Page 15 of The Duke’s Scandal (Bluestocking Book Club #5)
Chapter Eleven
L ord Ryeland smiled up at Isobella as she served his cup of tea. “I thank you.”
“But of course.” She sat down again quickly, trying to ignore the look of delight that had set itself upon Louisa’s face at the arrival of Lord Ryeland, a look which had not yet dissipated in any way.
“I wonder what you have been reading today?” Lord Ryeland asked, his smile lingering as he continued to hold her gaze, unsettling Isobella a little. “I know from Lord Broughton that you are always with a book in your hand! Just as Lady Amelia is also, I understand.”
Isobella could not help but smile at this. “Indeed. Given that we are both bluestockings, it should not be in the least bit surprising to anyone that we have books with us almost all of the time!”
Lord Ryeland chuckled. “Have you found your reading of great interest to you of late?”
“I have.” Warming to the subject, Isobella told him of the recent discoveries of some new and exotic animals she had read about, seeing his eyebrows lift in surprise. “Some of them do sound quite fantastic,” she admitted, as he reached for his teacup. “I was very glad to know of them.”
“Remarkable indeed!” he exclaimed, as Louisa sat there, doing nothing other than smiling at them both.
“I am sure that Lord Preston will be able to pique your interest all the more with his knowledge of birds.” His smile became a little crooked.
“He did not stop talking about them all last evening, once the ball was over and we found ourselves in Whites.”
Wondering if this was meant as a slight against Lord Preston, Isobella said nothing and sipped at her tea instead.
“I admit that I was very surprised indeed to see the Duke of Exeter at Whites last evening,” Lord Ryeland continued, clearly unwilling for there to be even a breath of silence. “After all that took place, I was astonished that he would think to set himself out in front of society!”
“All that took place?” Louisa asked before Isobella could do so. “What do you mean by that?”
Isobella glanced at her sister in law, then looked back to Lord Ryeland, who was now frowning, watching his cup of tea as if there was something quite interesting within it.
“There was an upset with Lady Clara,” she said, having learned the lady’s name the previous evening.
“Her friend, Lady Sara, was also involved. I do not know the particulars, but I believe they were both very upset indeed.”
Lord Ryeland snorted gently, making Isobella shoot her gaze back towards him in surprise.
“They had every right to be! I can understand that a Duke of the realm believes himself to be of a higher standing than everyone else and can do just as he pleases, but to attempt to… coerce a young lady to join him in the dark of the gardens is disgraceful behavior for any gentleman, including a Duke!”
A kick to Isobella’s stomach made her breath hitch. Could it be that the Duke of Exeter had done such a thing? She had thought she knew his character somewhat, and never once had he given the impression of being arrogant, selfish, and willing to do just as he pleased!
“Goodness, that is dreadful news indeed,” Louisa murmured, as Isobella looked down at her tea again. “Are they quite sure it was the Duke responsible for such a thing?”
Lord Ryeland shrugged. “It was the word of both Lady Clara and Lady Sara, so it must be true.”
“Although it was very dark in the gardens,” Isobella found herself saying, garnering looks of surprise from both Lord Ryeland and her sister in law.
“There are occasions when gentlemen have been mistaken for another fellow entirely, and I do want to make certain I am being very careful in what I believe to be the truth.”
Lord Ryeland eyed her carefully, then nodded. “That, I think, is very wise, Lady Isobella. It is always best to be entirely sure about such things, especially when someone’s reputation is involved!”
“Precisely,” Isobella said, a little more loudly than she had meant. “I am sorry to hear that Lady Clara and Lady Sara were upset, however. That must have been very difficult for them.”
“From what I heard, they both had to return home from the ball nearly at once,” Lord Ryeland said, with a grimace. “A great pity to hear that their evening was ruined in such a way.”
Louisa glanced at Isobella and then nodded. “We can only hope that it will not keep them back from society for too long.”
“Indeed.” Lord Ryeland rose to his feet, the allotted time for calling now coming to an end.
“Thank you for the tea and the excellent conversation, Lady Isobella, Lady Granville. I must take my leave of you now, though I hope to see you again very soon.” This last part of his remark was directed solely at Isobella, and before she could think of what she ought to say, what was on her heart came directly out towards him.
