Page 12 of A Scottish Bride for the Duke
“I saw your bag. You did not bring much with you for your Season. Did you expect my mother to purchase you new gowns, too?”
Isobel straightened her spine. “I may have packed light. But I brought money for such things, if necessary.”
“People will talk about you being in the house with an unmarried man,” Eliza said.
Adrian raised a brow. “It will only be a matter of days before my mother returns. Besides, they will whisper about a Scottish newcomer regardless. This will hardly make much of a difference.”
Isobel bit her lip. On the one hand, the duke was right—peoplewouldwhisper about her being a Scot. People whispered about all sorts of things. And she hated to be a burden. Eliza barely knew her, and her mother did not know her at all.
Eliza glanced between the two, a furrow between her brows. “Well, how about my mother sponsors you for events until the duchess returns?” she suggested. “My cousin cannot object to that—my mother will have little enough to do but extend herprotection.” Her face lit up. “And there is a soiree tomorrow that we are invited to. You would also be most welcome.”
“Eliza!” the duke snapped. “Does your meddling never cease?”
“Well, what do you expect me to do? She is hardly going to find a husband within your walls, andIdo not like the company you keep. Imagine if Isobel fell in love with one of your cronies from your fencing club?” She tossed her blonde hair. “No, it cannot do, and it shall not. You will come with us, Lady Isobel, and we will find a husband for you.”
Isobel didn’t know why the duke objected to this when he obviously had no desire to house her. Obviously, his sense of duty prevented him from allowing anyone else to take her on as a responsibility, but she wished he had consented to allow her to leave for Eliza’s household. At least there, she would not have to be subject to a grumpy man’s temper.
Then again, better she was not a charity case. His mother had not sent her to intrude in someoneelse’shome.
“I shall write to my mother,” the duke said, a muscle still twitching in his jaw. “And I shall inform her that a Lady Isobel has arrived seeking sanctuary. When she arrives, she can make the final decision about Lady Isobel’s future.”
“And until then, we can accompany her to events!” Eliza said. “Mama won’t mind in the slightest,” she assured Isobel. “And Adrian is no chaperone, no matter how he might think he is the pinnacle of morality.”
“I do not think that.” His nostrils flared, and Isobel had to bite back a smile. “You are impertinent, Eliza.”
“So I have been told all my life, but it hasn’t changed me before, and I doubt it would change me now.” Eliza smiled triumphantly. “I shall inform Mama that I’m taking you with us, and we will come here tomorrow to escort you. You need not fear being trapped here with my grouchy cousin.”
“Eliza!”
“I must be off. Thank you for your time, Adrian. Isobel, it was a delight meeting you.” She fluttered her fingers at them both in farewell, and all too soon, she was gone.
Silence reigned.
The duke slumped back in his chair. “Just because you have the friendship of my hoyden of a cousin does not mean anything has changed,” he warned her.
“I would never dream of it, Yer Grace,” she said, folding her napkin beside her plate. “But perhaps it’s time to stop treating me like the enemy.”
Alone once again—finally—Adrian sat in his study, his fountain pen poised in his hand above a blank sheet of paper.
What to tell his mother—and what to request of her. Should he really ask her to return home before she was due?
But she could not stay away when he had a young woman in his house.
He dipped his pen in the ink and began to write. Better he inform her of the facts of the situation. Eliza had attempted to take Lady Isobel into her household, but he could hardly allow that in good conscience when he did not know, truly, if she was telling the truth.
No, he had to keep the Scottish lady in his house until his mother returned. And in doing so, that allowed him an opportunity to learn about her a little more.
In particular, what she had meant about English lords. Something serious must have happened in Scotland for her to say something of that nature. And, if she was to be believed, it involved an English lord, one of his peers.
If there was some kind of problem, he should know about it. Especially if it transpired that she had inappropriate connections with one. Could he still be in Scotland, or would he have returned to England? Chances were, Adrian would know him; the pool of English lords was not especially large. Even if they were not close and had not exchanged more than a handful of words, he would have at least some indication of his character or a connection to him of some sort.
And Lady Isobel.
He had no idea what to make of her. Brash, brazen, bold.
Beautiful.
Unafraid.
