To Have and to Hold (26 page)

Dominic awoke
with a groan, feeling somewhat green around the gills.
 
Frowning with consternation it took him
several minutes before he realised that he was in one of the guest rooms.
 
It took him several minutes more to recognise
the guest room across the hall from the master suite.
 
It was as close to Isobel as he could get
without actually sleeping across the doorway or in the room with her!

“Oh God,”
Dominic murmured as his stomach roiled in protest against the volume of brandy
it had consumed the previous evening.
 
He, Peter, Edward and Sebastian had spent a lot of time, well into the
early hours of the morning, making plans and preparations for the upcoming
confrontation.
 
Although for the life of
him he couldn’t remember what they had agreed upon.
 

Sitting upon the
side of the bed Dominic briefly rested his head in his hands.
 
If the harsh sunlight pouring through the
windows was any indication it was well past noon.
 
Isobel would be furious with him.
 

Jaw clenched,
Dominic rose and pulled several times upon the bell pull summoning Travis, his
personal Butler before finally succumbing to the demands of his stomach behind
the retiring screen.

Nearly two hours
later he emerged from the master suite, fully dressed and feeling somewhat more
alive.
 
Having been obliquely informed by
Travis the staff had been looking after Isobel quite adequately, Dominic was
eager to see for himself that she was indeed well and not doing anything that
would inhibit her recovery.

Several long
minutes later he quietly entered the Library, a tender smile suffusing his
features as he spied her propped up against a mound of cushions, obviously
collected from around the house.
 
A tray
of tea pots and what appeared to be cake at her elbow, she was sound asleep.
 

God she was
beautiful Dominic thought as he studied her delicate features relaxed in
repose.
 
Even in slumber she was a
stunning sight to behold.
 
Her hair had
already grown long enough to form ringlets cascading around her delicately oval
face.
 
Pink rosebud lips were slightly
parted as her breath puffed out slowly as she slept.
 
Dominic knew the periwinkle blue eyes were
hidden behind her closed lids densely outlined by thick black lashes.
 
Fashionable or not, her slightly exotic
features were indeed a sight to behold.
 
He could only thank heaven that she was his.
 

Loathe
to wake
her, Dominic turned and quietly began to make his
way out of the room.
 
By the time he had
got to the door he changed his mind, instead deciding he would much prefer to
spend whatever time he could with her.
 
Choosing
himself a book from the vast array on offer, he quietly settled into a lushly
padded winged chair nearest to her and settled down to read.

Isobel woke
slowly feeling somewhat refreshed.
 
Although she had done very little physically since waking that morning
besides talk to various staff, she had fallen asleep within a few hours of
being downstairs.
 
Gradually, she became
aware of the presence of a dark figure seated beside her.
 
Without looking, she knew who it was.

“Good afternoon
Isobel,” Dominic murmured watching as her sleepiness evaporated to leave her
alert and very much awake.

“Good
afternoon,” Isobel murmured stifling a yawn as she shifted somewhat
stiffly.
 
“Have you been awake
long?”
 
She wondered why he hadn’t
bothered to wake her.

“Only for a
short while, I am afraid we imbibed rather more than we thought we would.”
 
Dominic smiled somewhat sheepishly.
 
Isobel fought the urge to crawl into his lap
and smother his face in kisses.
 
It took
everything within her to remain still and merely return his smile.

“Have you
eaten?”
 
Isobel looked questionably at
the bell pull.
 
Having spent the morning
in the Library she knew she only had to wait for several moments, and one of
the staff would be along anyway.
 
She
felt far too comfortable to get up anyway.

“I am alright
thank you. Manvers brought me a tray some time ago.
 
Have you been here long?”
 
Dominic murmured as he eyed the cake
hungrily.

“Can I ask you
something?”
 
Isobel murmured in reply as
she placed two slices of cake upon a plate and handed it to Dominic.
 
At his smile of thanks and brief nod, she
continued.
 
“Have you asked the staff to
keep an eye upon me?”

Dominic froze in
the act of putting a piece of cake into his mouth, a frown of consternation
upon his brow.
 
“No why?”
 
Being held mere inches from his nose the cake
smelt wonderful.
 
Unable to prevent
himself, Dominic took a bite and moaned softly when the sweet taste of honey
and cake exploded in his mouth.
 

“No reason,”
Isobel murmured as she settled back once again against the cushions not
believing him for a second.
 
So much for
honesty!
 
Although she had been pampered
beyond belief, she hadn’t managed to have the quiet morning reading as she had
wished.
 
Still, she was so comfortable,
and full from the delicious honey cake Mrs Potts had brought her, she couldn’t
find it within her to be annoyed.

Companionable
silence settled between them as Dominic settled back to enjoy his treat.
 
He finished the last bite with a sigh and
settled back to watch Isobel, who was looking out of the window.
 
