The Wrong Woman (Unexpected Love #1)

by Kimberly Truesdale

  Tell him? How could he put into words all that had passed this week? “I wanted to speak to her, of course. I went there with the intention of declaring how I felt about her. But when I entered the room, she treated me as if I were no more important to her than anyone else. I could barely look at her for fear of giving myself away. She would have seen what I felt for her... and... I believe she would have despised me for it.” It felt so silly when he said it all aloud. And so desperate.

  “How can you say that she would despise you?” Jack asked Miles. “She has been nothing but kind to us.”

  “I have been the cause of so much misery and pain for her...” Miles had stopped pacing. His shoulders sagged as he uttered the words.

  “And you somehow expect to cause her more misery by telling her that you love her?” Jack rolled his eyes.

  “I think it will cause her pain, yes.”

  “What?” His brother exclaimed loudly. “That is ridiculous.”

  “She is good and kind and loving. I think if I declared myself that she might feel obliged to accept me. I could not deal with that obligation.”

  “Yet you came to town for the Little Season to fulfill just such an obligation to marry someone. Do you say that you would have endured misery, then?”

  “I did not expect to love.”

  The brothers fell silent while both contemplated what Miles had said.

  “Jack, I was going to marry because it was expected of me. I never thought to love my wife.”

  “And now the idea scares you to death,” Jack shook his head.

  “Yes, in truth, it does. I do not wish to speak to her and oblige her to me if she does not love me.” Miles sat back in his chair with an air of defeat. He loved Isobel, but that love would surely turn sour if she married him because she felt that she had to. “I could not live like that.”

  “Thank God for Isobel. She has reminded you that you can feel something, hasn't she?”

  “Yes. Even when I have caused her such misery with my words and actions, she smiles at me and thanks me for helping her family. Oh God, Jack. I want her to love me. I want to know it. Then I can know what to do. But she did not show anything of her feelings today.” Miles dropped his head to his hands.

  Jack stared at him for a very long minute before saying, “It is a good thing I have this note from Cat, then.” Miles' head snapped up.

  “Note?”

  “Yes. Cat and I have been talking --”

  “Scoundrel,” Miles' mouth quirked into a half smile.

  “Scoundrel I may be, but I have vital information that may interest you.”

  “What?” Miles leaned forward in the chair.

  “No, I shall not tell you. You have firmly declared that you are unwilling to seize your own happiness in this matter. I feel I should respect your wishes.”

  “Dammit, Jack!” Miles lunged from the sofa, but Jack was quicker and kept the note out of his reach.

  “You are that determined?”

  “Yes!” he lunged again without any luck. “Please.”

  “Very well,” Jack laughed. “I will relieve you of your misery. Cat says that Isobel loves you, but she thinks you do not love her.”

  The air went out of his lungs. “Isobel loves me?” Miles could not believe it. “But... how?”

  “You will have to ask her about that. Cat suspected that Isobel liked you even before the ball.”

  “Even before...” The ball. He remembered the sight of Isobel at the top of the stairs in all her sensual beauty. He remembered the fall. And helping her to the room. And going to find her later. And the dance. And then the kiss...

  “Even before that, Cat was arranging things. She told me of an afternoon when she pretended to be ill just so that you and Isobel would spend time alone together.”

  “The scheming wench,” Miles laughed. Joy bubbled up from every part of him.

  “She is a clever girl. I do like her excessively,” Jack grinned.

  “And it seems that her scheming worked, doesn't it? I do believe it was that afternoon alone with Isobel that changed my mind about her.”

  “So, Miles, if she loves you – and I do not quite understand how she can – can you bear to deprive her of the happiness of your company for the rest of her life?”

  Miles grinned. “You tease me, Jack. But I see that you mean to make me follow my heart.”

  “Yes, it is good that you remember you have one. Wesley would have reminded you long ago.”

  Miles sobered at the mention of his brother. “He would have, yes.” Wesley would never have let him sacrifice himself for duty when he could do his duty and have his desire.

