptation. And then, she has the audacity to ask me to court her again. I would rather walk into Hell’s Mouth than take that burdenupon myself again.”
Crossing his legs, William rested a hand on his thigh and drummed his nails on his leg.“And how does this pertain to your miss?”
“Helena came to my house three days ago in another futile attempt to woo me over to her side. She asked me if I was courting someone or if I loved another and I said no, not realizing—”
“Bollocks,” William cut in with a solemn grimace. “I already know how that tale is going to end. You said those damning words while your interest was standing behind you.”
Before answering, Isaac finished his glass then sagged back on the chair. “And what came after that was even worse. I tried to clarify what I meant but what I said was a far cry from it. I tried to tell Louisa that Helena meant nothing to me, but it came out sounding as if she did. Before I tried to amend my words, she was gone. The next day, I found myself on your doorstep.”
William rubbed his face, and a soft laugh left him. “I never thought I would see the day that you would come to me for help with a woman. I thought that was my role in this friendship.”
“It is,” Isaac agreed.
Shaking his head, William asked, “When did you realize that you loved her?
“Almost a month ago,” Isaac said. “It did not come about from one act, Langley. It was the little things that added up day after day, and I realized I was in love when I would go to bed with her smile in my mind and wake up aching to see it. That had never happened to me with Helena, and it nearly scared me to death, but I suppose that is what happenswhen you find true love. Only, I am the nodcock who lost it.”
“You have not lost a damn thing,” William said. “If you are willing to drag yourself out of his maudlin, woe-is-me attitude and drag your head from the sand, you will see that this is a simple thing to fix. Go back to your home, find this lady of your, and get down on your knees if you must. Explain it all and pray that she sees how confused you were.”
“If it was only so simple,” Isaac muttered. “I know she thinks I still love Helena.”
“It is that simple,” William refuted. “Tell her you misspoke and make sure you get your words right this time. Women have little patience for wavering men—I should know.”
This time, it was Isaac who harnessed a brow to his friend. “Beg your pardon?”
Waving his question away, William said, “That is for another time. Now you need to go back to your home, find this lady and tell her what you must tell her. AndI mean now.”
Staring at William’s decisive expression, Isaac snorted. “If you don’t want me at your home, Langley, you only had to say so.”
Liberally rolling his eyes, William made shooing motions with his hands.“Go away, God knows that are you one irritating man.”
“Fine, fine.” Isaac stood and reached for his jacket. “I’m going.”
