Chapter 20
Isla was busy most of her time.
It was a lovely estate, there was no denying that. And the household, although small for a place of this size, was committed and friendly and endlessly curious about her.
She brought in flowers most days from the garden, just a few to brighten up the estate. Then she would enjoy rides after breaking her fast. By then, Oliver would be up and dressed, so she could give Anne some time to rest while she played with the lad.
“Careful!” She called, laughing when he scrambled backwards down the long stairs. Her hands held up the long skirts of her gown to follow after him. If she wasn’t making up a game for them, he was finding one as well. “Not too fast!”
“Fast! Fast! Fast!” He chanted.
It was impossible not to love the boy. Isla’s heart warmed whenever he smiled at her.
Which was often. He wanted for nothing, always desiring the simplest little things.
And the way he learned everything so quickly…
Isla tried to remember how she had helped raise Lacey.
Her sister was just as energetic as Oliver was.
Half the time, Isla felt she needed a break herself while with him.
“Your Grace?” Hobbes appeared at the bottom of the stairs, putting a hand on Oliver’s shoulder before the boy could run. “You’ll want to stay for this, lad. You’ve a treat in store.”
“Treats! I want treats.”
Lifting an eyebrow, Isla reached the bottom step. “And what sort of treat do we have in store for us?”
Hobbes glanced at her, then Oliver, then toward the side hall. “A most… interesting delivery. By the door. We can deliver it to the barn if you like.”
“The barn?” Isla wasn’t certain she understood. “You have me intrigued. Oliver, shall we go see?” She scooped up his hand before he could run off, keeping him from discovering what was going on before her.
The butler trailed behind them. Hobbes was a funny sort of fellow who amused her most of the time.
He had been here longer than most of the staff, she had learned.
He was also closer to Ronan than anyone else where.
On the occasion she could find her husband, Hobbes was the one person who she ever found in his presence.
But I won’t be jealous. Not of the butler. No, if Ronan wants to keep to himself, that is his decision. Only… a few meals a week shouldn’t be too much to task for. I don’t like feeling as though I’m sitting beside a stranger when we attend church.
All thoughts dissipated when she found a familiar basket sitting by the door. Her heart picked up.
“They didn’t,” she whispered.
Hobbes cleared his throat. “I believe they did?”
“Who?” Oliver asked.
“Stay here,” she instructed, leaving him a few feet away.
Getting down on her knees, she tugged a small card off the basket.
Only a few words were confirmed by her mother saying they had no use or time for a cat, no matter what Margaret and Lacey said.
It was, after all, Isla’s pet. “Very well, Mother. Hector, is that you, darling?”
A loud and rather upset meow escaped the basket. Oliver gasped and hurried forward. He leaned over her shoulder. She smelled the cinnamon from his morning pastry on his breath as she carefully unlatched the basket.
There he was in his fat orange glory. Hector gave a baleful meow before jumping free of the basket.
“Cat!” Oliver made a grab for him.
Isla wrapped her arms around him just in time, pulling him securely into her lap.
The cat remained free as he started to look around in disdain at what would be his new home.
“Careful, please,” Isla whispered to the boy.
“That is a cat, you’re very right. He’s not too happy right now, I’m afraid.
He came on a long journey to be here with us. ”
“He’s a sad kitty?”
“Yes, that’s right. This is a very strange place to him since he has never been here. Let’s give him some grace to explore, shall we? You can stay close, but don’t touch him until he comes to you,” Isla instructed him.
There was no pulling the lad away after that. Even when Anne came to collect him, Oliver couldn’t be bribed away from following Hector around on his hands and knees.
Three hours later, she was watching him watching Hector sleep in the window when Ronan came to her.
He glanced at the cat in mild surprise and then tilted his head toward Oliver. “What is he doing?
“Watching.”
“Very well.” He stood there for a moment and then said, “We have an appointment tomorrow afternoon. The Earl and Countess of Duneve live in the next township, and they have invited us to a garden party.”
“Oh?” Straightening, Isla looked up at him curiously. She wasn’t sure what he was thinking. Nor did she know what to think.
I thought I would be here forever. But perhaps there will be more friends. More people. Still… I can see there is something on his mind.
“It is a family affair,” Ronan admitted after a long pause. “I should like to bring Oliver. Introduce him.”
“Ah.” The story would come out. The plan, as he called it. Isla understood now. She forced a smile to hide the longstanding concern she had for the lie. “Very well. I suppose it is time. Will I need to explain anything?”
He shook his head. “Not at all. I’ll announce it upon our arrival. There shouldn’t be any questions. Yet,” Ronan added after a pause. “The surprise should keep them silent for a short while.”
That made her lips twitch into an almost smile. “I hope so.”
“Then you’ll attend?”
I didn’t think I had a choice. But I do appreciate it. I believe I like these social affairs. And attending alongside Ronan… I should hate to lose the opportunity to be on his arm.
A warm secret that she could never tell another soul, she reminded herself, and nodded. “Certainly. I will be looking forward to it.”
“Very good. Good night, Isla. Good night, Oliver.”
“Good night!”
She looked and found Oliver petting Hector. Her heart paused as she took a step forward, ready to separate them should they hurt each other. But she stopped when she realized she could hear her cat purring from across the room.
Then Isla turned toward the door to say farewell to Ronan, only to find he was already gone. She tried to tell herself that didn’t mean anything.
