For a Lady's Lust: A Historical Regency Romance Book

by Lucy Langton

  Isaac took that feeling with him as he took his final steps on the duelling ground. He opened his eyes and thought that perhaps Stephen had chosen the pistols because he thought Isaac would have had less experience with them. Stephen probably thought that any prowess Isaac had when it came to weaponry would have been something typical that wealthy boys were taught to do, like fencing. However, Isaac was quite comfortable with guns, and so he felt that he would match, if not outdo, Stephen when it came to marksmanship.

  “Three ... two ...” Isaac heard the counter saying, and so he focused on the feeling of his father’s support and his brother’s encouragement. And then came, “One.”

  Isaac whirled around to face Stephen, and two gunshots went off. Isaac was hit immediately and went down. He could hear Louisa screaming as he felt the searing pain rushing through his arm, but all he cared about was if Stephen had been hit too.

  Thankfully, when he looked across the field, he saw he had indeed met his mark. Stephen may have had the upper hand on the speed of the draw, but it seemed Isaac had outdone him on aim: Isaac only suffered a flesh wound on his upper arm, whereas Stephen had been hit straight through the right shoulder. It was exactly the kind of hit he had wanted to give his enemy – he would surely survive, but it would be a long, painful recovery.

  “Isaac!” Louisa was suddenly at his side, trying desperately to see where he had been wounded.

  “I’m all right; I’m all right!” he reassured her, covering his wound with his hand so that she would not have to see the blood pouring out of it. “Just a flesh wound. Nothing more than a scratch.”

  Isaac was so relieved that the duel was over that he simply could not control the big, goofy grin that had taken over his face. Louisa continued looking concerned until she looked at his face, at which point she slowly began smiling. “A scratch, is it?” she asked coyly. “Could it be made less painful with a kiss?”

  Isaac barely had to nod, and Louisa pressed her lips firmly against him. After the shock that had come in the last three days, kissing her was like finding water amid a desert – the greatest relief. But then, Isaac remembered himself and gently pulled away from her. “There is one last thing I must tend to.”

  Louisa nodded encouragingly and assisted Isaac in getting up. They walked together over to where Stephen lay, writhing in pain and screaming in agony while being tended to by the doctor. “I’VE BEEN HIT! I’VE BEEN HIT. IT BURNS. I SHALL SURELY PERISH IF I AM NOT SAVED AT ONCE!” he was crying, and Isaac had to stifle his laughter.

  “Strandmere, do you yield?” Isaac asked him. Stephen stopped writhing instantly and stared up at his opponent.

  “Yield?!” he cried. “I shall never yield to a man like you, not while there is breath in my …”

  But the doctor had placed some liquid on Stephen’s wound to clean it, and his ‘heroic’ speech was interrupted by another scream of pain. His face was so contorted that Isaac did not even recognize him anymore. “FINE, FINE, I YIELD, I YIELD, JUST GET THIS MAN OFF OF ME!”

  The doctor looked back as Isaac and said dryly, “Do you require any attendance, sir? I believe you would be a far superior patient to this fellow.”

  “No, but thank you, Doctor,” Isaac replied politely. He moved closer to Stephen’s face, which was still contorted in pain, and he spat on him with all the rage he had left in him. That only made Stephen wail more, and that was the last that Louisa or Isaac saw of him for a very, very long time.

  The couple walked away from the wailing man arm in arm (well, Isaac’s one good arm, that was) towards Gregory, who looked like he could not have been prouder. As they walked, Louisa leaned into Isaac and said, “It feels rather cathartic enacting pain upon that man, doesn’t it? I felt so elated when I punched him this morning.”

  Isaac looked to the beautiful, delicate young woman hanging off his arm. “You ... you punched him?” he asked in disbelief.

  “Of course I did,” Louisa confirmed. “He was trying to threaten my family and you again, and so I …”

  But Louisa never got to finish her sentence, for Isaac pulled her in and kissed her once more. It was a blissful, relaxed kiss that made them both happier than they could have expressed in words, and neither of them cared when the group of guests who had gathered for the duel began murmuring displeasure about what they were witnessing.

  When Louisa finally pulled away, Isaac knew that he had to seize this moment to ask her something that he had wanted to for a very, very long time. “Louisa,” he whispered, his hands still cradling her face, “because this was supposed to be an engagement party, after all, what do you say to still becoming engaged?”

  Louisa furrowed her eyebrows. “Wh ... what?” she asked, utterly perplexed. “I ... I don’t ...”

  “To me,” Isaac finished, absolutely beaming. “I know that you still haven’t told me that you love me just yet, but I thought that maybe …”

  “YES!” Louisa screamed, wrapping her arms around Isaac’s midsection and squeezing him tightly. His arm screamed in pain, and when she heard his pained noise, she immediately released him. “Oh, oh, I’m so sorry! Yes, yes, I’ll marry you, and I love you more than anything in the world!”

