Page 106 of Duke of Diamonds
“You will hear from me soon,” Isaac said, his voice clipped, and turned to depart without another word.
Outside, the day had not brightened. The clouds hung low and grey, heavy with the threat of rain. Isaac mounted his horse with a swift motion, giving the reins a sharp flick as he turned from the quiet, unremarkable street. He did not return home.
Instead, he directed his horse toward St. James’s Street and the quiet familiarity of White’s. A drink. He needed a drink.
The Marquess’s shamelessness clung to him, acrid and persistent, and he could not quite bring himself to face Fiona just yet.After the kiss...That moment haunted him more than it should have.She had stirred something in me that I have no business naming.It was dangerous—perilous, even. And he could not afford to indulge in it.
No good would come of letting himself grow closer. And so he rode on, toward the club, and away from the one place he most wanted—and yet feared—to be.
It was best to return those boundaries. To restore the distance. Getting any closer to Fiona would only undo what little balance he had left.
He had just reached for the decanter again when a familiar voice drifted through the doorway of his private snug at White’s.
“Brooding alone without me?”
Isaac looked up to find Samuel leaning casually against the doorframe.
“Brandy or whiskey?” he offered, a faint chuckle escaping him.
“Now that’s better,” Samuel said as he stepped in and claimed the opposite chair.
Isaac poured the drink and handed it over, settling back in his seat.
“I should apologize, Isaac,” Samuel said after a sip.
Isaac raised a brow.
“For Elaine’s behavior the other evening at dinner. She ought not to have brought it up.”
“No,” Isaac said quietly. “Elaine was right. She often is. Fiona has every right to know. My sister merely said aloud what I had lacked the nerve to confess. She only ever tries to unearth the coward in me.”
“Grief is not cowardice,” Samuel replied. “You and Elaine both loved, and lost. And the fact that you still grieve is only proof of how deeply you once loved—and how deeply you still do.”
Isaac let his gaze fall to his glass, watching the amber liquid shift. If it were not for his own failure—his blind confidence—would they have lost Mary in the first place? The thought struck hard and fast, and with it came a fear he rarely allowed himself to feel, an ache that gripped his chest and would not let go.
He thought of Fiona then, and the fear grew sharper.She is mine to protect now. Mine to keep safe. If I fail her...He could not. He would not.I could not survive it.
He gripped the glass more tightly.Whatever this is—whatever we are—I cannot bear the thought of a life without her.The realization came quietly, as if it had always been there, only waiting for him to stop denying it. He was already hers.
And if she were taken from him now, it would ruin him.
CHAPTER 33
“Why, Idogrow the tea too, Rebecca dear,” Fiona said, pouring an imaginary cup into a porcelain doll’s teacup as she sat cross-legged on the drawing room floor. The scent of rose biscuits and orange blossom wafted through the air, mingling with the faint squeals of delight.
“Really?” Rebecca’s eyes widened as she placed her cup down with great care. “Can I help you garden too?”
“Now that is just an excuse for you to play with dirt, Rebecca. And we know it,” David declared with the certainty of a boy determined to annoy his sister. He promptly stuck out his tongue.
“I simply want to learn how tea is made from Aunt Fiona,” Rebecca replied with great dignity, her chin tilting upward in defense.
“I believe you,” David said solemnly, nodding as though awarding her a medal.
Rebecca’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means you still have a long way to go in becoming a lady if you continue finding excuses to play with dirt,” he teased with mock seriousness.
With a huff, she reached out and pinched him.
