The Complicated Earl (8 page)

Chapter 7

Tom and Sophie collected Isabelle, James and Mary in the Standish carriage to transport them to the evening’s gathering. Isabelle noticed with a smile that it was very comfortable; the padding on the seats was deeper than Isabelle had ever sat on. Coverings along the inside ensured there were very few ways the cold could seep into the carriage. James had really worried unnecessarily when he had been concerned with Sophie’s comfort during her journey down to Bath. She sat next to Sophie, who chatted about her dress. Isabelle had realised that Sophie always chose colours that emphasised the blue in her eyes. Sophie could not be considered vain, but she knew how to bring out the best in her features even more than they naturally stood out which was a fine talent in one so young. Obviously the Aunt that the Earl disapproved of had taught Sophie some useful tricks.

When they entered the
light of the large house at Weston, Isabelle was able to appreciate Sophie’s taste further. She was wearing a pale pink silk dress that seemed to float down to her paler pink shoes. Her hair was tied up tightly with ringlets falling at the side of her face and she had small pink flowers adorning her hair. She looked like a vision. Isabelle had dressed in a deep blue, with darker blue lace edging. She had been drawn to the striking colour as soon as she had seen it in the fabric shop and had immediately ordered a dress in it. Isabelle did not realise what a striking picture the two of them created as they entered the room, but the occupants certainly looked forward to a more enjoyable night than they had anticipated once Isabelle and Sophie arrived.

The
meal went as well as any of that type of gathering went. Sophie was placed next to James, which pleased both. Isabelle and Mary were separated and the Earl was seated away from either of them, so all three made conversation with their new acquaintances through the meal. The food was excellent from a host who liked the finer things in life and had become used to having them. He had consoled himself regarding his over-indulgence by removing from his previous home to live near to Bath, so that when his gout became excessively bad he could take the waters as often as he needed to try to combat the effects of rich food and wine. His Doctor had been sceptical, but with such a strong willed patient, had done what every good Doctor did to support his patient as far as he could until he was referred onto the local Doctor in Weston, who then had the unfortunate task of caring for a man who regularly overindulged and would not be convinced by any reason why he should not.

Isabelle did enjoy the meal and the company,
despite her earlier reservations. She was not one for small parties usually, but Mr Davies’s fondness for abrupt speech made her laugh throughout the evening. Afterwards everyone gathered in the larger drawing room. Isabelle and Sophie were asked to perform on the instrument that took up one corner. Isabelle chose to go first. She knew the limitations of her musical ability and expected that Sophie would be more accomplished, so felt it more appropriate for Sophie to entertain the party for the larger part of the evening.

Isabelle refused to sing. S
he was happy to play, but could not add a good singing voice to her accomplishments. She chose her music and sat down at the pianoforte. She soon lost herself in the music, enjoying playing. If her recital was not totally perfect, her attempts were good enough to give pleasure to most listeners. She smiled when the Earl approached the instrument and watched her as she played. His usual stern expression had softened and a slight smile played around his lips as she grinned at him whenever she made a mistake.

When she finally cou
ld be persuaded to play no more Sophie took her place. Isabelle had presumed correctly when she had guessed at Sophie’s ability; she could sing beautifully and play very well. “Your sister is very talented,” she said turning to the Earl sitting next to her as Sophie began her second song.

“One thing Aunt Louisa did that was right was to make sure Sophie applied herself. We are benefiting from many arguments
between the two I believe,” he smiled.

“You should be congratulate
d on your ability to keep her away from the Arnolds. She has hardly seen them since they arrived,” Isabelle remarked quietly.

“Yes and S
ophie has never complained once. I expected at least some argument from her, but she has not said a word about it,” Tom commented with some relief.

“Perhaps she spoke the truth when she told you they were no
t attached,” Isabelle offered hoping for her brother’s sake that it was so.

“I hope so,”
came the reply. They were forced to change the subject as James came to stand nearby to turn the pages for Sophie. Neither wanted James to realise they had doubts about Sophie’s affection towards him.

“So, have you planned an exquisite day for us tomorrow?” Isabelle asked in her usual teasing way
as Tom stayed close to her. “I only expect the best.”

“I would only offer the
best to such company,” Tom replied, equally as teasing. “I could not face the scolding from you if the day did not come up to standard!”

*

Thursday morning dawned cloudy but dry to all the party’s relief. Isabelle loved riding, but not when it was pouring with rain. She was looking forward to a long ride. She often felt penned in when the weather turned and she could not go out, so took every opportunity she could. Bath was located in such a position that although there were many buildings in the centre, within a few minutes of riding, the buildings could be left behind and the open countryside enjoyed. This had been one of the appealing features of the City when Isabelle had made her decision to move.

The horses were brought round in good time and Isabelle and James mounted as soon as the Earl and Sophie arrived. This time the Earl was leading the way and James joined him at the front. Isabelle followed closely with Sophie.

“Is Bath offering you enough excitement?” Isabelle asked as they skirted the edge of the City, their usual route out.

“Oh yes, I love it
,” Sophie said quickly. “It is even more fun now that Charlotte is here.”

“She seems a
pleasant girl. Are there just the three children?” Isabelle asked hoping to find out as much as she could about the family when Sophie had given her the opportunity with the turn of conversation.

“Yes, I pity Charlotte. S
he is such a lovely person, but has no fortune. I hate to see her upset when we talk about marriage. I have the fortune to be able to marry whom I wish, but she does not. I wish there was something I could do for her,” Sophie said absently chewing her lip.