  “It is not so bad, then,” Jack said, “to do the unexpected, to follow what is in your heart.”

  “When did you become so wise, Jack?” Miles smiled at his brother.

  “I had some excellent teachers.” Jack grinned back at him. “So you will speak to her?”

  “Yes.” He checked the mantle clock. “It is too late to return today, but I will go tomorrow.”

  “Then by tomorrow evening, I expect to own the privilege of having a new sister to tease.”

  “I hope that you shall.”

  “Courage, brother! She loves you.”

  Miles could not keep the grin off his face.

  Chapter 29

  The next afternoon, Cat and Aunt Hetty joined Isobel in her room. They sat and talked quietly while Isobel dozed in and out of sleep.

  “I wonder if we shall have any visitors today,” Cat said as she pulled a strand of blue thread through the small piece of muslin she was working.

  “There is hardly anyone left in town,” Aunt Hetty answered, not looking up from her own sewing.

  “I know of at least one person...” Cat began in a sly voice.

  Isobel had closed her eyes to rest, but now opened one of them and looked toward her sister.

  “I know which one you are thinking of, sister, and you may stop it.”

  “But, Izzy!” Cat protested.

  “Stop. I beg of you.”

  “Aunt Hetty,” whined Cat, “tell Izzy she is being a fool to waste her own happiness on a mistaken idea.”

  “We cannot tell your sister anything, my dear,” Aunt Hetty said calmly. “She has made her own decisions, no matter how foolish we think they are. And besides, her happiness is hers to waste.” Cat giggled in delight at her aunt's speech.

  “Aunt, that was not very supportive of you,” Isobel said, her eyes closed in rest again.

  “I'm sorry, my dear. But I must say that I agree with Cat on this. If I had the chance at love, I believe I should seize it and never give it up.”

  Isobel sighed. “But if you knew the man you loved did not love you? Would that not change everything?”

  Cat howled in protest. “But, Izzy! What you say isn't true! I told you all about how Miles has acted.”

  “And I believe you've told me what you wanted to see. But I know that he does not love me.”

  “Yes, he does!” Cat nearly stood out of her chair in frustration.

  Isobel had no passion left to waste on the subject. She had spent all night thinking of the man, considering what Cat had told her and, more carefully still, considering Miles' own behavior toward her.

  Isobel watched Cat pout. She knew her younger sister still believed that the fairy tales they loved could come true for real people. But Isobel knew they did not. Real life stories did not have satisfying conclusions. They faded away.

  So Isobel had made an ending for herself. She had decided that she would move on with her life. Besides, she needed to concentrate on her own recovery. As she was discovering, it took a lot of time to learn how to use one's limbs again.

  Isobel closed her eyes and drifted into a half-sleep. She heard the quiet sounds of her sister and aunt in the room. She heard shuffling in the hallway as the servants moved back and forth. The pleasingly normal sounds of life soothed her.

  “Izzy,” a voice whispered. It wanted
to draw her out of the peaceful rest. But Isobel did not want to go. It was so blessedly quiet and restful where she was.

  “Izzy,” it repeated. She moaned in response, trying to get it to go away. But it was too late. Her mind was slowly being coaxed back into awareness. Cat was whispering her name, trying to get her to wake up. And Miles was standing opposite, watching Isobel.

  No, that couldn't be right. She must still be halfway between dreaming and waking. Isobel blinked her eyes a few times, trying to clear the unwanted image. She had already thought too much about that man. And now she was having visions of him.

  But the image would not leave her. No matter how many times she blinked, Miles still stood in front of her.

  “Izzy,” Cat whispered in her ear, “Miles is here.”

  Isobel looked into her sister's face. Surely Cat could not be dreaming along with her. That must mean that Miles really was in the room.

  “Miles! How are you?” Cat asked in an overly loud voice as she stood up from the bed, blessedly allowing Isobel to compose herself.

