Chapter 6
Six
Isabelle ripped the gold hair comb from the man’s hand. “I shall unhand you when you apologize for being a cad!”
Lord Townshend cleared his throat and reached for Isabelle. “My dear, you must unhand him. Surely it was not his intent to steal. The heat must be affecting your senses. You must have dropped the comb, and this gentleman was just trying to return it to you.”
“Do not touch me,” Isabelle said, her tone low as she looked up at Lord Townshend. “If you were a true gentleman, you would have seen this pickpocket and you would have defended me. You certainly would not have called into question my senses.”
The Duke stepped forward. “What is the problem here?”
“This man snatched the Dowager Duchess’ hair comb.”
The man broke free of her grasp and ripped the comb from her hand, taking off running down the path. Isabelle lifted her skirts and ran after him, her strides longer than his. She moved quickly, stopping just before him and sticking out her foot.
The ache that radiated through her ankle as he tripped over it was nothing compared to the pain the thief would feel as his face collided with the pathway.
He groaned with pain as his head bounced from the impact. When the comb fell from his fingertips, Isabelle swooped down and picked it up.
She dusted the specks of dirt off the comb, turning it this way and that beneath the sunlight.
Though she couldn’t see damage to the comb itself, it looked as if one of the small decorative stones set in a trio in the broad part of the comb was missing.
She glanced at the ground through squinted eyes.
The diamond was missing and would be nearly impossible to find between the flat stones that were pieced together to form the path.
When the man tried to stand, Isabelle pressed her foot into his hand, keeping him pinned to the ground as the Duke and Lord Townshend came running.
The Duke looked between her and the man. If she was not mistaken there was an impressed shine in his eyes. The corner of his mouth crooked as he looked at the man on the ground.
“Miss Alden, I do not believe that man would like a permanent impression of your foot on the back of his hand. Perhaps you might remove it now that I am here to deal with the matter.” The Duke struggled to keep his grin contained.
Isabelle sighed and stepped back, allowing the duke to pull the thief to his feet. “I cannot believe this man thought to attempt to steal the comb twice.”
Lord Townshend stepped between her and the man. “It was foolish of you to give chase, my dear. You must think of me and how it would upset me to see you injured.”
“From running?” Isabelle’s tone was colored with disbelief. “I shall not injure myself by running, Lord Townshend.”
He shook his head like she was too simple to understand what he had said to her. “Miss Alden, I must insist that you take a moment to sit in the shade. This has been far too exciting for a woman such as yourself.”
“I beg your pardon?” Isabelle’s mouth gaped open in disbelief at what she was hearing.
This man presumes to know me after little more than half an hour of walking and thinks that he can tell me what to do? Why does he speak to me as though he holds genuine affection for me?
Isabelle knew it was impossible. Lord Townshenddid not know her and suggesting that she take a seat in the shade only made his lack of knowledge more prominent.
“I will not be taking a seat in the shade,” she said, spitting out the words as if they were venom.
Lord Townshendsighed and shook his head. “I must insist. You will allow me to handle this matter. I will not have my fiancée engaged in such a public debacle.”
The Duke of Windham appeared beside him with the thief still in hand. “You have yet to make Miss Alden a proposal and even if you did, I would reject it before the words were out of your mouth.”
The lord sputtered, his hands fluttering at his sides. “You cannot be serious. Who else will wish to marry her after the display she has put on here?”
Isabelle wished that the ton considered it good manners to give this pompous man a piece of her mind. She ached to give him a verbal lashing that he would never forget. Yet, she had promised the duke that she would be on her best behavior, and she was a woman of her words.
Chasing down thieves excluded.
“Your Grace, you cannot possibly find her a suitor other than myself. There are none who will have her.” Lord Townshendgestured to the men and women who gathered to watch the spectacle.
They whispered behind their hands, and it felt as if all eyes were on Isabelle.
Though another woman would shy away, she stood taller despite the mortification that threatened to seize control of her body.
The Dowager Duchess strode over, pressing one hand to Isabelle’s shoulder. “You must go, sit in the shade and calm down. Now.”
Isabelle held out the comb to her. “I thought you would want this back. It seems I should not have bothered.”