“I
’m sure your friendship helps and when you marry you may have the opportunity to introduce her to eligible young men, who don’t need to consider a fortune when marrying,” Isabelle offered, liking Sophie even more for caring so much about her friend.

“How many men are there like that?” Sophie asked. “We both know that even when men don’t need to marry for mon
ey, they will usually choose to. It always seems to be the case that money chases money. Aunt Louisa constantly pointed out examples of such and she had every expectation of me marrying someone rich, even though I did not need to.”

Isabelle laughed, “Oh
Lady Sophie, what a jaundiced view you have my dear! There are always exceptions to the rule and I do believe that if we meet someone and fall in love the money side of things will work itself out naturally.”

“I’m not convinced,” Sophie muttered.

“What about Mr Arnold? He is attached?”

“U
m, no I don’t think so,” Sophie said looking away. “He is as restricted as Charlotte in his choice. He has to marry someone with money to help the rest of his family. As the eldest he has the responsibility of looking after his sisters prospects. He will only be able to do that if he secures a profitable marriage.”

“Do you never read novels
Lady Sophie? You don’t appear to be very romantic!”

Sophie laughed, “I am romantic I promise
, and according to my brother I read too many novels. But when these foolish rules of society prevent the lovely people I care about from doing what they want to, I get very angry.”

“I can
see that,” Isabelle said, looking at the flushed expression and flashing eyes with great amusement. She tried not to let Sophie see that she was amused and decided it was time to change the subject. “I would imagine James can be romantic.”

Soph
ie looked at her and blushed, “Yes he can. He is very thoughtful and considerate. You are lucky to have such a good brother.”

“I am,” Isabelle agreed, “B
ut don’t tell him or it will go straight to his head!”

They rode on for some time before the group re-arranged itself into the preferred method of tr
avel, with Isabelle and Tom at the front and James and Sophie travelling at a more sedate pace.

“You seemed to be having an in
-depth conversation with my sister,” Tom raised when they were in no danger of being overheard.

“Yes, it was interesting. She is very angry that her friend will be restricted on the choice of people she can marry because of her lack of fortun
e. She also mentioned that Mr Arnold has to marry a fortune in order to provide for his family,” Isabelle replied.

“As long as it is not my sister’s fortune he c
an marry whom he likes!” Tom exploded.

“Well she did not give any indication of partiality towards him, more anger because of Charlotte’s position, but
she would not let me see if she felt otherwise.  You should not condemn her for her feelings, it is unjust that a girl is penalised because she has no fortune,” Isabelle scolded.

“It works both ways as Sophie pointed out
with money chasing money. We both have experience of how unjust society can be,” Tom declared with a shrug.

”Have you never been tempted to marry?” Isabelle asked,
curiosity overcoming her feelings of the appropriateness of the question. She wanted to know more about his romances, but experienced a strange feeling of dread when she waited to see if he would admit to being in love.

“No, never.
I only had three criteria and they were she had to be indifferent to my title, indifferent to my fortune and a pleasure to be with. I’m still waiting to meet that person,” he replied with a half-smile. He could not tell Isabelle his real view of marriage, it would leave him too open, too vulnerable and he had spent his life disguising that vulnerability beneath his rakish behaviour.

Isabelle burst out laughing and it was a few minutes before she could control herself enough to speak.
“Only three criteria? There isn’t a woman in the world who would meet all that, I’m sorry to tell you, but as your friend I feel I must. You are going to end your life unmarried.”

Tom
smiled, “With women like you around to shred my every last piece of self-esteem, my response to that is, good!”

“I thought you would have been a hard man to please with all
your scowling and growling, but I didn’t think it would be an impossible task,” Isabelle giggled.

“Scowling and growling? My God, you have a low opini
on of me!” came the shocked voice.

“I like to think of it as a realistic opinion of you,” Isabelle teased.

“I don’t think I can take any more of this,” came the anguished cry from Tom. “Why was James blessed with such a sister? If he marries Sophie I will have you in my life forever!”

Tom
’s words caused Isabelle’s stomach to twist. For the first time she thought of him always being in her life as brother-in-law to James and the sensation was not pleasant. It would be like having a favourite toy and not being able to touch it. She had regulated her feelings because she had thought that the situation was temporary, but his words made her realise that it was going to be more difficult to be around Tom for a longer period of time. Her silence was noticed by Tom and he asked if he had upset her.

“No, not at all,” she smiled, regaining her composure. “Your words reminded me of James and Sophie
’s romance. Are you ever going to give them permission to marry?”

T
om looked at Isabelle in his usual appraising way. “I was going to speak to Sophie at some point over the weekend. I had decided that there was no use in prolonging withholding my approval any longer. You were right; James will make her a good husband. It is obvious that he dotes on her and I don’t see what it will achieve holding off anymore.”

“I don’t suppose this
ties in with you needing to go back to your estate does it, or even the sudden appearance of the Arnolds? Just an assumption on my part,” Isabelle said trying to look innocent and failing.

This time it was
Tom who howled with laughter. “Those reasons may have a little to do with it yes, but if I hadn’t already made a decision, I would not hurry it because I needed to return to Kent next week.”

“You don’t need to defend your actions to me,” Isabelle assured him. “I know you have your siste
r’s best interests at heart. So hopefully there will be an announcement next week? That is excellent, I would be more than happy to welcome Lady Sophie as my new sister.”