Page 107 of Duke of Diamonds
“Ow!”
The room dissolved into laughter then—Rebecca’s triumphant giggle, David’s yelping protest, and Fiona’s helpless laugh as she collapsed back against the cushions.
“Oh dear. This is precisely why I wasn’t too keen on bringing them,” Elaine said, her voice carrying from the settee where she sat observing the scene.
“Rubbish,” Fiona said between peals of laughter. “They are just the life we need in this house.”
She leaned in and began tickling David mercilessly, which earned a squeal that quickly lured Rebecca back into the fray. The three of them tumbled in a heap of giggles and flailing limbs as the room echoed with the kind of joy she had almost forgotten she was still capable of feeling.
Elaine lifted her teacup, eyeing them with a mixture of fondness and resignation. “Why do I feel as though I am watching three children now?”
Just then, a new voice entered the room.
“A party in my own house without my knowledge?”
The voice drew all heads to the doorway. Fiona’s heart lurched at the sound. She hadn’t seen him in days, and yet the timbre of his voice curled around her like a memory she had never quite released.
Isaac stepped into the drawing room, his gaze sweeping over the scene before landing, briefly, on her.
“Uncle Isaac!” Rebecca shrieked in delight and rushed toward him.
To Fiona’s astonishment, he bent easily and lifted the girl, settling her on his shoulders before spinning them both around the room. Rebecca squealed with joy, her laughter ringing like bells.
Fiona could only stare. She had never seen him like this—unguarded, playful, light. It struck her like an arrow.
He would make the most wonderful father.
The way he moved with the children, the gentle steadiness in his grip, the patience in his eyes—it all painted a portrait she had never allowed herself to imagine too fully. And yet here it was.
That familiar ache bloomed again in her chest, sweet and cruel.If only...She bit the thought back.
If only such a life could be possible. With him. With Isaac.
But it wasn’t. Not when he would not even look her in the eye for days on end. Not when he seemed so determined to keep her at arm’s length, despite everything.
“Uncle Isaac!” Rebecca cried again, clutching at his hair as she tried to balance herself atop his shoulders.
Just then, a loud flutter of wings filled the air.
“Isaaaac!”
Mozart soared into the room with all the grace of a cannonball, circling once before landing squarely on Rebecca’s head.
“A bird!” Rebecca and David shouted in unison.
Mozart seemed quite pleased with the chaos he had caused and puffed up proudly as he perched atop the girl’s curls.
“Get off, you insolent little bird. I refuse to support your weight too,” Isaac said, casting a mock glare upwards.
Fiona laughed, her chest tightening with something she could neither name nor banish.
“Isaaaac,” Mozart sang again with ruffled dignity.
“It is ‘Your Grace’ to you, gentleman,” Isaac corrected, lifting a finger in warning. “Or better yet, Craton.”
“I cannot believe you’re arguing with a bird right now, Isaac,” Fiona said through her laughter, hand rising to her cheek as she shook her head.
“His child, no less,” Elaine added from the settee, sipping her tea.
