Page 16 of His Graceful Duchess (A Lady’s Vow #3)

CHAPTER 16

“ T o the estate,” Evan instructed the driver as the husband and wife made their way inside the carriage. “Immediately.”

He turned back to see his wife, leaning against the seat and watching him carefully. “I knew it,” she asserted, clapping her hands together. “You did not have any work to attend to the city, did you? In that moment, you just wished to get out of my father’s company?”

“Clever,” Evan muttered, albeit surprised by his wife’s ability to read him so easily.

“I feel even better about my decision in coming along then,” she nodded, seeming rather pleased with herself.

“I did not wish to cut your visit short,” Evan sighed. “I knew you wished to see your sister. It’s just that…”

“It’s hard to tolerate my father’s company for more than a few moments?” she said, reading his mind again. “I do not blame you. He is not the easiest of individuals to get along with.”

“And yet you managed to tolerate him well enough for two decades of your life,” Evan pointed out, curiosity seeping into his tone.

It must not have been an easy task. He knew that much by now.

“You make it sound like as if I had a choice,” Isadora laughed.

Evan nodded. He knew all too well that a person had no choice in the hand that they were dealt in life.

“You are free to invite Penelope to visit you at the estate,” Evan said. “I suppose that might be better than having to deal with George.”

Isadoras lips curved into a smile. “That would be a great idea,” she said delightedly.

Evan didn’t get it. How was it that she was so pleased about having her visit at home cut short?

“You know, usually I am the one being accused of being unpredictable but in situations like this,” he narrowed his eyes slightly, “ you are the one who baffles me. How are you so happy? I thought you were rather excited to see Penelope.”

“Oh, I was.” She continued to smile. “But I suspect that I shall get other opportunities to see her. What happened today was far more important.”

“Which is what exactly?” he inquired, baffled. “Me getting into a tussle with your father?”

“Oh, no. The two of us taking a united stand and leaving together,” she announced with a smile.

“Oh, ” Evan had not looked at the situation like that. If anything, he had just defended his wife.

“You don’t agree?” she probed. “Don’t you think that it sends a clear message to my father now that he must not meddle in my affairs because it means that he is meddling with yours as well?”

“You seem quite eager to give up your independence,” Evan commented a moment after taking in what she had just said.

“Oh, this has nothing to do with my independence,” she laughed in response. “No, we should use another word for you and me. Two people who are completely capable of functioning on their own—coming together to depend on one another. A partnership.”

“An arrangement,” he reminded her swiftly.

“Why am I not surprised that you seem to have trouble with my choice of words?” she sighed, rubbing the side of her face.

“Very well then.” He schooled his features back into an expression of neutrality. “An arranged partnership. Does that suit you better?”

“See? We’re meeting each other in the middle already,” she laughed with glee.

Evan ignored her for the remainder of the carriage ride, then, suddenly wanting nothing more than to be rid of her company. Not because there was anything particularly unenjoyable about it but rather because it seemed to be inching too much towards familiarity.

An arranged partnership.

It wasn’t the most affectionate of titles, but it was the furthest thing from calculated practicality that Evan had ever admitted to in regards to Isadora.

That and the way he had stood up for her in front of her father. The memory burned in her mind.

Their progress was moving at a glacial pace, and Isadora was well aware of that, but somehow, she did not mind it much either.

It is better this way.

The thought of jumping headfirst into love —if such a thing was even possible for the two of them—seemed far too daunting. No, it was much better that they took things slowly. For both his sake and her own.

“Perhaps we do have more in common than I originally thought,” Isadora mused to herself. Both of them seemed to be deathly scared of love.

How ironic, then, that they had ended up with each other. Isadora smiled to herself at the thought.

She would have to spend her days getting to know her husband. And that sounded as lovely as it did frightening.

“Good morning, Evan,” she greeted him brightly as she walked into his study. At the use of his name, he looked up at her briefly. She knew that it would get his attention.

“Are you lost, sweetheart?” he asked in his usual sarcastic tone before averting his gaze back to his desk.

“No, I am happy to announce that I came here on my own free will,” she laughed, moving closer to him. “ Why in heavens would I be lost?”

Evan simply pointed at the clock in the corner of the room. “It’s half past nine in the morning. Isn’t this about the time that you’re usually prancing about doing your duchess duties?”

Isadora chose to ignore the mocking tone of his voice. “Well, it just so happens that my duchess duties consist of seeing what my husband is up to this morning. It is important after all.”

“Then, I am doubly regretful of disappointing you,” Evan smirked. “For I cannot give you the pleasure of my company this morning. I am terribly busy with work.” He pointed towards the stack of ledgers on his table.

