Page 20 of The Duke's Improper Bride
“My c-condition?” Nora asked, balling her fist. “I had an accident—”
“And I’ve wished you had died that day ever since,” her mother spat, jumping to her feet.
Nora gasped. “You don’t m-mean that.” Even as she gave her mother a sliver of space to excuse herself, Nora knew the truth. She had always known.
Her mother approached, her eyes narrow. “If something happens to your sister because you couldn’t keep your fiancé satisfied, you’ll be placed into an asylum. Don’t think it hasn’t been discussed between your father and I.”
“You all deserve Stuart then. The l-lot of you.” The ground beneath Nora wobbled, or perhaps it was her knees. She strode past her mother, knocking into the older woman’s shoulder, thinking bitterly that it might have been the first time they had touched in years. And it would be the last, because Nora would no longer stay under this roof. She would no longer be made to feel less than because of when or how she chose to speak after the accident.
With shaky legs, she made it upstairs to her room, her heart pounding so loudly in her ears that she could barely make sense of the thoughts tumbling through her head. She ran to her closet, tears burning her eyes as she grabbed a few dresses and kicked open her trunk.
Where did she even begin? What did one take and what did one leave behind when the future was already uncertain?
She stopped, gazing around her room as she observed the stacks of books piled high and Queenie sound asleep on the velvet armchair by her bed. She would need to take her grandmother’s combs with her. They were her favorite, and the only heirloom she had been given by her mother. She unwrapped the lace in her trousseau and carefully packaged up the combs, placing them into the trunk.
She would need to leave so much behind. She ran her fingers over the new dressing gown tied prettily with ribbons for her wedding night. A wedding night that was no more. Nora would need to mourn that later.
Nora wiped away more tears with the back of her hand, blowing out a deep breath as the world continued to spin.
A knock sounded at her door, and she startled, snapping up.
“Miss,” the maid said, before opening the door a crack. “I was told to inform you that your sister has returned.”
“Oh. Thank you.” She stood still a moment, feeling as if the spinning world had now collapsed, falling in around her, and soon she would be buried. No one would hear her cries for help.
If anyone had been listening at all.
She drifted to the top of the stairs as Maeve entered the foyer, Stuart hovering close behind her sister. He glanced up briefly, his eyes empty of feeling as her parents alternated between bickering and excitement at their younger daughter’s return.
Stuart Knight was a bastard, pure and simple. And if Nora ever worked up the nerve to confront her sister, she would have nothing but rage left for the man who was to be her husband.
“Nora,” Maeve said softly, gazing upward. “I hope in time you can forgive me.”
Their mother wrapped her arm around Maeve and led her further into the hall, down to the parlor.
Forgiveness was something that would need to be fostered with time. Right now, the pain was still too much for Nora to be more than civil to her family. They wouldn’t understand because they never did. And in fact, as her father led Stuart to his office, she suspected they had already forgotten her.
She turned, taking the stairs slowly until her father called out from the doorway. “Mr. Barnes. Please, join us.”
She froze, clutching onto the rail tightly, afraid that if she let go, it may all be a dream. Hope burned in her chest, her heart picking up its pace as she looked over her shoulder to find Isaac standing in the entryway, brushing the rain off his black hair. His cheeks were ruddy, and his green eyes met hers.
This, whatever this was, this feeling that suddenly embraced her - she never wanted to let it go.
He tipped his head without breaking their gaze. The space between them felt just as large as it did small. It made no sense to Nora. Nor did the fact that she remained there instead of running down the stairs, grabbing his hand, and rushing out the door so they could kiss properly.
Instead, she simply mouthed “Thank you” before he turned and entered her father’s office, closing the door behind him.
Nora returned to her room and packed, then fell asleep on top of her bed, still dressed, dreaming of kissing Isaac Barnes.
Chapter 6
Isaac hadn’t slept well in days. And even though he had returned to Mrs. White’s cottage a few hours prior, sleep hadn’t come.
He pounded his pillow, then rolled over once more.
Whatever Grembly had intended this trip to be, Isaac knew it was coming to an end now that he had been spotted by friends in Edinburgh. He had healed enough that he could return to England and decide what was next. Or Grembly could anyhow. If the man had a heart, he might let Isaac enjoy what was left of the social season without needing to dodge bullets or jump out of buildings.
But that was a tall order for Grembly.