His heart ached at the sight of her sitting
so gloriously within the soft halo of afternoon sunlight.

“How do you feel
today?”
 
Already he knew the answer.
 
Isobel’s alabaster cheeks were softly
coloured with a peach tinge, far healthier than he had ever seen them.
 
Gone was the haunted look from her eyes.
 

“I am much
better thank you.
 
All the staff have
been pampering me.
 
I fear I shall soon
have to take up some form of exercise else I shall turn into a dumpling!”
 
Isobel murmured as she glanced at the honey
cake still sitting beside her.
 

Dominic knew he
had to inform her of the decisions he, his brothers and Peter had made the
night before, however, given her clear contentment he found himself loathed to
bring tension and worry back upon her face.
 
Keeping conversation light and jovial, they chatted
companionably for some time before there was a soft
knock at the door, and a maid entered.

“Cook said to
ask if you would like some more tea ma’am,” the young maid asked with a small
smile of pride.
 
It was indeed an honour
to be sent up to tend to the new Lady of the house.
 
The staff below stairs were abuzz with how
gentle and kindly the Master’s new wife was and the maids had all been eager to
be the one allowed to check upon her.

“Not for the
moment thank you Maisie,” Isobel murmured after Dominic’s negative shake of his
head. She was so busy swinging her legs down and smoothing down her skirt, she
missed the smile of delight that suffused the young maid’s face that the Lady
had remembered her name, or the watchful Dominic taking in the scene
thoughtfully.
 

“I need to talk
to you about something.”
 
Isobel began
hesitantly unsure how to raise the question.

“Go ahead.”
 
Dominic propped his booted feet on the
windowsill next to Isobel’s hip effectually preventing her from leaving.

Isobel eyed his
feet warily.
 
“If a Magistrate broke the
law but for the right reasons, could he go to prison anyway?”

Dominic frowned
consideringly
for a moment.
 
Her features remained impassive, but he was certain she was tense as she
waited for his answer.

“Depends what
you mean by ‘for the right reasons’ Isobel.
 
Breaking the law is breaking the law, whoever does it.
 
But if however, there is reasonable
explanation and a good motive for doing so, then matters might be seen in a
more lenient light.
 
It depends what the
Magistrate has done.”

Silence settled
around them.
 
Isobel felt sure he could
hear her heart thumping.
 

“He helped tell
a lie.”
 
Isobel looked down at her hands
clasped tightly in her lap.
 

“He led us to
believe you were dead when he knew you were alive.”
 
Dominic added blandly unsurprised when she
didn’t argue.
 
“Did he arrange for the
death papers and the church entry to be forged?”
 
Isobel nodded silently.
  

“Someone needs
to meet with him.”
 
Dominic murmured
thoughtfully, somewhat relieved she had finally revealed the truth.
 
Ruefully he added, “It would have helped if
Rupert had met with this Magistrate Williams himself.”
 

“The fact he had
the necklace when he met you suggests they didn’t meet him, surely?”
 
Isobel asked hopefully, the thought of Rupert
and DeLisle being so close to finding her chilled her to the bone.

“Not
necessarily.”
 
Dominic shook his head
regretfully.
 
“The Magistrate took it
back from Peter when we met him.
 
Peter
didn’t think to ask for it back.”
 
He
could sense Isobel’s disquiet.
 
He was
reluctant to add that the Magistrate undoubtedly realised how devastated both
men were with her loss and took advantage of their distress to purloin the said
necklace to return to Isobel when the time was right.
 

“Thank
you.”
 
He added drawing her attention
towards him before adding softly.
 
“For
trusting me enough to take into your confidence about what really happened.”
 
He didn’t add ‘at last’, but the sentiment
hung in the air between them.

“He helped me
Dominic.
 
The only way he knew how.
 
He wanted me to stay with him and his family,
but I couldn’t take the risk that Rupert would appear.
 
He did assure me that he was going to make enquiries
of his own into Rupert and DeLisle’s activities.”
 
Isobel added noticing the deep smudges
beneath Dominic’s eyes.
 

“I can
understand why he felt the need to tell us you were dead, but he had
confirmation that Peter was your brother.
 
He discussed arranging for you to be interred in the crypt at
Willowbrook for God’s sake!
 
Why didn’t
he bring himself to tell us the bloody truth?”
 
Dominic’s temper surged at the remembered misery of those horrifying
days mired in grief.
 

“He probably
wasn’t sure.”
 
Isobel murmured, unsure
herself.

Dominic
huffed.
 
“But he told us you were dead
Isobel!”
 
His voice rose.
 
“Dead for God’s sake, we grieved for you!
  
For weeks, we believed you were gone,
brutally murdered.”
 
He ran an unsteady
hand through his hair in frustration at the unnecessary pain and suffering both
he and Peter had experienced. “He knew Peter was your brother.
 
He knew the lies that had been established,
so why didn’t he tell us the truth himself?”