She tried hard not to sigh in frustration at the strange silence that had settled over the men. Why weren’t they leaping up and making plans?
“But he could have easily thrown it into the fire, especially knowing that you are now married to Dominic,” Peter reasoned, hating to be the one to dampen her joy with logic.
Isobel huffed a put-upon sigh at their hesitancy. “Rupert would no doubt want to use it to argue that I was already betrothed to DeLisle when I married Dominic. The signed document could give them sufficient grounds for argument in the hope of receiving payment in lieu of a failed contract.”
Dominic swore roundly. “The document must be at Rupert’s house across town.”
Isobel beamed proudly at him, delighted that he had followed her train of thought and understood.
“I’ll go,” Peter said softly, relishing the challenge of getting Rupert to confess all.
r /> “No, I will,” Dominic replied, his voice harsh and determined. He didn’t need to add that he hoped that Rupert would be in residence at the time.
CHAPTER TWELVE
The huge grandfather clock chimed midnight when Isobel glided silently down the stairs. She paused briefly to allow her eyes to adjust to the gloom of the cavernous hallway and moved slowly toward the faint flicker of light visible under the library door.
From the doorway, she watched the imposing figure of her husband who was dressed entirely in black, strapping his sword around his waist. She slowly entered the room and studied his the change in his face. All trace of softness had been replaced with a battle-hard determination that made his eyes hard, and dangerous. The flickering of the candle giving his face a shadowed glow that turned him into a menacing stranger who was so unfamiliar to her that she shivered.
She knew that conflict loomed, and felt a flicker of concern in her belly as she studied the battle-ready warrior before her. She had to sternly remind herself that he was still her husband and as such, could never be a stranger to her.
Slowly gliding across the room, Isobel paused a few feet from him and watched as he became aware of her. He gaze was hard and unrelenting as he turned toward her.
“You are not coming,” he growled. The fierce scowl on his face deepened as he studied her appearance. Usually the sight of his wife’s long and very shapely legs encased in a pair of loving breeches would turn him on, but not tonight, not when so much was at stake.
“Stop me” Isobel challenged, tossing her head back defiantly. On this she would not be swayed. Her eyes met and held his in defiance as she waited.
Dominic cursed fluidly, and wondered if he should just strap her to a chair and be done with it.
“I am coming with you,” Isobel’s voice was firm, daring him to argue. Dressed as she was, in men’s clothing, it was easy to appreciate how she had managed to stay out of Rupert’s clutches for so long. Still, Dominic knew that this was Isobel, his wife, and there was no way she was leaving the house tonight.
“You are staying. Tonight is going to be risky enough without me having to waste precious time looking after you.”
Isobel’s temper rose. “You don’t have to look after me! I am perfectly capable of looking after myself,” she argued, her tone waspish. She didn’t have the time to utter a squeak before the looming presence of her husband towered over her.
His nose practically pushed against hers as he growled. “You are staying here. Try and leave, and I will tie you down.”
Isobel refused to back down and defiantly tossing back her shoulders, stared him straight in the eye. “Try it, and you will never sleep in my bed again.”
Dominic scowled, and his temper rose.
“I mean it” Isobel bit out. “I know what that document looks like, and will be able to help you search. We will be out of there in half the time.”
“Can I remind you what happened the last time I encountered Rupert’s associates?” Dominic turned away to don his black jacket, effectively ending the conversation. He pocketed his blade, leaving Isobel very aware that as far as he was concerned, she was staying.
Isobel stood her ground, determined not to be dismissed so easily. She fought the urge to smack him on the back of his head, if only to snap him out of his supreme arrogance. Warrior or not, she would not remain at home like a useless female, not when so much was at stake. She had to be with him. Whatever her own personal fears, she could not remain behind. With Sebastian in London, and Peter in Derby trying to find Jemima, it left Isobel to remain at Havistock Hall with Edward. Despite the midnight hour, she couldn’t sit at home and simply wait, not after the last time she had waited for him.
“You have a choice,” Isobel stated, moving towards the door and carefully ignoring the dark glare he shot at her.
“Just one?” Dominic growled sarcastically, wondering if there was any rope in the house he could use.
“You could either come with me, or I can go alone, but either way, if you want our marriage to succeed and be a happy one, you need to let me go to Rupert’s. Tie me to a chair or block me from going, and we will never sleep together again. Setting up your nursery will be a distant memory.” Her voice was conversational, but her eyes held a coldness that chilled Dominic to the bone. There was a fierce determination in her that he had never seen before; a warrior-like stare that he had only ever seen in men about to go into battle. Suddenly he understood just how strong and determined Isobel was, and how she had come to survive life on the streets. The soldier within him identified his mate and answered her call.
Shaking his head at his own stupidity, Dominic sighed deeply and cursed his folly as he strode across the room.
The sharp point of a dagger appeared inches from her nose. Isobel arched her brows, refusing to allow him to unnerve her. “If anything untoward happens, you use this and head for home. Don’t stop and ask questions; don’t pause to check I am behind you; just get back here as fast as your legs can carry you. Understand?”
Isobel nodded, taking the cool metal and wood of the handle in her fingers before pocketing it carefully. Although she balked at the thought of using it; the mental image of Dominic’s battered body lying on the cool marble floor of the hallway sprang forth in her mind and gave her the cool determination to carry out the search tonight with Dominic, regardless of the risks involved. If it came right down to it, Isobel had no doubt she could use it, if it meant that not doing so put not only herself, but Dominic in danger.