Page 53 of A Scottish Bride for the Duke
Adrian’s expression did not change, but Isobel thought she saw a slight flash of grim satisfaction on his face.
Perhaps he did not want to marry her, but he wanted to marry Miss Wentworth even less, and no doubt her assumptions in his direction had irritated him just as much as they irritated her.
“Thank ye, Eliza,” Isobel said. “Everything is very… sudden.”
“But why did you run away?” Eliza asked. Adrian looked sharply down at her. “Did you have an objection to?—”
“I just needed some air,” Isobel said hastily. “Nothing else, I assure ye. And I was not looking for your cousin, either. He came to find me quite by chance, and we were just unlucky to have been found together.”
“But are you all right?” Eliza peered more closely at Isobel’s face. “You look as though you’ve been crying.”
“Eliza,” Adrian snapped, his hand on Isobel’s arm tightening slightly. “Learn when to hold your tongue.”
To Isobel’s surprise, Eliza leaned back, chastised. “I suppose my tongue does sometimes run away with me. But the duchess is returning. Go home and let me know when the wedding is to be.” She gave another mischievous smile and went to find her own mother.
“I’ve smoothed everything over with the right people,” the duchess said as she joined them. “And I made appropriate sounds of outrage at the idea you both only announced an engagement after being found alone. After all, as your mother, Adrian, I would be presumed to know more about the manner.” She snapped her fan shut. “But that is enough for tonight. Come, let’s go, and then you can explain everything.”
Numbly, Isobel placed her hand in the duke’s arm and smiled mechanically at the blurring faces that passed her. For his part, the duke managed to maintain a pleasant enough expression until they reached the carriage.
“I have nothing to explain,” he said, handing them both in and following them up. The door closed behind them. “There was no other course of action that would reasonably protect us both.”
“Of course.” The duchess patted his knee. “You did the only right thing under the circumstances. Though need I add that you should not have been alone together.”
“I felt—” What could she say? “I felt overwhelmed,” she finished. “And Adrian was good enough to find me and… comfort me.”
“You said you ought to leave London,” he said.
She gritted her teeth, knowing as well as he that such an action would be impossible. “I wasn’t thinking clearly.”
The duchess sighed. “Under the circumstances, the best thing will be for you both to marry as soon as possible.”
“I agree,” the duke said. “I will meet with the archbishop tomorrow and request a special license. He will not deny me. We will have a quiet wedding, perhaps in the drawing room.”
“Surely St. George’s,” the duchess said. “Hanover Square.”
“Very well,” he said, his voice clipped. “I shall make inquiries.”
Isobel linked her fingers together. “My parents won’t be able to make the wedding, will they?” she said. “If we are marrying through special license.”
“It’s the only way that makes sense, my dear. But no, they will not be able to.” The duchess sighed again. “What a mess this is.”
“I’m sorry.” Isobel’s voice cracked. “I know ye had high hopes for him.”
“Oh, as for that—don’t be silly. I could have hoped for nothing better for him than to marry the daughter of a good friend. But heavens above, I would have preferred a traditional courtship. But,” she added in a rallying tone, “it has come to this, and I am not one to be ungrateful. My son is marrying, and his chosen is the daughter of a lady. What more could I ask? I am old enoughnow. I have few dreams of my own; the rest are dreams for my only son.”
Isobel glanced at the duke in time to see his jaw flex, but again he kept his peace.
She waited until they entered the house and ascended the stairs. The duchess lingered in the hallway, informing the servants about the turn of events.
“Will you tell me why you were crying?” he asked abruptly.
“It has—I don’t think I can.” Isobel laced her fingers together. “I never thanked ye.”
“I did my duty.”
“I know ye did not want to marry me.”
“I did not want to marry anyone,” he said, looking down at her. “But I also understand that had I not followed you, none of this would have happened. Equally, had we not been embracing, things might have been different.”
