Page 86 of Her Beast of a Duke
“We do not need further dramatics,” she quickly said, squeezing his arm. “If anybody gossips, as they did at the garden party andthe other events, then I shall simply let it wash through me. I am stronger than you think.”
Oscar turned to her in the doorway, holding her face with his other hand. “No, Isabella. I know exactly how strong you are, but my resentment does not stem from your strength or how you have endured. It comes from the fact that they even put you in a position where you had to endure. They are in the wrong, not you.”
“Regardless, I have still shouldered enough gossip-related burdens, but I finally hope I no longer have to.”
He gave her a mischievous smile. “And as I said, if they dare to, they shall find themselves with a big problem on their hands.”
Isabella leaned in to ghost a kiss over his jaw. “Averybig problem,” she purred, and heaven help her, Oscar looked ready to take her right then and there in the darkest alcove, propriety be damned. “Perhaps you can make me deal with that big problem when we return home.”
“Heavens, what are you trying to do to me?” He half laughed. “You are a menace, Isabella.”
“I amyourmenace, though.” She grinned, her heart fluttering at the softness in his gaze.
“Yes, you are,” he affirmed and kissed her chastely before they finally entered Lord and Lady Howdley’s estate. They were led tothe ballroom, and upon entering, Isabella finally felt the drop of dread she thought she had been free of. Her mother was present, of course, and Isabella noticed how Sibyl’s pretty face was dark and drawn tight, her arms crossed.
The two of them seemed to be arguing. Or rather, their mother appeared to be trying to argue while Sibyl barely looked at her mother.
Isabella sighed. “My mother is a stone wall that one must claw down every day. Come with me to save my sister?”
Oscar glanced at Isabella’s mother, his mouth tightening. “Must I?”
Isabella laughed quietly. “Yes, you must, to keep me in check from being cross with her.”
“I have far better methods of keeping you in check,” he told her in a low voice at her ear, sending a shiver down her spine. “And I am inclined to let you berate your mother. Heaven knows she is long overdue for it.”
“I am thinking only of Sibyl,” Isabella insisted. “I know what a force my mother is, and I want to protect her. My mother might back down slightly if you are there. She will be tempted to keep up appearances, whereas with just her daughters, she does not need to pretend.”
Oscar finally nodded. “I will come with you then. If only to escape Edmund, who is hastily making his way toward me, and I am trying to avoid him.”
“Is it the same reason you have avoided my questions about whether you have been all right since our dinner party?”
“Now, why would you think such a thing?”
Isabella could hear the way he tried to tease and deflect again, but she only narrowed her eyes at him before they finally descended into the ballroom and made their way over to her family.
“Mama, I have already told you that I do not want to dance with him,” Sibyl insisted, her voice sharp in a way Isabella had not heard before. “Just—stop.Stop,Mama, I am exhausted.”
Isabella’s stomach dropped.
“Oh, goodness, Sibyl, stop being ungrateful. Your father secured a good connection with Lord Farnby, and his son is most eager to dance with you.”
“Lord Nathaniel has two left feet, terrible breath, and a severe lack of conversational skills when the topic is not about everything he will inherit from his father.”
“Sometimes we must endure… shortcomings for a good chance.”
“And sometimes,” Isabella cut into her mother’s insistence, “you must listen to your daughters when they plead something lest you push them further away like you did with me and Hermia.”
Sibyl’s eyes widened as they fell on Oscar and Isabella, and their mother stiffened. Immediately, her eyes swept around them, ensuring nobody had heard but the Duke and Duchess. She could hardly care. Their mother needed to be scolded roundly, and Isabella was tired of falling into line. Until the Countess realized her behavior was terrible, Isabella would continue to fight back against her mother now.
But she despised that Sibyl was still stuck with their parents. If anything, a quick match would be good, if only to get her away from them.
“Isabella,” her mother greeted with a slow tilt of her head. Her narrowed eyes went upwards to Oscar. “Your Grace.”
“Lady Wickleby.” His voice displayed enough of the disdain he had for her, and Isabella felt a surge of pride. “Lady Sibyl.”
“Good evening, Your Grace.” Sibyl’s tone returned a little more to its usual bright, sweet one, and Isabella tugged her sister closer to her and further away from their mother. Protectively, she linked her arm through Sibyl’s.
“Isabella, you ought not to interfere with your sister’s business. It is rude of you to deprive her of options like this.”
