Page 65 of Duke of Diamonds
Fiona managed a smile. “Why, I missed you three too much to wait another day to see you.”
Anna’s gaze narrowed just slightly, her cup paused mid-air, as if the scent of something unsaid lingered in the room.
Fiona shifted in her seat and glanced away.She sees too much. She always does.
The truth—unvarnished and quietly humiliating—was that she had hardly seen Isaac since their wedding supper. He did not dine with her. He did not speak to her. He did not seek her out in the morning nor appear by chance in the hallway. It was as if theargument had closed a door between them, and he had locked it from his side.
“I daresay,” Nancy added with a sparkle in her eyes, “we thought you’d be too invested in your husband to remember us, much less miss us, Fiona.”
Fiona lifted her teacup and took a small sip. She kept her smile in place. “Some of us are capable of doing more than one thing at a time, Nancy.”
Nancy let out a soft laugh and exchanged a knowing look with Hester.
“You know what they say,” Anna murmured, placing her saucer down with meticulous grace, “there is a time for everything. So hosting us now only affords you more time to dote on your dear husband later.”
If only they knew. Perhaps I am not what my husband expected, and I am already a disappointment.
Her cheeks warmed under the weight of their teasing. She stared into her tea as if the answers might steep there with the leaves.If only it were a conventional marriage,she thought,with dinners shared and nights not spent alone.The odd ache returned, soft and persistent, and entirely unwelcome.
“Such an impressive place you have now, Fiona,” Hester said, turning her attention to the room. “But much worn, I’m afraid.”
Nancy nudged her sharply with an elbow.
“I—I mean, it’s all beautiful, of course,” Hester said, her voice pitched higher in haste. “But a little old...”
Anna and Nancy exchanged identical glances, their eyes fixed on Hester with familiar reproach.
“Oh, no need for all that,” Fiona said, waving a hand lightly. “I do agree with Hester. As beautiful as everything is, much of it is outdated. As a matter of fact, I was just contemplating some renovations this morning.”
Hester brightened. “See? Fiona always agrees with me.” She stuck out her tongue in triumph.
“Very mature, Hester,” Nancy muttered, rolling her eyes.
Their laughter rang through the room, genuine and warm, though Fiona’s mind tugged at the thread she had only just voiced aloud.
“I am yet to discuss my plans with the Duke, of course,” she added, adjusting the edge of her napkin. “But I will soon enough.”
Her fingers twisted the linen before her, the motion absent but telling. The thought of broaching the subject with Isaac made her stomach tighten in that peculiar way she could not name.
“Well, you have plenty of time now, Fiona,” Anna said gently. “So you needn’t rush into anything. And with a bit of patience, you will see that all will fall right into place in your marriage.”
Fiona smiled, though her chest ached with the weight of unspoken doubts.
If only I could believe that.
CHAPTER 22
It is not as bad as I feel it is.
That was the thought Isaac clung to, though even he could feel the lie tremble beneath its own gravity. The ink on his page had dried, the quill stilled in his hand, his gaze drifting unfocused toward the edge of the desk, as if answers might emerge from the grain of the wood.
He had brought another soul under his protection.
The truth lodged itself low in his chest.
He had not considered it in such terms—not precisely. He had thought only of Fiona’s immediate danger. Of Canterlack’s calculating smile. Of Mary, and the moment everything had nearly shattered. Of stopping history before it could repeat itself.
But I did not think of what came after.
