Page 24 of Duke of Diamonds
A beat passed before she folded her arms. “Now, since I have given you pleasant tidings, allow me to return to the reason for my visit.”
“My, you do not sound pleased to see me this morning. What a shame.” She clicked her tongue. “Then again, when are you ever pleased about anything?”
“When I see knots, bolts, and sharp objects,” he replied evenly.
“Goodness. When you seeweapons, then,” she laughed, unperturbed. He couldn’t help the slight tug at the corner of his mouth.
Elaine perched herself on the edge of his desk, hands folded primly over her lap. “I know you never read the columns—some misguided sense of honor, I imagine—but I do. And there is something in them this morning that is… confusing. And a touch disturbing.”
He gave a short exhale. “Isn’t that what they always print? Drivel dressed as truth. I can scarcely imagine what would trouble you in particular.”
“Well,” she said, crossing one leg over the other, “these particular lies concernyou. Or at least I hope they are lies.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Do tell, dear sister. What scandal has the ton fabricated for me now?”
“Your name has been linked with Lady Fiona,” she said. “There’s speculation about your public appearances. Your dance. Your supposed attentions. And most notably,” her voice dropped, “that you were seen walking her home from the park yesterday.”
Isaac was silent.
Elaine went on. “I thought little of it until I was reminded that Lady Fiona isbetrothedto the Earl of Canterlack.”
“So?” he said, lifting one shoulder.
Elaine’s mouth fell open. “So?Isaac, do not pretend to be dense. You of all people know how dangerous—how foolish—it is to cross that man.”
He leaned back in his chair, hands folding over his chest. “Your question ought to be,what did he do?I merely intervened. He was hurting her.”
Elaine’s expression shifted to something close to alarm. “Iknewit. I had a wretched feeling. Whatever happened, you should not have involved yourself—not where Canterlack is concerned.”
Isaac stood, unable to remain seated under the weight of her chastisement. “And allow him to get away with it? Not while I have breath in my lungs.”
“I do not want you entangled with him again, Isaac,” she said, quieter now. “You know what he’s capable of. You almost died once!”
“You promised to trust me.”
“Andyoupromised me there was nothing to worry about,” she returned.
He reached for her hand, giving it a firm squeeze. “There isn’t.”
Elaine held his gaze. Whatever doubts she harbored, she said nothing more of them.
“Do you have… any particular interest in Lady Fiona, then?”
“We’re acquainted,” he said simply, unwilling to offer more. The arrangement with Fiona was delicate—complicated—and certainly not something he wished to explain. Not when Elaine would only see another web drawing him closer to Canterlack. Another wound waiting to be torn open.
Elaine seemed to sense his reluctance. She tilted her head, voice softer. “The lady who called on you. Was it her?”
He didn’t answer.
She studied him for a moment, then nodded. “I trust you, Isaac.”
There was both comfort and caution in her words. He recognized it, and it warmed something cold in his chest.
I must not fail this time.Too much had been lost before. and Canterlack had left enough destruction in his wake.
Never again.
CHAPTER 9
