Page 40 of Duchess in Disguise
“Valerie!”
They both turned to find Nora and Cecil racing across the snow toward them, their faces bright with excitement. Isobel felt a pang of disappointment at the interruption, but she could not help smiling at the children's enthusiasm.
“Slow down!” she called. “You will fall in the snow!”
But the warning came too late. Nora's foot caught on her skirts, and she tumbled forward with a cry. Richard moved instantly, catching the little girl before she could hit the ground.
“Careful there, little one,” he said gently, setting her back on her feet.
Nora beamed up at him, completely unharmed and utterly charmed. “Thank you, Your Grace! You are so fast!”
“That is as a result of many years of practice catching falling ladies,” Richard said with mock solemnity, though Isobel caught the twinkle in his eye.
Cecil reached them a moment later, breathing hard but grinning widely. “We have been looking everywhere for you! Will you play with us? Please? The snow is perfect for building snow forts!”
Isobel glanced at Richard, expecting him to politely decline. She knew a man as refined as he was likely did not play in the snow with children. But to her surprise, he seemed to consider it seriously.
“Well,” he said slowly, “I suppose a brief diversion would not hurt. What do you think, Miss Wightman? Are you amenable to some snow fort construction?”
“I – yes,” Isobel said, unable to keep the surprise from her voice. “Yes, I would like that very much.”
Nora clapped her hands in delight, and Cecil immediately began outlining his strategy for the most impressive snow fort ever built. As they followed the children to a suitable location, Isobel found herself watching Richard with something dangerously close to affection.
This man, who could be so commanding and authoritative in private, was now listening earnestly to the architectural plans of a little boy for snow structures. The contrast was... endearing. Far more endearing than it had any right to be.
They spent the next hour building elaborate snow forts, the four of them working together and occasionally launching snowballs at each other when construction grew tedious. Isobel found herself laughing more freely than she had in weeks, the simple joy of play washing away some of the stress and fear that had been her constant companions since arriving at Gramfield Manor.
Richard, she noticed, was careful with his injured shoulder but still managed to help the children roll enormous snowballs for the fort walls. When Nora declared she was cold, he shrugged out of his greatcoat without hesitation and wrapped it around her small frame.
“There,” he said. “Better? Though I recommend we head inside soon, so you do not get sick.”
“Much better,” Nora sighed contentedly. “You are very kind, Your Grace.”
“So are you, Miss Wightman,” Richard replied seriously. “It is a quality to be proud of.”
Isobel felt her heart clench at the gentleness in his voice. This was a side of Richard she had not seen before—patient, warm, genuinely engaged with the children rather than merely tolerating them.
Eventually, they all ended up sitting in a circle inside one of the completed forts, catching their breath. Cecil beamed at all of them, clearly delighted with the afternoon's activities.
“This is wonderful,” he declared. “I am so glad you two are getting along well now.”
Isobel felt heat creep into her cheeks. “What makes you think we were not getting along before?”
“It was quite obvious,” Cecil rolled his eyes in a way that was far too mature for his age. “You were always so stiff around each other at dinner. And Valerie, you kept making faces when you thought no one was looking.”
Isobel found it a little strange answering to her sister’s name still, but even more so when the children knew her real name. But it had been decided that to avoid exposure, they should call her by her twin’s name, just as everyone did.
“I did not make faces,” Isobel protested, though she knew that she absolutely had.
“You did,” Cecil insisted. “But now you are friends! Or something. Will you also be betrothed to… Isobel?”
He had asked the last part in a whisper, and it had confused Isobel because the sudden mention of her name was humorous. However, one detail in Cecil’s question caught her attention.
“Betrothed? Why will he be my betrothed?” Isobel asked with a nervous laugh.
Cecil glanced at Richard, who had fallen silent, before he answered,
“Because he was betrothed to Valerie previously.”
