Page 71 of Duchess in Disguise
“I owe you my thanks, friend. For giving that bastard Arnold a much-deserved beating in my stead. He is lucky I was rather preoccupied and could not give him a taste of my own fists.”
Richard shook his head, “Think nothing of it. After what had happened tonight, I had a personal score to settle with him.”
“I see,” Adrian said with an impish grin. “I wonder how that happened. That matter aside, what will you do now? Do you intend to follow through with your intentions to propose to Miss Bridget Wightman?”
“No,” Richard replied, far too quickly even to his own ears.
Adrian nodded casually, finally pouring himself a second drink and Richard his third.
“And Miss Isobel?”
“I cannot marry her,” Richard stated simply.
Because it should be that simple. They both had restrictions and reservations about the topic, and simply put, Richard could not marry her because she did not align with what he needed from his duchess. His plans were even more pronounced by the fact that Isobel also clearly had plans for her life that involved her marrying an Almighty entity.
It was all so simple. So why did that hurt his heart so much?
Adrian grinned again, this one spelling more trouble for him than the last.
“That was not what I asked,” Adrian pointed out, smirking.
Richard glared at him darkly, but he was met with a cheeky but open expression that rendered his annoyance pointless.
With an inhale, Richard admitted,
“I think I’m in love.”
“Youthink? Are you not sure, or are you still not ready to confront those feelings?”
Richard paused, staring at the liquid in his glass. “Truthfully, the latter is what plagues my mind. Because admitting it will yield nothing. I do love her. She is… unlike anyone I have met before. Even more so regarding the sort of woman I would like to make my duchess.”
“Like? Or prefer? You and I both know those restrictions were born of the harsh way you were raised. It is ridiculous to pursue perfection for the sake of our titles when neither of us is perfect.”
Adrian had a point – much to Richard’s utmost annoyance. But it was still the truth he had to acknowledge, even though it was pointless.
“Regardless, marriage is not what Isobel wants. She already has plans for her future, and I cannot come in the way of that.”
Richard downed the rest of his drink, then he grimly set his empty glass on the table in front of them, pleading for a reconciliation with the loss of something he’d never had in the first place.
Then he mumbled words that felt like the final nail in his coffin, the admission requesting that he resign himself to his fate.
“At the end of the day… she does not trust me. And she likely never will.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
“There,” Isobel inhaled as her suitcase snapped shut. “All done.”
She glanced around the room, hoping that she had not forgotten any of the items, not wanting to leave anything behind or inconvenience Valerie in any way. She also didn’t want to give anyone a reason to remind her of what had transpired here.
Spotting nothing familiar, she picked up her suitcase and left the room. It was odd, how many days she had spent in this house, but still, she never got used to the walls. Everywhere still felt as foreign as the day she had walked into the house, and it was as though her mind was preparing her for a seamless departure.
It was ultimately easier to leave when no ties were keeping her connected to the place. Even more so when there was much she was eager to forget.
She walked by a drawing room, intending to leave her suitcase by the door before going to find her siblings, when a voice called out to her.
“Are you leaving already?”
Isobel paused, then smiled as she walked into the drawing room, lowering her suitcase to the floor.
