The next morning, Charles heard voices in the hallway, just as he had the evening before. What was happening this time? Was his uncle up to his tricks again? Were the maids laughing at his antics? Charles walked to the door and opened it to find his butler with his fist in the air, just ready to knock. The butler lowered his hand and waited.
Charles frowned. "Yes, Giles?"
"Your grace, there is a Mr. Havendash here to see you. About renovating the closet."
Charles tilted his head and then remembered. The closet had some water damage from a past heavy rain. He'd decided to enlarge the tiny space at the same time as having the repairs done. "Please show him in, Giles."
"Yes, your grace."
As Charles waited on the handyman to enter, his breath caught in his throat. The closet. The one in which he'd found Isabella just over two weeks ago. Had it been such a short time? He knew in his heart that since meeting Isabella, he'd never be the same.
****
Izzy rolled onto her side and groaned. Why did her head ache so badly? She rubbed her temples with her fingers, hoping to ease the pain with a small massage. A memory from the previous night teased at the edge of her mind. Why did it have something to do with Charles' uncle?
Sitting up with care, she leaned against the large headboard for support. She swallowed and wondered why her mouth and throat were so dry. What happened last night to make her—? Oh no, now she remembered. Sebastian had led her into the kitchen and told all the servants she was engaged to Charles. Then he offered her a drink of some sort. It must have been alcohol!
This was not good. She made it a habit to not drink for that reason. Her low tolerance level for anything alcoholic had gotten her into trouble more than once in college. Apparently swearing off the vile stuff hadn't stopped Uncle Sebastian from getting her to drink some, although she'd been unaware at the time what it was.
Had Charles seen her in that condition? She shuddered. Hopefully he'd stayed in his study where they'd had their talk. Where he'd scolded her. Oh yes, it was all coming back to her now. She'd pledged her love to the man and he'd turned her down flat. Well, she'd just see who got the last word. She wasn't planning on giving up without a fight.
After dressing with Sarah's help, Izzy marched down the stairs at a fast clip. Fueled by her renewed anger, she was determined to make Charles listen to her. She'd finally figured out she wanted to stay. It was what he'd said he wanted. Why was the stubborn man making things so hard when it seemed they both wanted the same thing?
Izzy stood outside the door to the den and was just about to knock when the door opened. A man she'd never seen before stood before her. He wasn't dressed like Charles, in expensive pants and a coat, but wore clothes that appeared a bit old and frayed. Who was he?
The man tipped his hat in her direction. "Begging your pardon, miss." He stepped around her into the hallway, and the butler showed him to the door. Izzy wasted no time heading into the den. She stood in front of the desk, waiting for Charles to look up. When he didn't, she crossed her arms and tapped her boot. Still nothing. Why was he pretending she wasn't there?
"Charles."
Without looking up, he pointed toward the couch. "Isabella, please have a seat."
Izzy frowned. He was doing it again! It was getting pretty tiresome having him boss her around and not letting her make her own decisions. She huffed out a breath, stomped to the couch, and plopped down. After she fidgeted with the lace around her neckline, she clenched her teeth together.
How long was she supposed to sit here waiting on the man to read? What could be so important he couldn't give her five minutes of his valuable time? Izzy crossed her arms and glared at the top of his head.
Just when she was ready to say something to get his attention again, he laid down the stack of papers he'd been reading. He stood and walked to the middle of the room and paced.
"Isabella, something has come to my attention that I think you ought to know."
She frowned and folded her hands in her lap. "All right. What is it?"
He angled his head in the direction of the closed door. "The man who just left? He's a handyman."
"Okay. So…" She made the continue motion with her hand, not even caring if he was familiar with the gesture or not.
"Mr. Havendash is going to do some renovations to the closet. He's scheduled to begin tomorrow morning."
Izzy shrugged. What did any of this have to do with her?
Charles stopped pacing and sat next to her on the couch. "Isabella, he's going to be making changes to the closet. The closet where I first found you."
"Oh? All right. But I still don't see—"