“Does not want to? Nonsense!” Martin gasped, shaking his head. “Of course she is interested in speaking with you. Are you not, Amelia?”
Amelia raised her gaze to Edmund, her cheeks ablaze, her eyes gleaming with desperation. “It would be my honor to converse with you,” she said quietly, and not at all believably.
“You are uncomfortable,” Edmund whispered. “You do not have to do anything your brother commands. Eat your dinner in peace if that is your preference. I do not mind, either way.”
He realized his hypocrisy a moment later, remembering Isolde’s speech about duty and burdens. Had he ever paused to ask herif marriage was something she actually wanted for herself? Had he ever asked what sort of gentleman she would choose if she could?
She does have someone in mind,he recalled, his gaze darting to Isolde and Noah.
They were slightly turned in toward each other, as if they were in their own world, apart from the rest of the long, mahogany dinner table. Isolde was positively glowing with contentment, laughing and smiling and chattering at her leisure, all of it genuine, all of it brought out of her by Noah’s words and questions. And he looked just as enamored, like he already thought Isolde was the ‘ideal match’ he had spoken about.
It left an unpleasant, tight feeling in the pit of Edmund’s stomach. No one could look like they were falling in love with someone that quickly. Ithadto be a gentleman’s trick, to snare the interest of the most beautiful debutante of the Season.
“I like the theater more than I like the opera,” Noah was saying brightly. “Call me a philistine, but I find the opera too shrill and too bewildering. I realize there are many who cannot understand Shakespeare, but I feel the same way about the opera. If my Italian was better, perhaps I would feel differently, but my Italian is atrocious.”
“Were you a troublesome student in your youth?” Edmund heard himself saying, interrupting a conversation that had nothing to do with him. He could not stop it, like a madness had taken over his tongue.
Noah turned to look at Edmund in surprise, frowning a little. “Not at all, Your Grace. I was a very diligent student, for the most part, but there are disciplines in everyone’s life, I like to think, where there are greater struggles.” He flashed a sweet smile at Isolde. “Your sister, of course, is likely exempt from that.”
“She has no struggles whatsoever when it comes to education,” Isolde agreed, concentrating solely on him. “However, I would say that she has some difficulty withsocialeducation. She does not tolerate idle conversation well, she does not much like social occasions, and she gets too embarrassed when it comes to dancing. Oftentimes, I have heard her describe herself as having two left feet.”
“We all have our supposed flaws, Your Grace,” Noah said, returning his attention to Edmund with a peaceable smile. No hint of satisfaction or triumph to be seen. “Languages have always beenmydifficulty. No matter how hard I try, I cannot retain much. Italian and French, most of all.”
Isolde, however, did not hesitate to cast Edmund a triumphant smile. “Ihave never been much good at arithmetic. The numbers always… tumble together and confuse my mind. It caused my governesses no end of dismay, but I believe the heavens are fair—I dance fairly well, I sing favorably, I paint well, I speak well in company, but I cannot balance a ledger. My sister can do everything well, except for dancing and speaking in company.”
“We shall have to substantiate that after dinner,” Noah said, eyes twinkling. “A dance, perhaps, if you are agreeable?”
Isolde clasped a hand to her chest, the gesture twisting that unusual feeling in Edmund’s stomach for a second time. “If there is dancing to be had, Lord Mentrow, I would be delighted.”
“But if one has struggles with certain things, should one not apply themselves more determinedly until it is not a struggle any longer?” Edmund jumped in, drinking down what was left in his wine glass, while the servants began to move in to take away the soup bowls for the next course.
Noah raised a curious eyebrow. “I imagine there are many who would believe that, and I have the utmost respect for such people. To my shame, I choose to avoid what I find difficult.”
“And if you had a wife who enjoyed the opera,” Edmund pressed, “would you leave her to attend alone, or would you learn to favor it for her sake?”
Noah chuckled softly. “I have heard that love can make a gentleman relish anything. I hope that love for my wife, whoever she might be, would have the same transformative effect.”
“What ofyourdifficulties?” Isolde said suddenly, flashing a warning look at Edmund, as if to say,What are you doing?
In truth, he did not know what he was doing. He just kept talking, no longer in control of his voice.
“I have not thought about it much,” Edmund replied firmly. “I am not saying I do not have any weaknesses, but I would have to think about it first.”
Isolde nodded. “Then, perhaps you should do that while we wait for the next course.” Her eyes settled on Amelia. “Perhaps you might discuss that very subject with my dear friend, though I daresay Amelia does not have any flaws at all. Oh, Lord Mentrow, you have never heard anyone more accomplished on the pianoforte.”
“I am already in the midst of a conversation,” Edmund replied. “I have no need to divert my attention.”
Isolde’s gaze hardened, her hand curling around the stem of her wine glass. “It is polite to speak to whomever is seated beside you, Your Grace,” she said pointedly. “It isnotpolite to interrupt across the table.”
Her words were like a lantern being ignited in a darkened room, shining a glow upon Edmund’s inappropriate behavior. He sat back in his chair, a shiver of concern rippling down his spine. It was not like him at all to act so out of character, intervening where he had not been invited to speak, ignoring etiquette, shunning societal expectations.
He dipped his head. “Apologies. You are quite right, Lady Isolde. Having been your temporary guardian for a while, I overstepped. Please, continue as you were.”
“Temporary guardian?” Noah looked to Isolde for explanation.
She smiled back, though the expression was not as comfortable as it had been before. “My brother has gone to Bath to tend to some business, and as His Grace and my brother are dear friends, His Grace agreed to be my guardian until my brother’s return.”
“What a generous thing to do. I hope that, if I ever find myself in such a situation, that my own dear friends would not hesitate to take on such a role,” Noah said, not missing a moment to say the right thing and be every bit the perfect gentleman. What was worse, it did not seem to be fake.
