Chapter 11
In a townhouse in London, it was much more difficult for someone to hide away. But out here in this country estate, where there were too many rooms and confusing halls, Isabel began to feel like she might never find her husband again.
“What if someone died in a different corner room?” She sighed to herself in her painting room. “It would take weeks to find them.”
“What dark thoughts you have whilst alone!” Mrs. Maple cried from the door way. Everyone always told Isabel to close the door for warmth, but she liked leaving it parted to hear footsteps in the house to know she wasn’t alone. But it also meant the housekeeper could hear her thoughts.
Flushing, Isabel put down her brush. “I didn’t mean to sound so cruel. I was only… Is something the matter?”
Mrs. Maple hesitated a second before stepping inside, bringing her a letter. “Not at all, or so I should like to believe. There is a missive for you. I’m afraid it was lost in the business of our guests the other day. I didn’t mean to, that is, er…”
The way she was fumbling about with her words was unlike the housekeeper. Seeing the way the woman’s eyes darted toward the missive she handed over said enough. “You read it?”
“I beg your pardon. A thousand apologies, Your Grace.”
Isabel decided to brush it off. She shook her head, and said, “Perhaps it couldn’t be helped. This wasn’t exactly sealed. How it survived… Oh. Ah.”
The folded letter was short and to the point. It only took a moment for Isabel to read and then to understand Mrs. Maple’s manners.
‘Dearest Belle, what an extraordinary adventure you have attended without me. I cannot bear it! My parents have offered the carriage for my journey. Worry not, friend, I am on my way to see you at once. Yours, Emilia.’
One more glance at the post script confirmed for Isabel that this correspondence had been sent several days past. Her friend could be arriving any day now!
Why is it everyone insists on visiting us without warming? Goodness!
“Very well.” Isabel turned to Mrs. Maple. “We’ll need to ready a guest room at once. Who knows when my friend will arrive.”
Once she had carefully put her paints away, Isabel hastened out of the room with the housekeeper while they strategized. She hoped she might have another day or two to be prepared, but one could never be certain. It could be that very day. Together, the two of them planned and made arrangements.
Afterward, Isabel attempted to return to her painting but couldn’t bear to sit still when she considered that her dearest friend in all the world was coming for a visit.
“It’s only fair, since Sebastian’s friends visited him. How inconvenient this must be, to be outside of London,” she muttered to herself.
She couldn’t find Sebastian so she penned her own missive to alert him that she had her own guest arriving soon. Only she didn’t know what to do with it.
Knocking on the door of his study, Isabel waited in the hopes he was there. Only no one responded. She knocked two more times until she was certain he wasn’t there. Braving a scolding, she decided entered.
“Oh.” It wasn’t the sort of study she had expected. The room was small and almost L-shaped with a fireplace in the corner. Her father had designed his study to be at least four times larger than this one here. But her father wasn’t half of Sebastian’s size.
How… cozy this room is. One doesn’t need to worry about size if one knows how to use it. I could enjoy several days alone in such a space. No wonder he likes it.
Small, to be sure, but warm. There was a small fire smoldering in the corner so he had been here at some point. She eyed the windows with the curtains thrown open for daylight. Shelves lined the walls across the room, filled with all sorts of books. She recognized several novels.
“You keep surprising me,” she murmured quietly to herself.
“Pardon?”
Isabel jumped and whirled around. “Oh! Sebastian. You startled me.”
He stood in the doorway with a raised eyebrow. “You’re the one creeping around my study.”
“I am hardly creeping! I am… studying,” she decided.
“The books?”
“No, you.” She lifted her chin proudly as confusion washed over him. It felt like a minor victory. Strolling forward, she offered the letter she was still holding onto that was meant for him. “I was bringing you a letter.”
Only more confused, he pinched the small paper between two fingers and then glanced back up at her. “Why didn’t you just tell me?”
“Because you have a knack for disappearing,” she told him honestly.
He pursed his lips and said nothing, only taking a step back. The movement caused a shift in the air and she smelled his cologne. It caught her breath. She swallowed hard.
“Is there anything else?” he asked at last.
There wasn’t a thought in her head. Isabel found herself nodding, grudgingly stepping out into the hall. She had been so poised, so ready for him a second ago. And then there he was, closing the door and leaving her alone.
She tapped her forehead. “Whatever are we doing?”