“Thank you for calling, Lord Ryeland. I do not think our acquaintance will continue on any further, however.”
He blinked, his smile crumpling. “I beg your pardon?”
Isobella blinked, heat burning up through her as she tried to understand not only what she had said but why she had said it. “Thank you for calling,” she said again, a little numbly. “Good afternoon.”
Lord Ryeland frowned, opened his mouth to say something, and then seemed to think better of it.
Once he had gone, Isobella sank down slowly onto her chair, her thoughts fixed solely upon the Duke of Exeter and what it was he had supposedly done.
Her heart was a little heavy with that thought, and as she sank back down into her seat, she could not prevent a small sigh from escaping her.
“That was a little… forward.”
She glanced at Louisa, wondering if there was a hint of chagrin in her voice. “Yes, it was. I do not know why I spoke so, but I am not inclined towards his company.”
“No?”
Isobella shook her head, and they lapsed into silence for a short while.
After a short time, her sister in law leaned towards her.
“I am sorry,” she said quietly. “The Duke of Exeter did appear to be interested in your company, and I can imagine that this news must have been something of a shock. Mayhap that is why you pushed Lord Ryeland away.”
“I have no intention of stepping back from the Duke just because of a rumor,” Isobella said quickly, only for heat to rise up her chest and into her neck at Louisa’s lifted eyebrows.
“What I mean to say is that my friendship with him will not be set aside simply because I have heard something untoward about him. I would do the same with any connection, any acquaintance.”
This made Louisa smile. “Yes, I think that you would. I perhaps should not have jumped to the belief that he is as guilty as Lord Ryeland suggested.”
Isobella bit her lip, looking away. The worry that the Duke had done something was sitting on her mind, weighing her down.
She did not want to think him guilty after only the word of Lord Ryeland but nor did she want to think that she knew everything about the Duke’s character and understood all that he was.
She might very well have made a mistake in thinking so well of him, but nor could she step back from him without being entirely certain of his guilt.
“You are going to be late if you do not leave soon.” Louisa touched Isobella’s arm, pulling her out of her concerning thoughts. “You are to call upon Lady Rosalyn, are you not?”
“Yes, yes, of course.” Getting to her feet quickly, Isobella drew in a deep breath and then smiled. Lord Ryeland’s visit had been unexpected, but she still had enough time to go and meet with the other bluestockings. “Thank you, Louisa.”
“I do hope Lord Ryeland calls again,” her sister in law said, with a glint in her eye. A glint that spoke of hope and of planning a wedding that Isobella did not herself want. “He does seem very pleasant and is quite contented with you being a bluestocking.”
“Mmm.” Saying nothing more, Isobella made her way from the room, but as she stepped into the hallway, her shoulders dropped and her eyes closed for only a moment.
She did not want Lord Ryeland to call again, did not want anyone to show any sort of interest in her.
She was to be a spinster; she had decided that her future was to be one of being alone.
And yet… the Duke is in my thoughts.
Isobella swallowed hard, pushing that aside and making her way to her bedchamber so she might prepare herself for going to call on Lady Rosalyn.
The matter with the Duke of Exeter would come to light soon enough, and she would not need to do anything to search out the truth. Not even if she wished to.
“I did hear that.” Miss Trentworth pulled her lips to one side for a few moments, then shook her head.
“I am not inclined to listen to gossip, but there is certainly the chance of it being true. A Duke is, by their title, often considered to be free from society’s scrutiny in many ways, simply because of how high his standing is. ”
Isobella frowned. “I did not think that the Duke of Exeter was like that,” she said, softly.
“He did not give the impression that he was in any way arrogant or inclined towards doing such a terrible thing.” She looked down at her hands in her lap.
“That does not mean that I think myself correct in my belief about him, however. I understand I could be wrong.”
The other bluestockings said nothing, and Isobella’s heart twisted. She wished she could speak alone with Lady Amelia, knowing that her friend would understand the confusion in her heart and mind and realizing that, in doing so, she would unburden herself a little .