  The couple laughed delightedly at the agreement and then kissed once more. This was almost too much for the collection of people who had assembled. They could not believe that in one day, they had got to witness a duel, a public display of affection, AND an engagement between the duke’s brother and the daughter of a disgraced family. If this weren’t enough to keep the gossip mill running for the next few months, nothing would.

  Finally, when they pulled apart, Isaac took Louisa’s hand and led her over to his brother. Gregory still looked quite pleased, but he stood with his arms crossed in front of his chest, which made Isaac nervous. He knew that marrying Louisa would cause a great scandal within the community, but the truth was, he did not care anymore. He would be a self-sufficient man soon, and if being with the woman he loved meant being out of society for the rest of his life, then so be it.

  “Gregory,” Isaac greeted him when he and Louisa came upon him. “I take it that you witness what just transpired?”

  Gregory gave his brother a slow, thoughtful nod. “I certainly did,” he said in a tone that irritatingly did not reveal how he felt about the development. Isaac looked to Louisa. Louisa looked to Isaac, and then they both looked to Gregory.

  “And ...?” Louisa asked hesitantly.

  Gregory gave the couple a dramatic pause and kept his face in a neutral position. Then finally, he said, “Miss Louisa, is your maid Sophie presently engaged to anyone else?”

  Louisa shook her head slowly. “No ... why do you ask?”

  The right corner of Gregory’s mouth turned upwards. “In that case, I am positively elated for both of you. I believe that your engagement shall distract Mother long enough so that I might have the chance to pursue Miss Flaherty in peace. And maybe, just maybe, the two of you will have caused such a scandal with your wedding that my marriage to a scullery maid won’t seem as surprising!”

  Both Louisa and Isaac’s eyes widened. “WHAT?!” Louisa cried delightedly. “You ... and Sophie ... that is something more than just ... desire?!”

  Gregory nodded. “Absolutely. I believe that in Miss Flaherty, I have found my kindred spirit. And I’m sure that the two of you understand well why I say that I will do everything in my power to ensure that we end up together.”

  Louisa rushed to Gregory and embraced him joyfully, and then returned to Isaac’s side. Isaac shook his brother’s hand heartily and then turned to his new fiancée and said, “I do believe this calls for a celebration at your home, away from all of these guests, does it not?”

  Louisa happily agreed, and so she, Gregory, and Isaac made their way to the Quinces’ carriage, and they chatted excitedly all the way to Louisa’s family home. Isaac could not believe the good luck that had befallen him today, and he could not wait a moment longer to begin his life together with Louisa.r />
  Chapter 21

  When the carriage came upon Louisa’s family home, her mother came running out to meet them. Louisa was surprised to see her mother in such a state, as there was no possible way that she could have known all that had happened this morning. But when she saw that her mother looked panicked as opposed to overjoyed, Louisa’s heart sank. She knew there had to be something wrong with her father.

  Louisa burst from the carriage and ran to her mother. “Papa?” she asked, and Martha silently nodded. The two women dashed inside the house, and Louisa flew into her parents’ room. However, when she saw her father, he was not even remotely in the state that she thought he would be. He was sitting up in bed, nicely dressed, with his hair combed and his beard shaved. He followed Louisa with his eyes when she appeared in front of him, and she came to sit right by him.

  “Papa,” she said quietly, “what has happened; what is the matter? Do you feel that you are going to have another attack? Shall I fetch Doctor Abbott?”

  Miraculously, Archie shook his head. Louisa jerked her head back in surprise, as he had not been able to do that since he had his fit. Then, to her further surprise ... he began speaking.

  “L ... Lu ... Lulu,” he stammered. His speech was halting and quiet, but it was undeniably his voice returning to him. Louisa looked back at her mother and saw that she had tears streaming down her face. She found herself crying too as she looked back at her father.

  “Yes, Papa, yes!” she encouraged him, taking his hand and kissing it. The ultimate surprise, however, came when Archie was able to squeeze her hand back. Louisa very nearly dropped it out of shock.

  “Abbott ... w ... working ...” Archie explained. “Bett ... er by the ... hour. Miss ... ed talk ... talking to ... you b ... both.”

  That did it for Louisa. She collapsed upon her father, breaking down in tears. She hugged him as tightly as she could, and when she felt his hand upon her back, trying to embrace her, it only made her cry harder.

  Eventually, Louisa was able to scrape herself up off of the bed for long enough to say, “I missed conversing with you too, Papa. I am so very glad that Doctor Abbott’s work is helping you, and we shall not stop until we get you back at full capacity!”

  Suddenly, Archie’s look turned sad. “May ... may never,” he reported, and Louisa quickly worked to undo what she had said.

