Page 71 of The Lover's Eye
She walked a florid path, arches of climbing vines winding above her head as she found the secluded iron bench that had fast become her favorite reading nook.She turned her eyes upward, taking a shaky breath, and slashed the letter’s seal.
What the devil is the meaning of this?
Lord Ridgeway’s penmanship was even loopier than normal, and he began in that manner, foregoing any salutation.
I have never known you to be an adventuress, and God is my witness I did not raise you in such a fashion that you might become one now.I had sincerely hoped your letter was some jest, pulled in good fun or meant to send me to an early grave.I was not going to deign you with a response for your foolishness until Lady Sempill—God curse her soul—called on me in the throws of an apoplexy.All and sundry know of your folly, girl, and the Sempills are done with boot licking and wish us ruined instead!
Did your dafted bridegroom inform you I’d refused him already, here under my own blasted roof?
If you want your fool clothes and hangings, come get them yourself.And Dad shame you!
Isobel crumpled the letter in her hand and plopped onto the bench below.Her earthly father shaming her was bad enough without him wishing the Lord’s punishment over her head as well.
A shadow of amusement played at her lips.Isobel would have been more surprised if she’d found her father amenable to the news of her marriage; she might have swooned if he had offered cool congratulations.She was no greenhorn to the old viscount’s temper, knowing it extinguished with the same haste it flared, and suspected in the time it had taken his letter to reach her, he had likely already made peace with her marriage.
There was something strangely soothing about his oath-sprinkled correspondence.Sure, his written words were heavily dramatized, but at least her father was forthright.He operated without filter, never making her question how he felt.With so much in her life changed, it was refreshing to see just one thing unaltered.
“Isobel?”
“Back here,” she called in response, surprised to hear Giles’s voice in the surrounding foliage.
He emerged down the path a moment later, little creases marking his inner brows.“Are you all right?”
“Why shouldn’t I be?”Isobel’s back tensed.Had Mr.Finch told him she’d gone into the very room he’d asked her to let alone?
“Finch said you received a letter from your father.”
“Yes, I did.”She let out the breath she’d been holding, and inched over on the bench in offering for him to join her.Despite a healthy amount of space to choose from, he sat directly beside her, his leg pressing into her own.
Isobel felt a warm flicker of awareness at his touch, remembering the glimpse of his bare, well-muscled legs from the previous night.She had yet to decide if she was going to mention what she had seen, her visit to the peculiar blue room only muddled matters worse.
Giles’s eyes hovered over the letter creased in her hand, his blue gaze intense, as if glowering might smooth the paper and make it legible again.“May I read it?”
“I won’t object to it, but I feel I must warn you,” she said, smiling a little, “Papa does not mince words.I did not expect he would act any other way, and I daresay he will be warmed to the idea of our marriage by the time I reach him—”
“Do you mean to say he’s asked you to return to him?”Giles asked, his voice strengthening.Dull, red color suffused his features.
“Only to collect my belongings,” she said, her voice small and distracted as she searched his face.
“Might I read it?”he asked again, holding out a hand.When she hesitated, he added, “I did hear you.I will not flinch at whatever harsh words he’s used.”
She handed the letter over and watched as Giles’s large hands smoothed it over his knee.Seeing the impassioned script made her ears burn with embarrassment.When she had read it privately, her papa’s own voice echoing in her head, the brash words had seemed easy to dismiss.But now that she was sharing them with Giles, they took on a grim tone.
She watched his expression rather than ruminate on the words he was reading.His eyes widened and he drew deeper breaths.When he had finished and lifted his head to her, Isobel was shocked to see how red his countenance had become.It reminded her of a newborn rabbit she’d once found and returned safely to its nest—a deep, hot blooded shade of red that bordered on purple.
“Make a list of everything that you need, and I will see to it that all is purchased by week’s end.He will never be allowed to speak to you in such a way again,” Giles said, the words seething out from behind clenched teeth.“And he certainly will not demand you stand before him and subject yourself to such abuse.”
“Giles,” Isobel said, placing a hand over his.“That is very dear of you, but I can’t condone such waste when I’ve perfectly acceptable gowns at home.I assure you he will be calm by the time I reach him.”
“Thisis your home now,” he said, his fingers closing over hers.“Have I not made you feel at ease here?”
Isobel flushed, not having realized what she said.She could hardly provide him with a list of all the things that had unsettled her thus far, as more than half of them tied back to the unmentionable chapter of his past.
“I know it is.Forgive me.”She drew a shaky breath.“Truthfully, I would liketo see my father.I do not wish for this become a rift between us, and … I am afraid if I do not face him, it will be.”
“What has your raising been like, dear, that you think this behavior acceptable?”Giles asked, waving the letter in the hand that was not holding Isobel’s.“For God’s sake, he called you anadvent—”
He left the word unfinished, and his hand closed on the paper, deepening the creases she had made first.She gave an empathetic smile and brushed a hand along his cheek.She was not used to seeing someone protective over her, and when Giles had called herdear, her heart had given a flip of relish.
