Page 12 of The Duke’s Scandal (Bluestocking Book Club #5)
Chapter Nine
I sobella looked across the ballroom, her mind filled with the question the Duke of Exeter had asked her earlier that day.
The other bluestockings were all talking and laughing around her, but she did not join them, too distracted to even think about what they were saying.
The Duke’s question, his desire to call on her, had frightened her.
It was a strange reaction, she considered, her gaze lingering on nothing at all, drifting here and there as she thought. A gentleman seeking to call upon a lady was just what was expected, she knew, but when he had asked to do that very thing, she had been near frozen with fright.
“Isobella?”
She started violently as Lady Amelia put a hand on her arm. “Oh, forgive me.” Closing her eyes, she smiled weakly. “I was lost in thought.”
“About the Duke?” Lady Amelia gave her a knowing smile. “Lady Rosalyn told me that she had left you to walk with him.”
“Yes, she did. ”
Lady Amelia studied her for a moment or two. “She meant well. She does not know about your previous struggles.”
“I am not angry with her for that,” Isobella assured her. “Not at all.”
“Then what troubles you?”
Isobella considered for a moment. Should she be honest with her friend or keep back all that had happened? After all, she had spent years slowly pushing down every bit of pain that had come about after her two failed Seasons, so she was more inclined to do the same here too.
“I am your friend,” Lady Amelia reminded her, softly as if she could see into Isobella’s mind and understand what she was thinking. “If there is something that troubles you, I would be glad to listen.”
Pressing her lips flat, Isobella nodded slowly, convincing herself to be honest.
“It will help, I am sure.”
Letting out a slow breath, Isobella swallowed hard. “The Duke of Exeter asked to call on me.”
Lady Amelia’s gasp was immediate.
“I – I did not answer him,” Isobella continued, before her friend could say anything more. “I could not.”
“Because you did not expect it?”
Isobella closed her eyes against a sudden swell of tears. “I was afraid to.”
“Oh, my dear Isobella.” Lady Amelia took a step closer to her but did not embrace her, perhaps aware that the other bluestockings would see and wonder what the problem was. “You have closed your heart so completely, have you not?”
“I have.” Hearing her voice crack, Isobella took a few seconds to compose herself, refusing to cry in front of Lady Amelia. “I cannot trust him. I cannot trust any gentleman. ”
“Then you refuse him,” Lady Amelia said, practically. “If that is what you have decided, then that is what you must do.”
Isobella’s throat constricted. “My brother would be most upset if he heard of it. My mother, too. That is the reason they have brought me back to London. To make a good match.”
“And the Duke would be a good match, yes,” Lady Amelia said, softly. “You do not have to let yourself fall in love with him, Isobella. It could be a match of practicality only.”
The thought was still a terrifying one.
“I promised him that I would dance this evening,” Isobella told her, aware of just how furiously her heart began to beat at the thought of being in his arms. “I do not want to. Nor do I want to dance with Lord Preston, but I have promised him also!”
Lady Amelia frowned, opened her mouth and then closed it again before looking away.
“What were you going to say?” Isobella asked, clutching at her friend’s hand. “Please, tell me.”
“Only this.” Lady Amelia squeezed Isobella’s hand gently.
“I understand that you are afraid of losing your heart to a gentleman who will only break it apart in some way, but at the same time, I should hate to think of you lonely. To your eyes, it might seem that walking the path of spinsterhood would save you from a great deal of pain, but could there not also be sorrow and struggle in spinsterhood?”
Isobella looked away. “I am aware that there might well be difficulty, but – ”
“What happens when your brother and his wife bring children into the world? I am sure you will be a doting aunt, but might there not also be a little sadness lingering in your own heart?”
I do not want to think about this, Isobella told herself, trying to block out her friend’s words. I cannot.
For years, she had thought only about what she would do should a gentleman ever come to call upon her again, never once letting herself consider what the lonely years of being a spinster might do to her heart and mind.
Now, however, Lady Amelia appeared to be quite determined to throw it out towards her regardless, forcing her to think upon it all the same.
“If you were to have a marriage of practicality, then you would never need to offer your heart to him,” Lady Amelia concluded.
“That way, you are safe and protected, are you not? You will never need to fear the agony of a broken heart and shattered trust, for there will not be that affection nor connection between you.”