But it couldn’t be helped, it seemed. Isabel didn’t see him later that evening, nor the following morning. She sent out a groom to scout the area for a carriage and he returned before noon with the announcement someone would be there just in time for supper.
Isabel could hardly wait. She confirmed the preparations and then paced about the drawing room without needing a fire. Walking in excited circles was enough to keep her warm. And then when the carriage rolled up, she hurried out into the snowy weather without so much as a shawl.
“Emilia!”
A bundle of green cloth and red hair tumbled happily out of the carriage with wide arms. “Isabel!”
The two women met in the middle. They laughed, hugging each other tightly while dancing around in a merry circle. Emilia’s chin clacked against Isabel’s head due to their height difference but Isabel didn’t mind one bit. Chatter fell over each other and they erupted in giggles once more.
“I can hardly believe you’re here,” Isabel cried out. “Is it really you?”
“The one and only, my dear! And look at you. Oh, you look frozen. And what a grand house! I can hardly believe my eyes!”
“Come in, come in. You’ll love the gardens––”
Already Emilia was talking again. “Those stairs are slippery.”
“Be careful, then––”
“You won’t believe the storm I left behind me––”
“Are you hungry? We have the most delicious––”
“Starving, really, it was just like––”
They stopped in the doorway and burst out laughing. Warmth fluttered through the air and Isabel felt more at home than she had in a long while. She couldn’t resist hugging her friend again. A contented sigh escaped her while Emilia chuckled.
“I have missed you awfully. Why do we ever part ways?”
Isabel mirrored her friend’s pout. “That is a very good reason. You’ll stay forever, won’t you?”
“I am tempted,” Emilia responded with a teasing smile. “What a grand house! Oh, you must let me change out of this awful habit and then show me every room in this stunning house. Won’t you?”
“Only if you hurry.”
Time flew as Isabel settled her friend in the house. Everything felt a little brighter and a little warmer with Emilia there. That fiery red hair and cheery personality had always felt more healing than any cup of tea Isabel had enjoyed in all her life.
There was a house tour the first day, which took them hours. Emilia insisted on trying painting in Isabel’s room. A horrendous artist, the redhead could still make them laugh for hours. They laughed until they cried. Time didn’t exist until one of the footmen came for them.
“Oh, dear, what is the time?” Isabel inquired when she saw the young man peeking in the room. She waved him in, then glanced toward the dim light from the windows. “Is supper ready?”
Bowing, the footman murmured, “Yes, Your Grace, it is.”
“Thank you. We’ll be right there,” Isabel said while wiping her eyes.
Emilia was doing the same. “Good lord, my handkerchief is dripping wet. I haven’t laughed this much in ages. But I am starving. Do tell me the fare is decent here?”
“Of course it is decent. Delicious, even. Come with me to supper. We don’t need to change,” she added.
“Will your husband be in attendance? It has been ages since I was anywhere close to him.” Emilia paused. “He danced with me, you know. Three times when I had just come out.”
Isabel stopped. “I didn’t know that.”
Her friend linked their arms, leading them down the hall.
“I was going to write it in my letter and forgot. Who knew you would marry the Duke of Eastwynd? He is a very charming dancer. The man would attend the balls only to dance with the wallflowers, to talk to a friend or two, and then be on his way. I was a wallflower, remember?”
“Quite so, only you were too loud,” Isabel pointed out. “I never knew he used to do that. Why did he stop, do you know?”
“He didn’t stop. I did. Father made sure I always turned him down. He didn’t think it looked good with my prospects. Ridiculous because he knows I’m happy. I have a Scottish title and money to my name. I can do as I like now that I’m older and wiser.”
Emilia was a breath of fresh air that Isabel eagerly welcomed here. If only her friend was around more often. Emilia had never abandoned her through the family scandal, only she hadn’t always been able to be there in London with Isabel.
But this day alone made up for it, Isabel decided.
It was like no time had passed at all. They chattered away happily, talking about balls and Emilia’s busy family all the way to the dining room. Beside the open door stood Sebastian waiting for them.
Isabel flushed. “Good evening,” she told him. Swallowing her giggles, she hoped she looked somewhat presentable. And she rather hoped he liked Emilia. And she very much prayed Emilia liked Sebastian. “I’m glad you can join us for supper, Vale.”