Page 38 of The Duke's Improper Bride
It didn’t escape Isaac that Clara neither defended or attacked Bly for his actions. Love perhaps had a waly of softening past mistakes with a better perspective.
“Always so insightful.”
Clara sobered. “You’re moping, Isaac.”
“I’m drunk.”
She flicked her wrist as if to dismiss him and strolled to the large windows overlooking the gardens now full of life. Minnie, Grace, and Rhys twirled and danced on the lawn with the nurse. That’s what Clara had done. She had breathed life into Burton Hall with a grace that was as unyielding as it was fiercely beautiful. It had to be, to stack up against Bly’s natural talent for ripping things apart. But she had helped him mend his heart as well. She was an angel married to the devil himself.
“Minnie is so happy that you could visit.”
Isaac didn’t say anything, though to be honest, he was happy to see the child too. She was his favorite -— quick-witted and fiercely loving. Strength ran in the Ravensdales’ blood and Isaac was embarrassed to admit that a nine-year-old girl might have more fortitude in her pinky finger than he possessed in his whole body.
“I don’t know why I’m here,” he admitted without thinking. “I said such terrible things and I’m hiding away as though I’m a child instead of making it right.”
“At least you know what you should be doing. I give you credit for that.”
Isaac sat up, scratching his neck. He reached the point of drunkenness where it no longer made the slow hours bearable. That was yesterday. Today, he had fallen into a dark hole he couldn’t seem to find a way out of. Isaac had travelled the globe, he had hunted people down, and he had taken lives out of this world as if he were God himself. And he had done so without blinking most days.
Then there was Corsica.
And that cottage in Scotland where he happened upon the beautiful woman with a navy cloak with scarlet ribbons on her bonnet.
His heart had been won and lost nearly as quickly as he could inhale.
How was it possible to fall in love so quickly without knowing?
It was different with Nora.
Isaac hadn’t simply fallen in love with her. He was possessed by her, and she had made a home in his heart. And he had been so quick dismiss her out of his life as soon as she knew the truth about his.
“I need to go to Scotland. Now.”
It all had been a mistake.
How could he ever expect her to love him when he kept such secrets? How could he expect there to be honesty in their marriage when he swept her misgivings about London away?
He rose, attempting a bow as the room slid forward in front of him.
Clara turned from the window, a smile stretched upon her face. “I was hoping to hear such news. I’ll see you have some coffee for the journey. First, clean up.”
Chapter 11
Isaac travelled to Scotland without delay, only stopping for a short while, to eat and wait out the darkest point of the night.
Once he finally discovered where he needed to be, there was no point in waiting. It would only rob him of more time with his wife. His wife, who would not be getting her annulment.
There had to be a way. A way to compromise and see that they could be together.
Isaac rode up to the MacAllens’ house, his heart somewhere in his stomach, sinking with fear that this could mean the end. He would beg. He would do whatever necessary to win back his wife, but he knew Nora was headstrong. That determination, when mixed with fear, seemed a force that no one could break. But he had to try. He couldn’t let her run away without striving to win her back.
Nora deserved to be loved, and he would do his best to love her every day for the rest of his life if she allowed him. But much more – he would listen. He would give her the space to navigate London and become the duchess she wished to become. That’s what he wished, for his wife, home with him, whether in London or in the country – to love, and to continue to grow in love.
Isaac knocked on the door, dragging in a shaky breath. The maid opened it, ushering him into the morning parlor. Mrs. MacAllen sat by the fire, sipping a cup of tea.
“Good morning, Mrs. MacAllen.”
She raised her eyebrows, then nodded.
