Page 40 of Married to the Icy Duke
“Unimaginable,” Matthew interrupted. “Don’t pretend that you understand. I’m sure you loved your brother, and you care for Sybella, but it is not the same. It isnotthe same. Jasper and I were …” he paused, voice trembling. “We were inseparable. We were brothers in the truest sense of the word.”
“Then perhaps you should have gone to war with him.”
Isaac regretted the words the instant they left his mouth. They were cruel and useless, and he saw agony flash across Matthew’s face. The expression only lasted an instant before Matthew composed himself.
“How kind of you to remind me,” he whispered, almost too quietly for Isaac to hear.
Clenching his jaw, Isaac took a step forward.
“You are putting your blame in the wrong place, Matthew.”
“Am I? I disagree.”
“Then listen to me and listen well: Stay away from Lady Charlotte. We were friends once, Matthew, and I mean you no harm, truly, I do not. But if you continue to act this way towards my family, the people I am bound to protect, I shall have to do something. I will set matters straight. I will come forward with the truth, and you might find that people are not quite as sympathetic to you as you thought. Do not test me, old friend.”
“Friends once, were we? No,” Matthew responded thoughtfully, “I’m not sure you were ever a friend. I thought you were, but I was mistaken. You are no one’s friend, Isaac, because you cannot love. You cannot empathize. I pity that poor bride of yours, truly I do. She seems pleasant enough and does not deserve any of this. If you really did care for her, you’d never marry her. But, of course, you will. After all, I imagine that this arrangement suits you well, and in the end, that is all you consider.”
Isaac flinched. “That is not true.”
“Isn’t it? Keep your inelegant threats to yourself. Goodbye, Isaac. Goodbye for now, that is.”
He turned on his heel and strode away, vanishing into the crowd without a backward glance, leaving Isaac standing there, staring after him.
Heaven help me,he thought with a shiver, passing his hand over his face. He dared only to take a moment to compose himself—the others would be waiting for him back in the teashop. Drawing in a breath, he turned and plunged back inside.
CHAPTER 12
Charlotte glanced up in time to see Isaac striding back into the teashop, his expression black and moody.
The conversation with the strange Lord Bentley hadn’t lasted long, but it had clearly rattled Isaac a good deal.
The proprietor had arrived and was just taking their orders.
“None for me, thank you,” Charlotte said hurriedly, getting up from her seat and rushing to intercept him. She reached Isaac and found him staring down at her with an inquisitive expression.
“You look terrifying,” she said shortly. “I don’t want you taking out your mood on Mary and Tommy.”
He scowled. “How dare you …”
“Come outside with me, I’ll explain it.”
Without giving herself a chance to think twice, she looped her arm through his and dragged him back out of the teashop.
Of course, Charlotte was under no illusions. She was notdraggingthe duke; he wasallowinghimself to be dragged. There was a big difference.
The air seemed heavier outside the genteel little teashop, and the streets were noticeably more crowded. It was too loud and busy to have a serious conversation. Clicking her tongue in annoyance, Charlotte craned her neck, looking for a quiet spot.
She found one in the form of a small park, the entranceway only a little way up the road. She scurried toward it, with Isaac striding grimly beside her.
This wasn’t one of the large, fashionable parks, of course. It was a much smaller space, consisting only of a neat little green and some small shrubberies and tree-lined walks. However, it was empty, and Charlotte allowed herself a sigh of relief to step inside. She released Isaac’s arm—why had she held onto it for so long?—and turned to face him. She placed her hands on her hips and lifted her eyebrows.
They were obliged to keep walking, of course. It was bad enough tobehere in such circumstances. Charlotte glanced nervously over her shoulder and was relieved to see that they were not being followed.
“You had no right to whisk me away in that manner,” Isaac said curtly. “Perhaps I was looking forward to eating ices.”
She pursed her lips. “Were you?”
“Well, no. But that is not the point.”
