“Once again, I am not sick nor am I about to fall victim imminently to an illness.” Slowly, as if she had all the time in the world, she rose to her feet. “Well, then, if there are no more questions or concerns regarding my health, I’ll be off.”
“Wait.” Louisa held up a hand while she dabbed her mouth with a linen napkin. “If you intend to walk this morning, why do you have on an afternoon gown as well as a pair of your good slippers?”
As one, the company looked at her gown of sprigged muslin dyed robin egg blue, embroidered with tiny twisting green vines and lines along the hem and bodice. A sash of yellow banded her waist and was tied in a bow at the small of her back, the ends fluttering down to draw the eye. The matching slippers of blue satin were quite damning as the toes peeked from beneath said hem.
“Well…” Isabella fought off the heat in her cheeks. “I am breaking in the shoes, of course. Walking is good for stretching the leather that pinches.” It was a reasonable explanation and everyone knew it was next to impossible to have a pair of slippers that were comfortable.
Her sister didn’t appear convinced. “That doesn’t explain the dress.”
Mariana nodded, and her sisters resembled matching dark-haired bookends as they stared at her with speculation. “Not to mention you’ve never cared about fashion before, so why now for a walk through the country?”
Spare me the inquisition. But Isabella’s mind worked in a frantic bid to offer an excuse. “My walking dress has a tear in the side seam, as I discovered when I went to put it on before breakfast.” Drat, drat, drat. She made a mental reminder to rip the garment upon her return to make the lie believable. Molly would cluck and protest and tell that she treated expensive clothing without care, but there was nothing for it.
One by one, the members of her family nodded as if the explanation made perfect sense. All except her father, who kept his gaze steady upon her face, a twinkle of doubt in his eyes.
Finally, he waved a hand. “Very well. Enjoy yourself. You’ve seemed rather peaked of late. I agree with your mother on that point. Too much high color and a tendency to run to maudlin thoughts. Moping, rather.”
She did roll her eyes at that. “I’ve never moped in my life.”
“Your father is quite right.” Her mother nodded and accepted another cup of tea from a footman. “Those looks and trailing around here with no purpose are certainly not the result of a suitor who might have captured your interest.” She glanced at her other daughters, who were quick to nod. “Lord knows you’ve rebuffed them all. I wash my hands of your future.”
Isabella stood rooted to the floor for fear they’d discover where her interest truly lay, and every blasted minute she lingered here meant she might miss the opportunity for an “accidental” meeting with a certain dark-haired man. That was, if he would ride this morning. If not, her lie wouldn’t hold much water, for she’d walk the country lanes alone.
Mariana once more butted into the conversation. “Izzy’s manners are atrocious. Why, I heard she slapped our neighbor the other night, at the musicale.”
“What?” Her mother’s eyebrows disappeared into her hair line.
Heaven help me. Isabella exchanged a helpless glance with the footman, who merely shrugged and pressed his lips together as if stifling the urge to laugh.
“Oh yes,” Mariana continued with a grin that didn’t bode well. “That captain fellow. I forget his name, but he’s a war hero of some sort. Serves her right to remain alone and unmatched if she shuns every male she ever sees.”
“Really, Mariana? Now whose manners are bad?” Isabella tossed her head. Restlessness demanded she be off. “I’m not convinced I’ll be alone, and even if I am, is that the worst thing that can happen to a lady?” When none of her family members had a ready answer, she continued. “I must run.” If she didn’t hurry, she’d miss him, and then she would have suffered this breakfast episode for naught.
“Wear a bonnet,” her mother called after her. “It won’t due for you to acquire freckles. What man will want a lady who has spots marring her proper English completion?”
Isabella said a few curse words in her mind. A man who doesn’t give a jot for gammon like that, that’s who. Truly, men of the ton who cared about such things needed avoiding at all costs.
Her gamble that the captain enjoyed riding on fine mornings was correct, for she met him where she had the day before. When he rode up from the opposite direction, she couldn’t help her grin, but she did question the sudden acceleration of her heartbeat.
“Good morning, Captain St. John.”
“Lady Isabella.” His expression turned to one of surprise. “What a coincidence—or not.” His grin held a tiny twist that sent a frisson of delight down her spine. “For I’ll wager this meeting is not fate.”
It was so refreshing to talk with a man of intelligence instead of dull small talk. “Indeed it is not.” She gave him a smile that had other men rushing to do her bidding. “I meant to catch you this morning.”
“Why?” His frown confused her as much as the wariness in his eyes.
Apparently, the smile didn’t work on him. “I enjoyed our conversation yesterday, and I wished for another.” Beyond that, she wanted another kiss to see if he’d be agreeable to her ultimate plan, one that wouldn’t leave her brain and kept bouncing about like an errant soap bubble.
He tightened his grip on the reins. Ares danced about in agitation or annoyance. It was difficult to tell with the equine. “You could have asked me to call.” His eyes narrowed. “Unless you’re ashamed to be seen with a war veteran with a slight limp.”