  “I am well, Cat. Thank you. And yourself?”

  “Very glad to see you.”

  Isobel cringed. Did Cat have to be so plain with him? It made them seem desperate. She wanted him to respect her. His pity and condescension was not what Isobel desired.

  “And now, I shall just pop out and get some tea things together, shall I?” The blasted girl did not wait for an answer before skittering out the door and slamming it closed behind her. Isobel looked to where Aunt Hetty had lately been and found only the remnants of her embroidery. When had she left? Isobel suspected a plot between them.

  But she had no time for worry. There was a very real man standing in front of her and he seemed to be waiting for something.

  “Lord Revere, won't you sit down?”

  A look of pain crossed his face. “I thought we had agreed on Christian names,” he said as he took a place in a chair across from her.

  “Of course,” Isobel swallowed her nerves and smiled. “And how have you been... Miles?” It was hard to say his name.

  “Fine... Isobel. Thank you.” Silence again. This was going to be a long afternoon. Isobel suspected that her sister would take her sweet time about getting the tea things.

  “And you? How are you this day?” He asked the question without looking at her.

  “A little stronger, thank you.”

  “I am very glad to hear it.” His brow creased in concern as he raised his eyes to hers. Her heart beat faster. It is nothing. I must be calm.

  After an interminable moment of tension, Miles spoke again. “I have news of Davenport.”

  “Yes?” Isobel looked up at him.

  “The man was sentenced this morning.”

  “To death?” Isobel was frightened.

  “No.” He leaned toward her.

  “He will not die?” Isobel searched Miles' face. He looked steadily back at her.

  “No, he will not.”

  “What? I am confused.”

  “Davenport will be transported to the Australian colony.”

  “But he will live?”

  “Yes. And transportation is not a bad thing. The man lost all of his money and would have had to leave the country to avoid his creditors. It is the kindest punishment for him. He will be able to work in the colonies, perhaps make some money for himself. And six years is not such a long time, after all.”

  Isobel was astonished at this news. “But I thought they were going to hang him.”

  “They were,” Miles spoke the words quietly and looked down at his lap.

  “Then...” It did not make sense. Why would the court change his sentence? “Oh,” it occurred to her what had happened. “Miles, you asked for mercy.” It was not a question.

  “You said you did not want him to die.” Miles shrugged but did not look at her.

  “You did that? Because I asked?” He nodded and her heart overflowed. “Thank you for being such a good friend.”

  Miles grunted and shook his head.

  “We are not friends?” Isobel quailed.

  “Isobel...” Miles looked at her sadly.

  “After all that has happened, I thought we might at least put down our old enmity. But if you do not want that...” Isobel looked at her hands, trying not to cry. The disappointment overwhelmed her. She had lost her chance with him. He did not want to be friends at all. It was one thing to convince yourself that a man did not love you. It was another thing entirely to hear him say it out loud.

  “Isobel.” Miles knelt by the bed. “Isobel... Have you not guessed why I am here today? Why I have been here all these days?”

  She turned her head away. She could not swallow the lump that had risen in her throat.

  Miles sighed and began to speak. “I have been coming to know myself, Isobel.” There was a long pause, but still she dared not look. This must be the moment when he crushed her hopes.

  He continued. “I have found that for many years I did not let any feeling in. It is not quite fashionable to have a heart, you know, to care about something… or someone. When my brother died, I did not want to care for anything anymore. For years I had forgotten about that part of me. Until...” His choked voice finally drew her eyes to him.

  “In these last weeks, Isobel, I have discovered something... someone... that has become very important to me.”

  “Oh?” She whispered.

  He paused for a long time before he said, “Isobel... you are my Medora.”

  He must have seen the confused look on her face. He reached up and took her face in his hands. “You are the woman I will always come back to. Once, you called me the Corsair. I have been so lost, like he was. And I did not know I wanted you until I thought you were lost to me.”

