The Complicated Earl (22 page)

Isabelle raised an eyebrow at him, but did not answer. She had some sympathy with a usually active man being virtually tied to
a bed. She rang the bell and gave the maid her instructions.

Tom
had never taken his eyes off Isabelle and when she turned to face him again, he flushed a little before saying, “We should talk.”

“No
we should not, you need to rest. Close your eyes,” Isabelle commanded in reply. She sat on the chair and picked up a book. She opened it and looked down, she had no inclination for reading, but she did not want to tempt Tom into talking. She was afraid that if he taxed himself too soon, he would fall back into a fever. For once he would need to obey orders given to him, he was in no fit state to do otherwise and Isabelle was determined that he was going to work with her to ensure his condition improved.

A few moments passed and the
rhythm of Tom’s breathing grew steadier as he drifted off to sleep. Isabelle was relieved, she did not think she could go through a night of worry and fear like last night had been. She placed the book on the side table again and watched him sleeping. Although still very pale, he looked younger when he slept. She wondered what worries he had that troubled his mind while awake.

The thought of the
words he had spoken since waking brought home the situation that she was going to have to face, they did need to talk, but how could she possibly explain to him that she would gladly be his wife if she thought that he loved her, but that she could never be his wife any other way? She sighed to herself, it was going to be a difficult discussion.

*

Feeding Tom proved a trial for both of them. He hated being so reliant on someone else and Isabelle felt extreme discomfort at having to be so close to him, placing her arm behind his neck to raise his head, while he fed himself with his good hand. She tried to make light of it, Tom giving her plenty of ammunition as he moaned and grumbled through the whole meal. After he had eaten as much as he could face, the drafts taking away much of his appetite, Isabelle laid him back down, trying to plump his pillows before putting a little distance between them, feeling hot and bothered.

“It will get easier,” she reassured him, moving the b
owl to the chest of drawers that had become a substitute table.

“It
had better, or starving to death will become more appealing,” Tom muttered.

They were disturbed from any further discussion by Mary’s entrance. “You are looking far better than the last time I
stopped by,” she smiled at the patient. “Isabelle, James and Frank would like to speak to you in James’s study.”

Isabelle groaned, “I’m sorry Mary, I can’t leave the room at the moment.”

Mary looked at her cousin with some sympathy. “You may as well get it over with Isabelle. I will stay with his Lordship.”

Isabelle sighed, “O
h well, into battle I suppose.” She braced her shoulders and left the room.

“What does she mean
‘Into battle’?” Tom asked Mary.

“Do you remember what you said to James before he hit you?” Mary asked without any judgement in her voice, but resolving to be honest with the Earl.

“Yes, I behaved worse than I have ever behaved before,” Tom replied with some embarrassment.

“
That may be, but it means that James and Frank are going to be discussing with Isabelle how soon you can be married, although I have a feeling they will have an argument on their hands,” Mary said knowing her cousin too well.

“Why will she argue?”
Tom asked in surprise and not liking the feeling of Isabelle refusing to marry him.

“She has always said that she would only marry to a man she truly loved, which, if I am being honest I thought was going to be you. I thought you had both met
your ideal person in each other, but it did not develop as a true match does so I was obviously wrong.”

T
om looked uncomfortable, “How can she refuse to do as they demand especially after what I said? What will happen?”

“Oh she will refuse to do as they ask, I am sure of it. Her husband if she were ever to marry would no
t be able to dictate to her in such a way that she sees as unreasonable, so I doubt she will take such from her brothers, as much as she thinks of them. If she thought their argument was justified she would agree, but she will feel you have given them an excuse to force her into marriage, which ultimately solves the problem of her returning to Bath to live independently.”

“But if she refuses?” Tom
persisted.

“She has too much misplaced pride, she would
rather be known as a ruined woman than be forced into a marriage with a man who does not love her,” Mary replied simply. “You may not have set out to do so, but your actions have ensured she cannot return to the life she has known before. Beyond that I do not know what will happen, I cannot guess what the reaction of her brothers will be once they realise she will not be forced into a loveless marriage. I do not know what she is going to do, I am worried what damage her actions will cause.”

“Oh good
God, what have I done?” Tom moaned realising yet again that he had hurt Isabelle in the worst possible way.

*

Isabelle was having a tough time with her brothers. They had always protected and cosseted her as she grew. Frank had sometimes been over the top with his attempts at censure, but she had always had an ally in James, so Frank’s harsh words had always been bearable. This time was different. She had both brothers facing her as if she was facing a trial. They were almost barking questions at her and their air was at the very least cold.

“He said he compromised you, what did he mean?” James demanded.

Isabelle knew there was no point in trying to hide from what had happened. “We kissed twice.” She was not going to go into details about the level of intimacy that had occurred in the carriage.

“Where?”
James barked.

“Does it matter?” Isabelle answered wearily. She had not slept properly in two days and she felt that she wanted sleep, not an argument.

“Of course it matters!” James exploded.

“One was at the ball
of Mr Ollerton’s, his lips barely touched mine, if that’s any help and no-one saw us. The other was in the carriage on the journey to Scotland, again no-one saw us, and so I don’t know what all the fuss is about. Don’t try to tell me that either of you kissed only the girls you have married.”

James flushed deep red and a muscl
e started twitching in his neck. Isabelle grew a little more concerned, she had never seen him so angry. “What a man is allowed to do is totally different to what a woman is allowed to do, especially my sister.”