By the time the party came around, Isla hardly knew what to feel, let alone think. She felt tongue-tied and could hardly say a word on the carriage ride. Thankfully Anne was with them, and she distracted the boy while Isla sat beside Ronan in silence.
This was a deliberate gesture to introduce Oliver’s existence. Technically he had not been entirely hidden, but all had been kept quiet enough that no one really knew of him.
But there would be questions. Isla was sure of it. Someone would ask or say something. Even in the surprise of it all, they would whisper. What would she say? Her mind was a fuzzy mess as she took Ronan’s arm, walking with him through a lovely house to the back where the garden party was collected.
“What a delight to have you here,” the hostess was saying. Isla didn’t know if she said anything. She couldn’t keep track of her tongue. “An absolute treasure, your grace. To have you both in attendance is such luck. Oh! And what a handsome little boy you have here.”
Isla swallowed hard.
“Thank you,” Ronan said in a smooth tone. He had let go of her a moment ago, and now collected Oliver in his arms. The boy immediately hugged his neck. “This is Oliver. My nephew.”
She stared. Oliver twisted around to look at her and beamed.
“My goodness, I didn’t know. Did you have a brother?” The countess asked in amazement. “Or was it a sister? Your family has always been rather private, especially in the last couple of years.”
Sidling up beside her was the earl who wiggled his fingers at Oliver, who giggled. “Handsome lad. Is he yours, Your Grace?” He hadn’t heard.
“He is my nephew. My sister passed shortly after he was born, and I am his legal guardian. He’s my heir,” Ronan added before setting him down. “Greet them if you please, Oliver.”
The boy waved up at them with a shy smile. “Hello!”
“Oh, he melts the heart,” murmured the countess. She beamed at them before steering Anne and the boy toward a corner of the garden where other children had collected. Off they went like nothing out of the ordinary.
Then Ronan and the earl were talking. They knew each other somewhat, talking about water right and other business.
Isla stood there at her husband’s side, still in befuddled awe over what had just happened. She kept her spine straight and her hands neatly pressed together. All that was out of sync was the wild beating of her heart.
He did it. He told the truth. When was he planning on doing that? Why couldn’t he have told me? Or did I just imagine that? Blast it, I don’t understand what just happened.
“Your Grace!” The Countess of Duneve returned, taking her hand and leading her toward the ladies seated in the shade. “What a pleasure it is to officially make your acquaintance. I wish we had met in London, but my husband doesn’t care a whit for the city.
“Few do,” Isla murmured, trying to stay collected.
“I cannot say I’m not surprised over the match you’ve made. Westvale was quite a catch in his earlier years. Still extraordinarily handsome, but the younger ladies had since given on him. I can only imagine to what lengths you went through to get your hands on him,” the lady teased her lightly.
That made Isla blush. The woman was perhaps ten or fifteen years her senior, and her husband perhaps twenty. They seemed perfectly charming thus far. And yet Isla couldn’t help but feel awfully anxious over what had just happened. “I hardly did a thing.”
“Certainly not. How could he resist you? That’s surely the question. You’re quite lovely, I must say. And to take in such a lovely little boy. Oliver is his name, yes? He is so terribly charming! I must tell the ladies at once. They will all desire to meet him before the day is through.”
A few faces were familiar to Isla; she was introduced to those she didn’t know. Eight women filled the temporary tent while they braided ribbons and enjoyed chilled lemonade.
It wasn’t long before their hostess had told everyone about Oliver. The tension Isla had tried to ignore lessened when the ladies beamed and nodded in respect over her kindness about the matter. Soon, they were in the thick of conversation about families and fashion like all was well.
Eventually she climbed back into the carriage with Anne, Oliver, and Ronan once the party had ended.
“Did you enjoy yourself?” Ronan asked once they were driving down the lane.
Isla turned from looking out the window. She eyed Anne and Oliver, both of whom were fast asleep. She exhaled and collected her thoughts before turning to her husband.
“You shouldn’t have done that.”
He blinked and then frowned. “What the devil is that supposed to mean? I did as you wished.”
“You––well, yes,” she faltered, glancing over at the other bench when Oliver stirred. The boy wiggled further under Anne’s arm before sighing. “Yes, you did. But you could have warned me. I was caught by surprise.”
“Is that a bad thing? I thought women like surprises.”
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “I usually do, only this was unprecedented. Your plan changed. If your plan involves me in any capacity, I should like to be warned in advance. So if there are any other announcements…”
That garnered a short grunt. “Certainly not.”
“I would merely like to be informed so it is not a surprise to me as well. That is all,” she said as graciously as she could muster. The look he gave her was strange. Almost like he didn’t believe her. “I will stand by your side, Ronan. I agreed to that when I married you. I only wish…”
He leaned forward. His eyes were bright. How dashing he looked even after hours under the sun, she thought. And did his gaze drop down to her lips again or it was just her?
Running her tongue over her lips in case of any lingering crumbs, she felt a blush creep up her cheeks when he looked away.
“What is it you wish?” Ronan whispered.
For you.
The thought came unbidden, surprising Isla. She jolted back and bumped her shoulder into the frame. Ronan started as well. His hand reached out for her before he seemed to think better of it, and pulled back.
“Nothing,” Isla told him after a second. “Nothing. That is all. All is well.”
“Ah. All right. If you say so.”
She nodded. “Thank you, I do.”
“Very well. Good,” he added after an awkward second.
“Good.” And that was that. But Isla gently brushed her hand over her lips a moment later just in case.