Page 42 of Married to the Icy Duke
Isaac glanced sharply at her out of the corner of his eye, his expression unreadable. For a moment, Charlotte thought that he was going to tell her to mind her own business. Perhaps he might be right, in this instance.
But Isaac only sighed and shook his head.
“We were friends once, Matthew and I. Not very close friends, as I was much closer to his younger brother, Jasper. Matthew, of course, was going to be the Viscount Bentley one day, and so he spent a great deal of time with his father, learning. As I said, all of us were friends.”
Charlotte waited to see if Isaac would say more. She had never met a friend of Isaac’s named Jasper, but then neither had she heard much of Viscount Bentley. There was something more to the story here, and she hoped Isaac would tell her.
Apparently not. He clenched his jaw and stopped, turning her to face him. A light breeze had blown up, causing the trees around them to shiver and shake, rustling in the wind. Above them, a few handfuls of cherry blossom petals detached and floated to the ground.
If she hadn’t known better, Charlotte might have considered it to be romantic.
Now,thatwas a silly thought.
“You shouldn’t have spoken to him in that manner,” Isaac burst out at last.
Charlotte was sure she must have misheard.
“I beg your pardon?” she managed, incredulous. “I was defending …”
“Don’t misunderstand me,” he interrupted. “I am not saying that you were wrong, or that you ought not to speak your mind. Your words were correct, and I heartily appreciate their sentiment. However, men like Matthew are … well, they have a danger about them which you might not readily understand. At the moment, with his mind ordered the way it is, he is not a man to be crossed. He is not a man tooffend.”
Charlotte stared up at him, shocked. “And I have offended him, is that what you are saying?”
“I am saying,” he repeated, his voice wavering on the edge of calm, “that whether you are right or wrong, it is a mistake to talk back to men like Matthew. It is not safe.”
“I see,” Charlotte managed at last, her words more clipped than she had intended. “And what about you, then? Is it safe to talk back to you, or should I mind my tongue and mind my manners around my betrothed, too?”
Isaac sucked in a sharp, outraged breath, his expression darkening. He made an obvious attempt to control his anger, curling his fingers into fists and taking a second or two to compose himself.
“Of course that is not what I mean,” he said at last, his voice thick with anger. “I can control my temper, believe it or not. I am no longer sure what Matthew is capable of.”
Charlotte pursed her lips, folding her arms tight across her chest. “There.”
He blinked down at her, eyes narrowing. “What?”
She pointed. “There. That expression on your face, that deadly angry one,thatis the sort of expression that will scare Tommy. Children are very impressionable, you know. They are easily frightened.”
He rolled his eyes. “Should I not teach Tommy to be stronger and less afraid?”
“You should,” she acknowledged, “but not by terrifying him at every turn.”
“That is not what I mean.”
“I know, but you must understand it even so. Some parents are…” she paused, searching for the words. “Some parents are harsh, without quite meaning to be so. I don’t want to see you treat Tommy harshly.”
He gave a wry smile. “How could I, with you at my side? He’ll have the best advocate in the world.”
Now, thisdidfeel like a compliment, and Charlotte allowed herself a quick, pleased smile.
“I shall do my best,” she responded, as coolly as she could. “I won’t allow you to scare him.”
He tilted his head and took a step towards her. “Do I scareyou, Charlotte?”
His words sent a ripple of awareness down her spine, so sudden that she exhaled sharply, eyes widening. She stepped back, almost without thinking of it, and abruptly her back bumped up against a tree. She gasped, eyes widening.
At once, Isaac was leaning over her, his gaze dark. His eyes slid up and down her frame, seeming to take everything in, making her shiver once more.
“I must say,” he murmured, almost to himself, “you don’t look particularly scared.”