“Isn’t that a tad hypocritical?” Isabelle asked becoming annoyed.

“This is exactly what I have been talking about!” Frank interjected. “I told you years ago that you would suffer from letting her run wild and indulging her in her eccentric ways and this is what it comes to. She is nothing but a hoyden!”

“How dare you speak to me that way,” Isabelle ground out, turning on Frank. “You have been waiting for the slightest excuse to condemn me, haven’t you? What could I ha
ve possibly done to deserve such severe censure over the years?”

“You have made this family a laughing stock,” Frank snarled back at his sister.

“Frank, there is no need....” James tried to interject, but Isabelle and Frank had reached the end of a long and rocky road, both squaring up to each other and ignoring James.

“E
veryone is going to be even more shocked at your sister now Frank, turning down the proposal of the Earl of Standish!” Isabelle snapped.

“What?” Both brothers shouted in disbelief.

Isabelle did take some satisfaction in stopping their condemnation for a second or two while each tried to gather their thoughts. She needed time to catch her breath. “If you think you can force me into marriage, you are sadly mistaken. I am in control of my own life, an independent woman with my own fortune and I intend to exert that independence in this case. I will not be forced into marriage and nothing you say will change my mind!”

“He said that you lived as husband and wife for days!” Frank said between horror and disgust.

Isabelle laughed a bitter laugh. “Have you never said things that you did not mean when you were drunk?”

“He knew what he was saying Isabelle,” James said more reasonable than he had
been so far.

“Yes, he did,” Isabelle said with her lips setting into a thin line. “I should not need to explain myself to my brothers as they should know me enough to trust
my sense of propriety, but I see I was mistaken. We discussed as we travelled to Scotland what story we should give to the inns at which we stopped on the way. We decided that because it was the route to Gretna Green we had to be more careful in which story we chose in order for it to be more believable and so agreed that as we were probably older than many of the couples fleeing to the border, that to travel as a married couple, rather than brother and sister would cause less suspicion. We had separate rooms each night and nothing, and I repeat nothing happened in either of the rooms.” Please do not ask about the coach, Isabelle thought to herself.

“Wh
y would he say those things?” James asked trusting his sister enough to realise she was not lying to him.

“I don’t know, only he can answer
that. Maybe it was spite. We were arguing over the possibility of me marrying Mr Roberts,” Isabelle said.

“As if that is going to happen now!”
Frank exploded. “What sort of man is ever going to look at you now, no man with any decency.”

“
Thank you for that Frank. As I have no intention of marrying, although cutting, your comments won’t really impact on my life too much will they?” Isabelle smarted to hear Frank’s words. She had not expected him to be so hurtful and she did wonder why he seemed to be so angry with her.

“Enough Frank,” James said sharply. “We need to work out a way of Isabelle maintaining whatever is left of her reputation.”

“James, no-one has seen the kisses, so as wrong as they may have been there was no harm done and as to the argument with the Earl, none of your guests knew about it. Why all this fuss? Surely we can go on as we did before?” Isabelle tried to sound persuasive, but Frank was having none of it.

“We’ll kno
w,” he snapped. “We shall know that our sister was willing to flaunt herself at the Earl like some actress or showgirl.”

Isabelle acted quickly, sh
e crossed to Frank who was standing only a few steps away and slapped him across his face. “How dare you speak to me like that. If that is your true opinion of me I never want to see you again!” She turned and fled the room.

James turned
to Frank. “What in damnation was that about Frank?”

“She gets away with too much,” Frank muttered rubbing his cheek.

“Are you jealous of her?” His brother asked in disbelief.

“Don’t be
ridiculous!” Frank snapped, but he betrayed himself by flushing.

“You are
, aren’t you? What on earth could you be jealous of Isabelle for? The only thing she has got that you don’t have is a single lifestyle and it was your choice to marry so young, I advised you against it. It is unfair to condemn Isabelle for your foolishness. For God’s sake Frank, if you want some excitement, get a mistress!”

“I don’t want a mistress!” Frank snapped. “You never see Isabelle’s faults! You are always defending her!”

“Are you jealous of the relationship I have with Isabelle? Good God man, she was a child when our father died, what did you expect me to do, abandon her? Your jealousy is a nonsense and reflects badly on your character, not hers. If you don’t want a breach between us, you had better go and apologise to her.”

Frank left the room,
angry, but prepared to do what his brother asked. James was the head of the family and although Frank did not want to find Isabelle, he was prepared to do as James asked, but he could not find his sister. He eventually abandoned his search and sought out his wife instead. He knew he would receive sympathy from her, if not his brother. James had guessed correctly that it was jealousy that fuelled Frank’s condemnation, but he found that once he had started it was not so easy to stop. He did not know if Isabelle would forgive him, but he knew that James would force him to try.

Isabelle had taken refuge in one o
f the guest rooms. She had a suspicion that either Frank or James would follow her and she did not feel able to face them. She had thrown herself on the bed torn between anger and upset. She was so hurt at the way Frank had reacted. Never one of her supporters, she had not expected him to turn on her as if he positively disliked her.

Half an hour passed before she was calm enough to think rationally, she needed to return to the sick room
and check on Tom. She moved, looked at her pale face and red eyes in the looking glass, made a face at herself and left the room.

             
Isabelle entered the room quietly, Mary was still sitting in the chair reading. Tom’s eyes had opened as soon as the door knob turned. Isabelle took a breath before smiling at the pair.