“All the better that I am here, then.” She plopped herself eagerly on a chair beside his desk, earning a wayward glance from him. “I can help.”

Evan chuckled, “I was going over the estate’s accounts. I am not sure if that’s under your area of expertise, sweetheart.”

“Must you underestimate me so?” she shot back. “I can take a look for you. In fact, I’m quite familiar with ledgers, so I should be able to assist.”

Evan almost did a double-take, lowering his reading glasses slightly. “I beg your pardon?”

“You heard me correctly,” she smiled, triumphantly. “Now, let me see…”

“Wait a moment.” He snatched away the papers from her reach when she tried to pick at them. “What business do you have knowing anything about ledgers? It is a responsibility that is usually designated to the head of the household.”

“Well, my father did not like doing them, so he transferred over the responsibility to me.” Isadora shrugged casually, only adding to Evan’s surprise.

“He—he let a child handle the accounts of the manor?” he managed to stutter out.

“Well, I was very much an adult by the time I got acquainted with them,” she argued. “He started me out young, though. But that only means that I have experience.”

“Isadora,” he said in a tone that made her freeze immediately, “how old were you when your father first asked you to do this for him?”

Isadora bit down on her lip, suddenly aware of his all too scrutinizing gaze on her. “I don’t see how that matters?—”

“It matters to me,” he asserted, cutting her off.

Isadora exhaled a sigh. Evan preoccupied himself with the oddest of details, she thought. “Not that it makes a difference, but I believe that I was fourteen years of age when he first asked me to do it. He taught me, actually. And then the things I did not know, I learned on my own using books.”

Evan was shaking his head now. “Just when I thought that he could not get any worse…”

“It is not as bad as you make it seem.” Isadora lifted her chin. “I balanced the accounts, ensured the debts did not consume us, and handled the household’s expenses. I think these are all useful skills to have, wouldn’t you agree?”

“It was not your responsibility.” Evan’s jaw tightened.

“Well, someone had to do it,” she replied, keeping her tone even. “I had a hunch that he considered it beneath him or perhaps that he found the whole thing a tad too dry.”

Evan let out a sharp exhale, standing abruptly. The movement startled her slightly, but she did not step back as he stalked toward the window, running a hand through his hair.

“So, while he was out chasing his ambitions, his own daughter was left to bear the weight of his responsibilities?” he muttered, more to himself than to her.

“You’re making it sound a lot more dramatic than it was,” she tried to argue.

“And you are vastly understating it,” Evan argued. “Isadora, just how many hats did you have to wear in that house? That of a mother and a father and everything else in between?”

“Well, I made no income,” she admitted softly. She wasn’t sure what to make of his little outburst—concerning or perhaps a bit flattering that he seemed so invested. “So, I suppose I only overlooked things.”

“That is somehow even worse.” Evan rubbed an open palm across his face. “He guilted you into taking on more than your share—which as a child should have been none —because he supported you financially.”

For the first time that morning, Isadora did not have a response, for he was exactly right. George really did love to assert how he was keeping the house running by using his daughters.

“And you were expected to be grateful for it,” Evan snarled, his voice rising.

“Well, it is all in the past now. The important thing is that I managed,” she said simply. She was not one to categorize herself as a victim.

Evan let out a slow, measured breath, as though reining in his temper. When he spoke again, his voice was noticeably softer.

“You should not have had to,” he said, “ is the point I am trying to make here.”

“It will do us little good dwelling on what should have happened,” Isadora swallowed.

“No wonder you never flinched at his words last night. You are so used to being disregarded by him that it does not even faze you anymore.”

Once again, she could not argue. He was exactly right.

“You are not in that house anymore,” he murmured, “and I will not allow you to be treated as though you are.”

The conviction in his voice sent something warm curling through her chest.

“I know,” she whispered. “You are not like him.”

“And that is something you should not forget,” he asserted. Their eyes met. For a moment, neither of them moved.

“But enough about my backstory,” Isadora blurted out, looking for an excuse to look away from his piercing gaze. She shifted her focus to her hands which she wound and unwound together as she spoke. “Will you accept my help in going through the ledgers or not?”

“I will not,” Evan smirked, returning to his usual teasing tone. “It is not your responsibility.”

“Very well then,” she pursed her lips. Even though she tried to deny it, a part of her did appreciate that Evan was concerned enough to consider these things. It was perhaps the first time that anyone had in her entire life.

“What else did you have to do in that house?” he questioned.

“I’d rather we moved on from the topic,” Isadora replied. “No use discussing it further, and I know how concerned you are with the utility of things.”

