Page 39 of A Duke in Her Fate
She heard the tension as he continued describing the vehicle. The description was very entertaining, especially as he made itto the driver’s bench, but there was that hard edge to it all that worried her. What was upsetting him?
Tentatively she reached out. It wasn’t like Lacey could see anything. Perhaps a touch would soothe the man. She inhaled and gently set a hand over his closest fist to offer her support.
And Ronan yanked himself free from her touch.
She pulled back as he glanced back at her for a second. Then he did it another time, longer, before clearing his throat.
When he spoke next, his tone was softer. “In all, it’s a fine carriage but surely needs improvements. I wouldn’t recommend it. Was that description to your satisfaction, my dear girl?”
“You know so much about carriages, Westvale, you could be a driver yourself! Or make them. Do you like carriages?” Lacey asked innocently.
“I merely believe in safe transportation.”
Isla wished she could silently communicate with her sister when the girl asked, “Why? Do they make you nervous? It’s all right to be afraid.”
“Thank you, Lacey, but I’m not afraid. Merely cautious. I know too well what can happen with a foolish driver or a fragile carriage.”
“Have you been in an accident before?”
“No. My sister was.” Ronan clearly avoided Isla’s gaze, his chin lifting in the other direction, as he hastily added, “What else shall I describe? This dying plum tree?”
Isla blinked in bewilderment. The duke had a sister? She didn’t know about that. There might have been mention of family. Except he didn’t have any, not really. As for siblings… He’d had someone, hadn’t he? Frustration swept through her. There wasn’t enough of his past that he had shared for her to remember anything.
Why didn’t he tell me? Is she all right? Every time I am with the duke, I swear there is so much more I need to know from him.
There was much for Isla to stew over. She couldn’t forget what he had said. The way his voice grew pained… It hurt. He said so little but the pain was there. She could feel it inside the carriage, within the thick walls and firm padding around them.
On the carriage ride went. Whatever was discussed next, Isla had a hard time focusing. Lacey laughed and Ronan talked.
And Isla thought. She wondered. She looked at the man she was going to marry, wondering what she had gotten herself into. How could she have known what would happen when she said his name in the gardens? It was supposed to be small and innocent white lie.
One little lie now has me preparing for a life with a fascinating man but a complete stranger. Will I ever really know him? Or am I supposed to prepare for a future where we never talk and never… No. No, he said he wished to talk. He will tell me. He must. I cannot live a life with a stranger for the rest of my days. Not for all the riches in the world.
“Isla? Isla!” Lacey reached out and tapped her hand.
Jumping in surprise, Isla looked about. “What? Did we return yet?”
“We’ve turned back toward your home,” Ronan replied to her, nodding slightly toward her window.
He was right. They had just turned back onto her street. “Ah. My apologies. I was wool-gathering, I suppose.”
“Never mind that. I want you to describe him for me. He can picture anything in the world but he merely calls himself tall,” Lacey explained and made a face.
“Is that it?” Isla said, pulling herself together with a smile and turning to him. “Tall?”
Ronan straightened up. His sober mood earlier had faded. “Aren’t I?”
“Of course you are; most people are taller than us,” she added pointedly. He made a dramatic roll of his eyes. “Very well, Lacey.Our dear duke is… he is very tall with fine shoulders. Broad, not at all like the dandies so popular in London. He cuts a fine figure in the best of fashions, but he doesn’t care for color much.”
“I don’t?”
“Muted colors,” she pointed out with a nod to his dark blues he had dressed in. “Always a fine white cravat, but everything else is always dark. It compliments your features, of course. He has brown hair that curls more with time. It reminds me of freshly turned dirt in a garden filled with promise and sunshine. His coat today compliments his blue eyes. They remind me more of the sun than the sky, I think,” she mused as she gazed at him. He looked back with open curiosity and said nought. “They are very sharp, his eyes, Lacey. I’ve never seen anything like it. He sees right to the heart of the matter.”
Lacey let out a soft, “Oh.” She paused with a proud grin. “What about his smile, Isla? He must smile often.”
“No, but that’s all right,” she said thoughtfully. “Every smile is a little surprise and you never know when you will receive such a thoughtful gift.”
Ronan blinked and tilted his head. “A good surprise?”
