Page 95 of A Duke in Her Fate
Her maid hesitated for a minute, clearly uncomfortable in the small room where Isla resided with her two sisters, and then nodded. “Very well, I’ll be in the kitchens if you need me.”
I won’t need you and I still need to find a way to make you leave. I cannot possibly bring you with me. It wouldn’t be fair. Perhaps Margaret could use a maid.
The door closed behind Isla.
Finally, she was alone. She didn’t know how much of that she would enjoy in the future. Her arms crossed her chest as she held back a shudder. The future grew dimmer every day now. She couldn’t bear the thought of what was coming next. After all she had done to avoid Lord Dunn…
“It’s too late,” she told the empty room. “What’s done is done. It is for the best.”
Already she had sent out the missive. Tomorrow morning, she would be prepared to make her arrangements with Lord Dunn.
It had taken her an hour to write the note, her hands shaking so terribly. But she couldn’t put it off. Already she dreaded every time she heard a knock at the door, fearing he was coming here to fetch her himself.
I don’t have a choice. I am doing this to protect my family. Especially Margaret. She deserves a proper match. A happy match.
On the bed before sat another folded letter. It had come yesterday for her, never opened until that morning when Lacey delivered it to her on the window seat in the library. The short message a clear threat.
The response is sent. My belongings are nearly packed. Now I simply have to be prepared to say farewell. I don’t know if I’ll be able to see them again. So much hangs in the balance… Can I do enough to protect everyone?
A lump sat in her throat. She wrapped her arms more tightly around herself for protection and security. All she could think about were those few occasions of feeling Ronan wrapping his arms around her. Never had she felt so warm, so secure.
The door behind her opened.
Wiping her face, Isla stayed back. “Not now, if you please. I’m nearly done packing, and I’d like to finish it myself.”
“It seems you are doing an awful lot of packing lately.”
She froze. Everything within her stilled as she tried to comprehend this. But it wasn’t possible. Was it? Ronan’s voice… Eyes were on the back of her head. She could feel them. Could she smell apples? Maybe she was losing her mind.
A moment was needed for her to compose herself. She clearly hadn’t scared him away. What more could she say to convince him to leave her be? How could she protect him?
Isla braced herself to face Ronan. She turned, shoulders back and chin high.
Except then she saw him. Rumpled clothing with his cravat loose around his neck. Bright eyes studying her carefully. Those fine lips in a flat line like he was waiting for her to say something.
Her breath caught. She stumbled back, hitting her heel against the bedpost. Though her hands came up to cover her face, she forced herself to drop them. She had to maintain her composure. She couldn’t fall apart.
Still, her voice shook as she said, “You shouldn’t be here.”
“Neither should you.”
“Leave. Please.” She cleared her throat. “You have no right to… to…”
Ronan was striding to her, hovering just an inch away. She craned her neck up to look at him. She blinked. “I have every right to be with my wife, especially when she thinks she’s leaving me for someone like Lord Dunn.”
She flinched. “What? What are you talking about?”
“You would deny it?”
“I…” Overwhelmed by his presence, Isla struggled to put distance between them. She couldn’t think straight. Memories flooded back to her of their time together. Of the way he smelled and smiled and touched her. The way he carried her about the dance floor. “I don’t know…”
“Isla.”
The gentle tone he used for her name, a single word that broke her open. Isla’s legs grew weak as she leaned against the bed. Her breath caught in a wobble while her eyes watered, the room spinning.
“I’m sorry,” Isla choked out in a hiccup. “I can’t. I have to. I… I never stopped caring. I didn’t mean a word I said. You must know… But I can’t. I cannot let him destroy my sister. My family.”
He had started toward her but paused. “What about me?”