  “Oh, no, no … I didn’t mean that we needed you back at full capacity,” she expressed, “for I am just glad to have you here with us, Papa. But ... perhaps the next thing that you might work towards with Dr Abbott is being able to walk me somewhere special.”

  Archie arched his eyebrow. “Sp ... ecial, where?” he asked.

  Louisa looked back at her mother and smiled at her. “Down the aisle,” she responded, and both of her parents gasped.

  “You’re getting married?!” Martha cried, rushing to her daughter. “To who, to who?”

  “You’re already quite well acquainted with him, Mama and Papa,” Louisa responded. She let the question hang in the air for a moment to add to the suspense, and then called, “Isaac! Could you please come in here?”

  When Isaac walked in (with his now well-bandaged arm), Martha looked like she was going to collapse from shock. Louisa looked to her father and saw his eyes welling up with tears. “Q ... Quince,” he said very clearly, and Isaac looked to him immediately. “Permission ... requested?”

  Isaac’s eyes widened. “I must apologize profusely, Mr Pelham,” Isaac said. “You are absolutely right; I did not seek your permission to marry Louisa before we became engaged ... might I ask for it retroactively?”

  Archie gave Isaac a hard stare, but then happily said, “The ... best man ... for my daughter. Wel ... come to the family.”

  Isaac laughed delightedly and shook Archie’s hand as best he could. “And to put your mind at ease,” Isaac said, “your family will be well taken care of. You can choose to stay in this home or move to a new one nearby, and you do not have to worry about your work at the bank, for our wealth is now your wealth.”

  The look of relief that came over Archie’s face was remarkable to see. Isaac thought for sure he was going to begin crying, but he composed himself and said, “Thank you ... stay. Close ... to Lulu.”

  Isaac looked to his fiancée, who was beaming from ear to ear. “I’m so glad that you chose that, Papa, for I am so relieved that you and Mama will not be far away,” Louisa said.

  “Oh this is wonderful, just wonderful,” Martha trilled, flitting about the room happily. “I cannot believe that all of this has come together in such a convenient and happy way! When can we begin planning the big day?”

  Louisa laughed, and the two women began talking about the wedding right away. Isaac glanced at Archie, who had a look of pure contentment on his face as he watched his daughter and his wife speak. When he saw Isaac looking at him, he beckoned for him to come closer, and when Isaac obeyed, he winked at him and whispered, “Knew it ... would a .. all work out, thanks to you.”

  It turned out that Archie was correct for several reasons. Isaac’s influence and wealth came in handy many times during the wedding planning process, including how his presence in a room would silence gossip and make dirty looks cease.

  Society, of course, was in an uproar over the duke’s brother marrying the daughter of the disgraced family who lived on the edge of town, and everyone who was anyone turned up their noses at the turn of events. Not a single one of them, however, turned down their invitation to the wedding, which did not surprise Isaac or Louisa. If society wanted something to talk about, then they had to make sure they were in attendance.

  Isaac did eventually have to inform his mother of their engagement, which he was incredibly anxious about doing, but Louisa coached him through it. When he finally admitted it to her at dinner one evening, she responded surprisingly well. Since meeting Louisa and seeing what a fine young woman she was, her opinion of her and the rest of her family had changed slightly.

  She was quite upset that her son would not be marrying any of the fine young ladies that she’d had lined up for him, but she was shockingly well prepared to deal with the gossip. The dowager duchess was a tough woman and was unafraid of what society had to say about her son and his new wife.

  The rest of Isaac’s family, however, (Gregory excluded, of course) was not nearly as understanding as the dowager duchess was. Isaac’s engagement caused quite an uproar in the family, but Isaac shouldered the responsibility of calming everyone down by himself. He was used to dealing with all of the eccentric members of his family, and because he was so naturally charming and amiable, he was able to negotiate some sort of peace within his family unit.

  Isaac knew that marrying Louisa meant that they would never properly be a part of society again, but to Isaac, that came as quite a relief. He had never been one for balls or intrigue, and he despised gossip above all. He was quite contented to resign himself to a quiet life with his new bride, and as long as he could practice law respectably, he did not care what others thought of him.

  And thankfully, Isaac was still accepted into the law community. This had a great deal to do with his brother’s influence, but Isaac preferred to think that it was because he was such a likeable young gentleman. But when Isaac found out all that Gregory had taken care of when Stephen was trying to end his good reputation (which was why he had been at Stephen’s estate the day of the duel), he decided to let Gregory take the credit where credit was due.

  Isaac and Louisa set their wedding day three weeks from the date of their engagement, and to say that those weeks were a whirlwind was an understatement. The dowager duchess controlled most of the planning, but Martha put her two cents in where she could, and Louisa was allowed to pick out one or two details that pleased her. Isaac was left out of the planning entirely, which suited him well, as he did not wish to get involved in such a stressful affair.