“That is not something I had considered before,” Isobella said softly, looking down at her hands as they clasped tightly together. “I am afraid to even think about anything other than what I had already determined for my life.”
Lady Amelia smiled quietly. “I can understand that, but there is sure to be more for you than this,” she responded.
“Let yourself think upon it, Isobella. The Duke of Exeter has a good reputation, excellent standing, and a fortune that will keep you in comfort all the days of your life. Those are good things, are they not?”
She nodded. “Yes, I suppose it is.” Taking a long breath in, she set back her shoulders and looked directly back at Lady Amelia. “I will accept him then, I think.”
“You will?” Lady Amelia beamed in delight.
“I will. It is only to take tea, however, nothing like courtship or the like,” Isobella stated, relieved that she now felt a little more at ease. “It is only a first step.”
“But it is a good first step.”
Isobella managed to smile. “Thank you for listening to me, Amelia. I am inclined to keep all my emotions and thoughts entirely to myself, but I can see that it has not done me as much good as I might have thought.”
Lady Amelia’s smile faded. “It is always good to share heavy burdens, I think. I do not know what I would do without the other bluestockings!”
“Nor I,” Isobella admitted, looking to her left and smiling at the way her friends all laughed together. “I shall miss you all very much when the time comes for us to part ways.”
Lady Amelia nodded and pressed Isobella’s hand. “But it is not today that we must part, so let us not think of it.”
“Lady Isobella! Good evening.”
Isobella turned her head, ready to speak to the Duke of Exeter, ready to say to him that she was sorry for the way she had not answered his question about coming to call, only to look into the jolly face of Lord Preston.
A little surprised at how her heart dipped low, she dropped into a quick curtsy. “Good evening, Lord Preston.”
“I have come to claim my dance,” he said, as two other gentlemen approached, one being Lord Broughton. “I hope you have not forgotten?”
“I have not,” she answered, giving him her dance card without delay.
Lady Amelia moved forward. “Broughton!” she said, taking his arm. “You have come to dance with me also, I hope?”
The gentleman chuckled and lifted her hand, kissing the back of it.
“Of course, my love. The waltz shall be mine, I think!” He smiled then at Isobella, gesturing to the gentleman beside him.
“Lady Isobella, might I introduce the Earl of Ryeland? Lord Ryeland, this is Lady Isobella. Her brother is the Earl of Granville.”
The gentleman’s eyes warmed at once. “I am acquainted with Lord Granville. I have not had the pleasure of being introduced to his sister as yet, however, so the pleasure is all mine.” Bowing low, he came a step or two closer.
“If Lord Preston would be so kind, I should also like to sign your dance card, Lady Isobella?” With a warm smile, he looked to Lady Amelia. “And yours also, if I might?”
A little surprised that the gentleman would be so eager to sign her dance card after only a few words of introduction, Isobella was quick to nod. “But of course. I thank you.”
“The pleasure is mine.” Lord Ryeland glanced at her, holding her gaze for just a moment before looking away, a hint of a smile gracing his lips.
This sent something scurrying through Isobella’s core, his look not only astonishing her but making her blush – something she had not done in many a year!
When he returned her dance card to her, Isobella smiled but said nothing, wondering why this gentleman appeared to be so interested in her when they had only just been introduced!
It was not as though Lord Broughton would befriend a scoundrel or a rogue, so he must be a gentleman of good standing, which, at least, was some comfort.
“Wonderful!” Lord Preston directed his gaze back towards Isobella. “I look forward to our dance, Lady Isobella.”
Isobella nodded but said nothing. She was still waiting for the Duke of Exeter to appear, wondering when he would come to make his appearance known.
What dance would he take? Would he want to dance the waltz with her again?
Swallowing hard, she pushed the thought aside.
If the Duke did such a thing, then the ton would certainly take all the more notice of his supposed attention towards her – and what then?
“Lord Broughton has told me a good deal about you, Lady Isobella.” Lord Ryeland’s eyes flickered with interest. “You are very learned, I hear.”
Immediately, Isobella understood why the gentleman had been so interested in dancing with her. He had, it seemed, been informed about her by Lord Broughton who, no doubt, was doing so with the very best of intentions – namely to push her towards a suitable gentleman. “I do enjoy reading, yes.”