Page 73 of The Truth About Myths
Isabel expelled air from her mouth. See if he was receiving? No one left a princess waiting. She tapped her foot, crossing her arms firmly in front of her chest.
Diomedes appeared again. "He asks your forgiveness, but he is otherwise occupied."
Isabel clamped her jaw so hard that her teeth hurt. "Tell him if he does not come here this instant, I will box his ears."
Diomedes gasped and vanished inside.
Isabel blew an impatient breath and glared at the closed door.
Diomedes returned. "He wants to know if you wish to offend him by telling him you want to box his ears."
"Offend? Of course not. I only wish to cause him unimaginable pain."
"If that is the case, then—"
Before he could shut her out, she barreled inside. Diomedes escaped the bedroom and her wrath, closing the door behind him.
Isabel inspected her surroundings and found her culprit at his worktable, in indecent shirtsleeves. Henrique had his back to her, pounding at something with a hammer, the sound of iron clubbing steel resounding like strident bells.
He glanced at her sideways and resumed the infernal noise. How dare he give her a cold shoulder? As if he were the injured party?
"I came to know the whereabouts of your acolyte," she said, raising her voice.
"I'm sorry, I can't hear you." His shoulders bulged with the force of his rams. The shirt was glued to his shoulders and chest. Any moment now, his laborer appearance would revolt instead of fascinating her.
"Then stop bashing."
He increased the speed.
Gritting her teeth, Isabel placed herself in front of him.
His eyes flared, but he quit. The silence pounded, reverberating over the empty room.
His expression was serious, and the shadow of a beard gave him a piratical appearance. "If you came to play Venus to my Vulcan, you are too late. The shop’s closed for the day."
"Dolly eloped. She’s ruined herself, and all because of your friend and partner in crime."
Henrique's eyes widened, and he rubbed his forehead. "But Charles' intentions were honorable. He loves Dolly."
"And you believed him? You, above all else?" Isabel could not keep the accusation from her voice.
Henrique lifted his brows. "Perhaps if you didn't hound the couple like Cerberus guarding the gates of hell, Charles would not have felt the need to flee."
Isabel stabbed his chest with her finger. "I forbid you to shove the blame on me. As we speak, your rakish friend has probably seduced Dolly, broken her heart, and left her alone to fend for herself. How do you think she will feel? Learning that after he gave her earthshaking pleasure, he returned to courting married women?" Her voice broke, and by the end of her rant, she was shaking.
"Isabel, are you all right?"
She placed her hands on her face, horrified to find her cheeks wet with tears.
He took her wrist and pulled her, trying to embrace her. After spending the night with her cousin, he wanted what? To amuse himself with her? A quick morning tryst to settle him for the afternoon?
"Don't touch me! Never touch me again, " she shrieked.
He stepped back, raising his palms.
Isabel used his confusion to flee.
She hastened through empty corridors and out into the garden. Her corset constricted her breaths, and her feet weighted too much, the ground stalling her progress as if made of wet cement.