“No, not at all!” she rushed to assure him. Daring much, she crept closer and laid a hand upon his knee. Both the horse and the man flinched. “Having you call is too formal and I don’t want more questions from my family.” She moistened her lips, pleased when he followed the gesture with his gaze. “In all honesty, I’m not after a courtship, Captain.”
A flicker of something went through his stormy eyes, but it was gone before she could read it. “What is it, exactly, that you want of me?” Slight irritation lingered in his voice. What had happened in his life that he didn’t trust women, and why did she suddenly want to soothe those fears?
Ah, but it was too easy, and all too fun, to flirt with him. Isabella tipped her head and looked up at him, her heart giving a queer little start to see him so strong and manly upon the horse, his shoulders blocking the morning sun. “Take me riding and I might tell you.”
A slow grin curved his sensuous lips and sent a rush of tingles through her lower belly. “Very well.” He bent down and offered her a gloved hand. “Come aboard, my lady, but be advised. Next time, you might wish to bring an apple for Ares. He doesn’t understand why his runs are interrupted by impetuous females.”
“I’ll bear that in mind.” When she slipped her hand into his, he tugged her upward, and she quickly situated herself in front of him on the saddle. She cared not that her skirts hiked up or that her legs were on display. What were the proprieties to the taste of freedom? “Take me anywhere, Captain. I’m of a mind to ramble this morning.” When he settled his arms around her and manipulated the reins and they started into motion, Isabella couldn’t help a sigh of contentment. She adored the strength of him, how secure and protected she was within his arms, how he smelled, how his thighs framed hers and the heat he imparted.
Oh yes, he was the right choice for a summertime folly.
The next few minutes passed in comfortable silence, which surprised her. All the time she’d spent in the company of potential suitors, not once had she looked forward to merely being with any of those men in the quiet. It was… wonderful to know that there was no anxiety of having to force conversation.
Eventually, the rumble of his voice started in his chest before words broke into the air, and another tiny thrill moved up her spine. “I have told you of some of my past, at least my career in the navy. It is your turn, my lady, to exchange part of yours.”
“I somehow doubt that.” His chuckle released a host of butterflies in her belly. “A woman with such spirit has a past.”
Isabella warmed with pleasure. “Truly, there is nothing secret or even special about me.” She shrugged. “I am the youngest daughter of an earl. My family, while doting, is constantly pushing me to marry. While I have the prerequisite skills the ton favors, I don’t truly enjoy any of them. Somehow, all of that doesn’t make me feel… fulfilled.” Such an admission would surely show her in a horrid light.
He tapped the brim of her bonnet. “Could I cajole you into removing the headgear? It’s rather annoying and I’d prefer to see your face as I talk to you.” He chuckled again. “The suitors who fill your parlor have advantage, you see.”
“How so?” She raised a hand to the satin bow beneath her chin.
“Those men have the pleasure and opportunity to see your face. I look upon the back of your bonnet. How am I to charm you like that?”
“Is that something you wish to do, Captain?” she murmured but she tugged at the ribbon and the offending bonnet slipped from her head.
“That largely depends on whether you prefer your gentlemen polite or infuriating.”
Her hands shook as she tied the ribbons and then slipped the knotted loop over the pommel. “I will admit that a man who clashes verbally in conversation is much more interesting and stimulating than those who parrot back my viewpoints.”
“Ah, good.” His lips were near the shell of her ear, his breath warming her cheek. “Now, tell me something about you I don’t already know. Tell me why you’ve turned away a bevy of beaus and put yourself at odds with your family.”
She gave into a delicious shiver. “Many reasons, I suppose.” Not knowing what to do with her hands, she rested them on the pommel. “Marriage, and especially ton marriages, do not appeal to me, for I have seen too many unions without love. I want no part of such coldness.”
“Not all marriages are like that. My parents enjoy quite a splendid union.”
“Oh? Where do you hail from?”
“Kent. Maidstone to be precise. The sea isn’t far and my father often took me there when on fishing expeditions.”
“That was how you fell in love with the sea.”
“Yes.” He tightened his arms against her ribs. “And that, my dear, was a distraction, but we are not done with you.”
A genuine smile tugged at the corners of her lips. “You are too quick for your own good.”
“We shall see.” But he didn’t loosen his hold.
“In any event, there are other reasons I don’t wish to find myself married. I don’t wish to give up my freedom. Too many times men squelch ideas and opinions as well as the life a woman led before.” She stared at Ares’ ears, gave herself up to the gentle sway of the horse’s movements. “Barring that, the ceremony itself feels me with dread.”
“Why? Do you take issue with the church?”
“Not as a whole, but the thought of such fuss just to join with someone in the eyes of the law, the fact that people will gawk and stare and whisper sends me into a panic. And I know my mother will boss me and manage everything about a wedding without thought to what I want for that day.” She shuddered. “I do so hate being the center of attention.” Even now, thinking of such a thing sent cold chills down her spine.
“That I understand. A man doesn’t wish to incur the additional expense of having another suit made, when his thoughts are on other things.” The smile in his voice was unmistakable, and it brought out one of her own.
“My sisters will fuss at everything, or worse, give me unsolicited advice.” She shrugged. “Beyond that, I want control of my dowry, for I certainly don’t want it to line the coffers of a husband. I shall never see a farthing of it.”
