A Spinster for the Earl: A Steamy Historical Regency Romance Novel (The Hale Sisters Book 3)

“What a wonderful afternoon,” Lady Stratham sang, reaching out and giving Arabella an affectionate squeeze of the hand.

Arabella smiled.

“It was lovely,” Kitty said, staring into her empty teacup. “Thank you.”

Isaac could tell there was something on her mind. The Kitty that he knew would have been talking about the excitement of the races the entire tea, but she had only brought it up once. He worried that she was upset that he hadn’t sat beside her yesterday. He had thought he’d done the right thing, but perhaps she didn’t like Adam as much as he had thought.

“Lord Ramsbury,” Arabella said, “you should take Miss Barrington for a short promenade around the lawn here. It will give me and my old friend a moment to catch up.” She flashed a mischievous smile at the Baroness.

Isaac nodded, standing straight away. He offered his elbow to Kitty, and she obliged. She wrapped her hand around his arm awkwardly as if she had never been this close to him before. He felt a sinking feeling. The last thing he’d ever intended to do was hurt her.

Together, they walked off the patio and onto the well-manicured lawn. The sun was shining, casting a warm glow over the morning. The grass was a vibrant green, and the trees were swaying in the wind. On the horizon were gray clouds threatening to ruin his evening with Lucy.

“Did you enjoy the races yesterday?” he asked.

“Oh, so much.” Kitty nodded.

Isaac was tempted to broach the subject, but he wasn’t certain how to talk to her about difficult subjects. They never had before.

“West Wind won.”

“I was so excited,” she said, smiling a little brighter.

“I was wrong about him. I presume your instincts are right. I should have known. Lord Weston is impeccable at his predictions, and he was rooting for West Wind too.”

At that, Kitty grew quiet, pressing her fingers tightly into his elbow. She frowned, looking near tears.

Isaac immediately stopped. “I am sorry, did I say—”

“I am so sorry,” Kitty said, her eyes shimmering. They both quickly looked back to make sure their mothers were too engaged in conversation to realize that she was upset. “I really am.”

“What is it?” he asked. His mouth was dry, and he prepared for the worst. In trying to make her happy, he might have hurt her more.

“Does Lord Weston really not intend to marry?” she asked, burying her face in her hands.

Isaac glanced back at his mother, but she hadn’t noticed yet. He reached out, gently taking Kitty’s wrist and pulling it away from her face. She looked up at him, her bottom lip quivering. She looked like she was awaiting the guillotine, but instead, he couldn’t have been more relieved.

“I think if anyone could change his mind, it would be you, Miss Barrington.” He smiled.

“Me?” Her eyes widened, simultaneously surprised by his reaction and his response. “I am sorry, I just… at the race, I… If you hadn’t let me sit beside—”

“I let you sit beside him because you had been bringing him up since our introduction,” Isaac explained. He held out his elbow for her, and she tentatively took it. “Come.” They returned to walking along the grass.

“You’re not upset,” she noted.

“You truly deserve the best, Miss Barrington, and for you, I am not the best.”

“Why would you say that?”

“Because I am in the same situation as you,” Isaac admitted.

It felt like a relief to finally admit how he felt about Lucy. He couldn’t even tell Adam. He had been so afraid to say it because speaking so often made things real. He had to admit, however, that whether he liked it or not, his feelings for Lucy had been real for a very long time.

Kitty grimaced. “Not with Lord Weston, I presume?”

Isaac choked on a laugh, which caused her to join him. They quietly snickered as they made a lazy turn around a flower bed sporting rose bushes and a tall aspen tree.

“No,” he said, giving her a friendly nudge, and she snorted into her hand. “Someone else.”

“Miss Lucy Hale,” Kitty murmured, nodding her head. “That makes sense.”

“Does it?”

“Truth is,” she said, “I felt so sad when I first heard about your promenades with her. I thought you and I were meant to be, but now I see very clearly that I have been forcing something that shouldn’t be forced.”

“I understand.”

He felt a burn deep in the pit of his stomach. It felt cruel, in hindsight, to try and force a courtship with a woman who would always be second place.

“You are far braver than I. You told me right away, and I haven’t been honest with you about the same.”

Kitty shook her head. “It’s funny,” she began. “We are, by all accounts, well-suited for each other, and yet we both feel nothing.”

Isaac looked out of the corner of his eyes at her, his eyebrows cocked. “I wouldn’t say nothing. Just a platonic affection.”

“I think we have the potential to be happy together, and in due time, maybe we could find love for each other.”

“I think we could,” he agreed. “But you and I both deserve to be more than just a second choice.”

“Well, I sincerely hope that you are Lucy Hale’s first choice. You deserve to be.”

“I can talk to Adam if you would like,” Isaac offered. “He sometimes needs a nudge in the right direction.”

“We will both try our best this season, right?”

Isaac stopped walking. His chest felt lighter than it had in quite some time. He cared about Kitty, but they both had a chance at something that they wouldn’t have to force. For once, he felt relieved. Something had worked itself out, finally.

“Deal,” he said, reaching out a hand.

Kitty smiled, her eyes sparkling cheerfully, and accepted his handshake. “Deal.” She turned back, glancing at their mothers, who were blissfully speaking on the patio. “And if we both fail, then maybe they are right about us.”

Isaac nodded. If they both failed, then it would be best for them both to have each other to fall back on, because they both had the potential to learn to love each other. A friend was better than a stranger.

“If neither of us finds our love match, then you can always fall back on me.”

“I can agree to that. But…” Kitty walked backwards toward the patio, flicking her blonde hair over her shoulder, her eyes scrunching up with an over-exaggerated smile. “If it is you and I, then you have to buy me that horse you promised.”

He huffed out a laugh. “I promise, Kitty. But between you and me, Lord Weston has more than enough.”

She stifled a squeal before running back up to the patio.

Maybe Isaac had lost his chance at a wife—Adam would be a fool to pass on Kitty—but he had gained a friend. He had realized lately that good friends, real friends, were invaluable and hard to come by.