Page 86 of My Duke, The Stranger
She laughed. “That is a good answer. Far too good.”
“You bring it out in me, that's why.”
It was the truth, too. Who Cassian might have been was not important. The memories that defined him held no relevance. The only reason he bothered to think about them at all was because they were the reason he had found Isolde.
She had seen him where nobody else had dared. She had known him as even he had not known himself. And she was the reason that he stood there right now, with the woman he loved, as happy as he had ever been, and happier than he ever thought was possible.
He owed her his life, and he would spend the rest of it making sure she knew as much.
“Shall we go inside?” he said as he held her face. “The rest of our lives start now, so we should start them together.”
She rested her hand on his. “I cannot wait.”
With that said, she took his hand and they walked back inside. Cassian did not know what would happen next. He could not see into the future, just as he struggled to see into his past. But whathe knew for certain was that, as long as Isolde was by his side, he would be happy.
Epilogue
“Amoment, Your Grace…” Mr. Pembroke stood in the doorway of the morning room. “If you do not mind?”
Isolde sat on a chair by the window. Sitting on the floor at her feet was Thomas with a book in hand; he was learning to read, and Isolde was determined that he do so before the Season ended.
“Mr. Pembroke!” Thomas beamed when he saw him. “Do you want to hear me read? I’m better than the last time, I swear.”
Mr. Pembroke chuckled. “Perhaps another time, Master Thomas. If it is quite fine, I would like a moment alone with your sister.”
Isolde frowned at the steward, a touch confused by how he was behaving. He seemed reserved, almost worried, and she could not imagine the reason.
“Later, Thomas,” she said to her brother. “Go and find Marianne. I think she is in the garden.”
Thomas sighed and slowly stood. “Later then. Mr. Pembroke, promise.”
Mr. Pembroke laughed. “I will find you as soon as I am done here.”
Thomas laughed as he ran from the room, and Isolde smiled as she watched him go. He had grown so quickly into his new life, and she loved the fact that he was still so young that a time would come when his old life was little more than a dull memory.
But not forgotten. Never forgotten…
Mr. Pembroke hovered by the doorway, seemingly far more unsure and cautious than usual. He had his head bowed too, as if he had done something wrong. Naturally, this worried Isolde no end.
“Is something the matter, Mr. Pembroke?” she said. “Please, do not linger. Whatever you have to say, I am sure it will not be that much of a worry.”
He exhaled, nodded, and walked into the room. But he stopped short of her, his head still bowed and his shoulders still withdrawn.
“There is something I have been meaning to speak to you about,” he began slowly and warily. “Something that, to be honest, I should have done weeks ago.”
“Oh?”
He clicked his tongue. “It concerns when we first met.” He looked at her quickly and then looked away. “It has sat with me now for some time, and I know I will not be happy with myself until I speak it and remove it from my conscience.”
“Please, whatever it is…” She laughed. “You know you can tell me anything.”
“I wish to apologize,” he said, which made Isolde lean back in surprise. “When we first met, and those first few days especially, I was not particularly kind to you. We might have landed upon a truce of sorts, but I did not trust you, and for too long I waited and watched, looking for the time when I might finally reveal who you were to His Grace so that he would remove you from his life.”
Isolde stared in shock, with no idea what to say.
She knew only too well what Mr. Pembroke referred to. Even after all this time, she could still remember the first time that they had spoken alone. She had lied to his face, while giving him no room to maneuver or to call her on such lies.
And while she had known afterwards that she needed to be cautious around him, she had never begrudged him of the fact. In her eyes, she was the one who should have been sorry, as she had put him in an impossible situation.