  Happy tears rolled down Isobel's cheeks. “But how could you feel this about me? I am nobody. I have no beauty or title or accomplishments. I am fat and old. I am everything that society does not want. I am everything that you should not want.”

  For a moment he did not speak. He grabbed her hands and kissed them tenderly. When he looked up at her, Isobel’s breath caught.

  “Shall I tell you of the first time you made my heart skip a beat?” He smiled when she nodded. “I watched you in front of a statue in the grand hall. A statue I'd seen a dozen times. A statue whose perfect limbs I'd admired, whose beauty could not be denied. But this time I did not want to look at her. I watched you as you admired her. I watched as your face changed in so many small ways. You made me laugh when I caught you touching her foot.”

  Isobel smiled through her tears. His words overwhelmed her.

  “I will always be sorry that I made you feel like you were not worth ten times every other woman in the town. It was only to make my stupid self feel better. But now I see the most beautiful, caring woman, who opened my heart again when I had thought it long closed. You reminded me of the man I want to be. It is I who cannot believe, would not dare to wish that you could care for me, a man who has injured you and could not protect you from harm.”

  Isobel could only stare at him. Her mind raced with the words he spoke.

  “Yesterday I wanted to speak to you, but my courage failed me. I thought that if Medora had a second chance at her life, as you have now, would she waste it on a no-good pirate who had deserted her?” He dropped his eyes to the bed, unable to look at her.

  Isobel reached up and nudged his chin until he looked at her.

  When he was looking into her eyes, with all of his uncertainty and vulnerability, she smiled.

  “Yes.”

  “What?” The word was strangled by the emotion in his throat.

  “Yes, Medora would spend her second chance on her no-good pirate.”

  “Why?” Now Miles could not believe it.

  “Because he came back. And because he spoke his heart.”

  Slowly, Miles leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. The kiss was tender with promises.

  “I love you, Isobel.”<
br />
  “And I love you, my pirate.” They kissed again with all the emotion in their hearts. “I think we are both imperfect souls that have managed to make it to the right person.”

  They laughed as he stifled her smile with another kiss.

  “Izzy!” shrieked a familiar voice.

  “Finally!” exclaimed Jack.

  Aunt Hetty only smiled.

  “So you've asked her then, Miles?” Jack asked excitedly.

  “What the devil are you doing here?” Miles asked sternly, but with a smile on his face. He still held Isobel in his arms.

  “I rushed over as soon as I got home and Watson said you'd come here. I wanted to see if you'd actually do it this time!”

  “Such faith in me, brother!”

  “Well, have you?” Jack prompted, a sly smile on his face.

  “Has he asked you, Izzy?” Cat's whole body vibrated with excitement.

  Isobel looked at Miles, who was smiling back at her.

  “Well, Medora, will you marry me?”

  Isobel looked around at the expectant faces before her. These dear friends only wanted her happiness. She turned back to Miles.

  “I think that I will.”

  Their lips met again in a happy kiss as the three spectators struck up a round of applause.

  Through their delighted whoops, Aunt Hetty declared, “At last! I knew my Isobel was the right woman.”

  Acknowledgments

  First of all, thank you to the readers who have been patiently waiting for something new. When I wrote My Dear Sophy last year, I had no idea anyone would read it. I have been overwhelmed with the love and support you all have shown. I hope that you like this new book.

  As always, I cannot offer enough thanks to my incredible beta readers who dealt patiently with multiple drafts of this story and made each one better than the last. Thank you to Jessica Grey, Katie Conner Bennett, Devon Roll, and Nancy Kelley.

  And of course, I must thank my family for their constant support, in this endeavor and all others.

  About the Author

  Kimberly Truesdale is a writing and literature teacher who has a line from The Great Gatsby tattooed on her arm and has worn out at least five copies of Anne of Green Gables. In July of 2012, Kimberly published her first Austenesque novel, My Dear Sophy, about how the Admiral and Mrs. Croft from Jane Austen’s Persuasion first meet.