“Miss Alden, do you not see how foolish it was to apprehend that man?” The dowager’s face drained of color. “You are a young woman, and you should not be running after a thief. It is not your place.”
Lord Townshendgave her the smallest of smiles. “As I have told her, Your Grace, it seems that Miss Alden is a little too sensitive to the excitement around her. I would hate to see her take ill from it.”
I shall see you take ill when I shove you into the lake.
At least I shall then be doing everyone a favor then by ceasing your endless drivel.
Instead of speaking her mind, Isabelle stepped back, away from the pair who would happily see her rot under a tree and behave as though she was nothing more than a delicate flower.
She sighed and looked at the dowager, torn between choosing this battle or allowing her anger to pass. Although it was uncommon for a woman to chase after a thief, the others had failed to notice him.
Isabelle stood straight, her hands clasped tightly in front of her.
“You should be thanking me for retrieving the comb instead of chastising me, Your Grace. I could have allowed the thief to escape, however I am aware of the importance of that comb, at least to some degree. You have worn it in your hair every afternoon since I arrived here. I could not allow someone to steal it from you.”
Lord Townshendrubbed the back of his neck. “I saw the thief, Miss Alden, but my concern was with protecting you.”
She turned on him, the control she had on her anger snapping like a dry twig. “I have heard quite enough, Lord Townshend. If the statement about being too frail to understand your business did not end any potential this union had, then your actions at this present moment most certainly have.”
His eyes widened and his mouth drew into a thin line. “You are making a spectacle of yourself.”
“I am an American in England. People have watched every step I have taken since setting foot in this country.” She tried to keep a tight hold on her tone, but she knew she spoke to the man as if he were nothing more than a simpleton. “I do not care if they stare now.”
The Dowager Duchess stepped closer to Isabelle. “You must think of what this will do to your marriage prospects and cease this behavior at once.”
Isabelle looked past her at the Duke. He appeared as if he was seconds away from bursting into laughter.
At least this amuses someone.
She supposed if she was going to make a fool of herself, she should do it in fine form.
“Lord Townshend, I must apologize, but you are the last person I would ever consider marrying. You have shown that you have no interest in me or in speaking with me, as though I am anything that may even resemble a distant cousin of an equal.”
The Duke barked out a short laugh before turning to an approaching officer with the thief still in hand.
“You are making a mistake. When word of this spreads through the ton, you will be incapable of securing a husband.” Lord Townshendstood stiffly, snuffing as he straightened his top hat.
Isabelle shrugged. “If it is a Herculean task to find a husband, then so be it.”
The lord stuck his nose in the air and spun on his heel, striding away from them without so much as a proper goodbye.
Isabelle bit back her smile as the Dowager Duchess leaned closer to her.
“Do you know what you have done here?” the Duchess asked, her tone low, preventing those who watched from overhearing the words exchanged. “I have never seen a woman behave in such a way in all my life.”
Tears pricked the corners of Isabelle’s eyes. The dowager was angry with her for doing what she only thought was right. None of the others in their party were paying attention to the man when he lingered at the edges of the path hidden slightly by the trees.
Isabelle herself had only seen the movement from the corner of her eye when the man sprung out and snatched the comb. If she had not, then the dowager would have lost something Isabelle suspected meant a great deal to her.
However, she had assumed wrong.
The dowager did not care about what Isabelle had done beyond how it would affect her chances on the marriage market.
She had been a fool to think that, after retrieving the comb, the dowager would finally take a small liking to her.
Isabelle felt more like a burden than ever.
“I do not care how you think I have behaved,” Isabelle said, holding her head high. She blinked away the tears that threatened to fall. “I have done what I thought was right. While you may not appreciate that, I will not apologize for it.”
Windham approached them as the thief was escorted away by an officer. “Surely there is no need for an argument, is there? It is such a beautiful day. We should spend it walking through the park before returning to the estate for supper.”
Isabelle shot him a dark look. “I shall return to the estate immediately. I can see that I have been nothing but an unwelcome complication in your lives.”
Before either of them had the chance to say more, Isabelle hiked her skirts and took off running through the park.
It might have been improper, but it was the only action she felt she could take that would ease some of the pain in her heart.
Perhaps if she ran for long enough, she might be able to escape both her past and her present.