“Now that sounds like something the ton would dictate,” he said with a chuckle.
“Yes, and it doesn’t make me best pleased.” Isabella twisted so she could see his face. Amusement twinkled in his storm-tossed eyes.
“What would you do with the coin?”
“Perhaps travel. But that wouldn’t be possible with a husband.”
This time the captain laughed outright. “Your logic is skewed. I’m quite certain there are men out there who wouldn’t mind being leg-shackled to you and who share your wont to see the world.”
“I’m not so sure.” Daring a little more, Isabella relaxed enough to rest her back against his chest. Oh, he felt so good! “I have friends who don’t enjoy the marital state. And even though my parents are happy, it wasn’t always like that. There were times when my sisters and I were young that my parents argued at night when we were supposed to sleep. Mother wanted him home more, but Parliament and duties to the title prevented that, and Papa wished for her support and understanding, but I suppose they both had dreams that weren’t met.”
“There is time enough for all of that,” he said in a quiet voice, his lips brushing the side of her neck, just beneath her ear. “Let’s focus on you. Do you not wish to work at a union?”
She snorted. “To my way of thinking, marriage to the right person should be effortless, like magic, and we both know that there is no such thing as magic in this world.”
“Oh, no? Look around you, my lady. The way the sun rises is magic. The wealth of colorful wildflowers through the meadows is magic. The gentle breeze on your face is magic. Life, Isabella, is quite magical. You only need to shift your focus to see it.”
A queer little quiver started in her belly and radiated between her thighs. Was it from hearing her name in his rich baritone or from his words themselves? “Regardless, if it smells like work, it is not worth it.”
“Everything worth having in this life takes persistence, dedication and work, my lady.”
Was it her imagination or did he actually press his lips to her skin in a fleeting kiss? Her mouth went dry. “Anything permanent, perhaps.”
When they reached the fork in the road, she urged him onward. “So then, marriage isn’t for you. There is no crime in that. What would you like from life instead?”
What indeed. Besides being left alone to discover what she wished to do, to be? “I want a scandal.”
His tiny intake of air betrayed his interest. “An affair?”
“A torrid one, in fact.” She turned and looked into his face. “A whole summer full of nothing but passion, freedom and sin.”
“Ah.” The captain tightened his arms around her and his knuckles brushed the underside of her breasts. “You wish to cause a sensation, a thrill, to know that you are still worthwhile, that you live even if your peers think you broken for not bowing to convention.”
“Perhaps.” She couldn’t think, could hardly breathe with him so close. What it would feel like to be in his embrace without the horse beneath them? “Beyond the scandal, I want to do something, just for me, to embark on adventure. England, I have found, is quite stifling to the soul.”
“Now that I understand all too well.” For long moments, they rode in silence.
“My family is hosting a Venetian breakfast in a couple of days. Will you attend?”
“I don’t pretend to know what that entails, but if it means I’ll find myself in your company for more time than it takes to ride about the countryside, then yes. I shall come.”
Isabella smiled. “Good.”
Another long stretch of silence fell over them, and once more she was struck by how content she was in that quiet.
“Ares needs a rest soon, and to partake in some water. I believe I saw a stream not far from here. Would you want to sit on the banks while the horse refreshes himself? I can promise you a tale or two from my naval career to pass the time.”
Her heartbea
t fluttered in a frantic rhythm. “That sounds rather nice. If I cannot have travels of my own, at least I can live them through you.”
But he’d said nothing of joining her in an affair. Should she broach the subject again or let fate take its course?
Chapter Nine
April 5, 1818
Isabella was unaccountably beset with nerves on the morning of the Venetian breakfast. How was she expected to concentrate on choosing a gown? Gentry and titled guests, as well as others in the vicinity were invited. But she cared for none of them. The only man she wished to see was the captain. Would he keep his word? Though she’d invited him, he didn’t seem the type of man to waste time at such affairs, especially this one that would go throughout the afternoon and into the evening.
Will he come merely to see me? Will he give me his answer regarding a possible affair, or should I ask him point blank?
“What is wrong with you, Izzy?” The strain in Louisa’s voice cut through her thoughts and brought her back to the present with a tug.
“Whatever do you mean?” Isabella held up a gown of rose satin shot with golden thread. Would this color set her apart from the rest of the women in attendance? She wanted to make it easy for the captain to find her.
“I’ve asked you a question twice, and you’ve ignored me both times.”
Finally, she glanced at her sister, who sat ensconced on a wing backed chair in the corner of Izzy’s bedroom, her legs tucked beneath her and her skirts draped becomingly as if she posed for a painter. “I’m sorry, Louisa. My mind is on other things, I suppose.” She smiled and handed Molly the gown with a shake of the head. “But you are glowing today, and look quite serene. Does that help?”
Louisa twisted the simple gold band on her left ring finger. She smiled. “Thank you. It’s been a good morning without sickness. And my husband arrives this afternoon.”
Lady Isabella's Splendid Folly: a Fortune's of Fate story (Fortunes of Fate Book 7) Page 9