“This has been useful,” he asserted so strongly that it almost startled her. “But fine, let me ask you another question. Did you ever get to do anything that wasn’t just a responsibility or a duty?”

“Are you trying to imply that I had no fun in my life?” Isadora grinned, hoping to lighten the tone that had grown a bit too serious for her liking.

“At this point, I would not be surprised if that was the case.”

“Well, then you’re gravely mistaken, Your Grace,” she said. “I had a wonderful group of friends, as you know. So, time spent with them was what constituted as fun for me.”

Evan shot her a look. “Maintaining a social circle—as was expected of you as lady. That hardly signals to me something that you did only for yourself and not out of duty.”

“You oversimplify it.”

“But you understand what I mean all the same,” he said quickly. She did. “Be more accurate, please. I want to know exactly what filled your days when you were not concerned with running a household or looking after your sister.”

Something about the intensity of his request made Isadora blush. As though he absolutely must know everything about the topic which most would consider quite trivial.

“Well, if you really wish to know…” She knotted her fingers together again. “… I did have hobbies of my own. Ones that I did only for my own sake and no one else’s.”

“What were they?” he asked immediately.

“Do you really wish to know?” came the rather infuriating reply.

“Isadora,” Evan lowered his tone, articulating each word very slowly now, “if I did not want to know, I would not have asked.”

He did not understand why she made him jump through so many hoops just to answer a question. Especially when he found himself more curious than ever to know the answer.

Something in her demeanor shifted then. A little more openness.

“Horses.”

“Horses?” he shot back. Was that the big hobby she had?

“Yes. I love them.” Her tone grew excited as she spoke, and suddenly, Evan forgot that there was even something to be frustrated about. “I have, ever since I was a child. Riding them. Caring for them. They have always been a solace to me. I suppose it must sound terribly silly, but?—”

“It does not,” Evan cut in smoothly. “Go on.”

Encouraged, she exhaled, a small smile tugging at her lips. “There is something about them. Their strength, their grace. But also, their trust. A horse does not yield to you because you demand it—it must be earned. They are intelligent creatures, but they do not scheme or deceive. They listen if you know how to speak to them properly.”

Her voice had lifted now; it was animated in a way he had not seen before.

“And riding,” she continued, “it is the closest thing to freedom. When you are galloping across the fields with nothing but the wind at your back, the world feels different. It is quiet but not lonely. It is…” She trailed off, searching for the words. “I do not know how to explain it properly.”

Evan’s lips curled at the corners. “I think you explained it perfectly.”

“Did I?” Isadora looked up at him with wide eyes. “I… I suppose I tend to get a little carried away whenever I speak on the subject. It’s…”

Endearing, Evan thought to himself. “It is rather amusing,” he said instead.

“Are you just saying that to be nice to me?” Isadora asked, unconvinced.

“Have I ever done that before?” Evan countered, stepping closer to her so that the distance between them was closed even further.

Isadora stumbled on her words. “I…” She did not quite know where to look, so instead her gaze darted all around the room. Anywhere except on Evan himself. “I suppose that… you have not….”

“Yes, so what incentive would I have to start now?” Evan said, his gaze dipping to her lips. He had not noticed before just how plump they appeared, how they jutted out when she was in the middle of explaining herself.

“I suppose you make some sense,” she admitted finally. “Well, then, are you actually interested in hearing me speak about horses?”

“Why is that so unfathomable for you?”

Isadora twisted her fingers together, pursing her lips together. “Well, no one has ever really… expressed an interest before.”

She said the words so casually, but they nearly broke his heart.

“That is criminal,” he chided, positioning himself so that he was hovering over her now. “Or should be.”

“What should be?—?”

Evan moved before he could second-guess himself, his hand rising to cup her cheek, his thumb barely brushing her skin. His touch was warm. And then, just as her breath caught in her throat, he leaned in and kissed her.

His lips pressed against hers with quiet certainty. The kiss was softer than he had thought it would be. Isadora exhaled softly, her fingers twitching at her sides before lifting, hesitating for just a moment before resting lightly against his chest.

She was letting him kiss her. No, she was kissing him back. It was such an innocent gesture but one that set his entire body aflame.

One that made the reality of his actions all too real.

No.

Evan pulled back abruptly, and Isadora was left staring at him with wide eyes, bringing one of her fingers to touch her lips where his own had just been. It took him every ounce of restraint he had to look away.

“I—” He shook his head. “I shouldn’t have done that,” he voiced his thoughts out loud, taking a step back from her.

Isadora opened her mouth to speak, but no words came.

“Well, this is quite the unexpected event,” he coughed, clearing his throat. “I would suggest that you forget this whole thing ever happened. I— well, good day to you.”