The Baron's Halo (The Welwyn Marriage Wager Book 2) by Jenna Jaxon

Author:Jenna Jaxon [Jaxon, Jenna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, romance, Historical
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2023-09-07T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Carlisle, England

October 2

The cozy parlor in her Grandmother Devereaux’s manor house—the house Isabelle had been born and grew up in until she was ten years old—on the outskirts of Carlisle had always seemed a place of refuge during the years after her father died, when her mother moved them to London. She’d been allowed to visit once each year, until Mama married Ambrose. Since then, she’d thought about her grandmother’s house often, a refuge when things got truly bad at home. It certainly had proved a blessing now.

She and Grandmama sat before a warm fire taking tea and discussing everything but the most obvious questions—what had happened and what was she going to do now? Isabelle had turned up on the doorstep last evening, surprising her grandmother, who took the news that her granddaughter had jilted her fiancé and was here without clothes or money in her stride. Today Grandmama had the bedchambers searched for cast-off clothing, gathering a motley group of garments that would have to serve her granddaughter for the moment. Now, Isabelle feared, her grandmother would demand to be told what was going on. That story was going to be difficult for many reasons, not the least of which was that each time she thought about Sandy and the life they might have had, she tuned up to cry.

“Will Captain Grey acquire another ship and set sail once more?” Grandmama sipped her special blend of Oolong and Congou black tea with milk and plenty of sugar.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know, Grandmama. Once he appeared in London, I took care to stay as far away from him as possible.” Isabelle took a small sip of tea. Her stomach had been roiling ever since she ran from the duke’s townhouse. She’d scarcely eaten anything since she arrived in Carlisle, save tea and toast. “I can only pray he does, for Mama’s sake as well as mine. I will not return to London until he has gone.”

“I hope that is possible, my dear. You know you are welcome here as long as you live. Indeed, the property will come to you upon my death. But as you have not yet reached your majority, I cannot legally keep you from him, much as I would wish to.” She sniffed. “If only I possessed a weapon, I’d make certain the man could never lay a hand on you again.” Her grandmother was one of the only people Isabelle had confided in about her stepfather’s brutality. “I haven’t shot a gun in years, but I remember how to pull the trigger well enough.”

“I should be fine hidden here for a while. They do not know where I have gone, so they will not come looking for me. Especially not all the way up here. I’m praying night and day that he will simply ride his wave of notoriety until he can set sail again. Certainly it will be too much trouble to journey all the way up here just for me.” Unfortunately, she didn’t believe that in the least.

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