Free A Matter of Sin by Jess Michaels Page B

memory of my father and my brother to take it seriously?”
    She shook her head. “Of course, but not to the exclusion of your happiness.”
    Seth turned toward her with a wry smile. “I never thought I would say this, but you sound exactly like Jason.”
    His mother laughed, and the sound eased the unusual tension between them. “Good Lord, of all people to be compared to! If I begin to sound like him in any other fashion, do tell me so that I may correct myself immediately.”
    Seth nodded. “Absolutely.”
    “Though, in this case, if we are on the same side, it is likely the side of right. We both care for you.” His mother got to her feet and touched his arm gently. “Please do think about what I’ve said. I know you feel compelled to marry this Season and start producing your heirs so that you may carry on what was cut short when your brother—”
    She broke off and Seth was certain he saw the sparkle of tears in her eyes before she blinked them away.
    “I admire you for your dedication to a duty I realize you never aspired to fulfill,” she said instead of finishing the sentence she had begun earlier. “But I do not want you to regret your choices, whatever they may be.”
    “Nor do I,” he reassured her as he covered her hand with his own.
    “If it takes you another Season to find a lady, then so be it.” She smiled. “You have a little time before supper and the ball,” she said with a wave to the beautiful sunny day outside. “Why don’t you take one of your walks about the property? It might help clear your head.”
    Seth looked past her toward the estate grounds. She was right that he had always found solace in a turn about the grassy hills.
    “I think that is a capital idea,” he said as he bent to kiss his mother’s forehead. “But I must demand one boon before I go.”
    “What is that?” she asked as she looked up at him with pure love.
    “Stop worrying about me,” he demanded with a smile.
    She shook her head as she ushered him to the door. “That is one thing I may never grant you. Until the day I take my last breath, it will be my prerogative to fuss and worry and hope for nothing but the best for you, just as I do for all my children.”
    Seth laughed as she waved him away, but as he moved down the hallway, his laughter faded. Although his mother preached about his happiness, she had serious concerns about the future of their line. She did not want the title to slip from her husband’s line and go to a cousin or other relation. In some way, she seemed to count that as a personal failure.
    Even when she reassured him there was no pressure, she offered him, what, one additional Season to marry? Clearly the idea that he do so was heavy on her mind. When he did wed, it would take much of that burden from her.
    He exited the home and turned toward the winding path that made its way into the hilly area beyond the main estate grounds. He would walk for an hour, work out some of his frustrations and be ready to resume his role as marquis when he came back. He hadn’t been taking it seriously enough since the party began and he owed it to himself, and to his family, to do so.
    But no sooner had that thought entered his mind than it fled, replaced by something far more pleasant. Something far less appropriate. Because as he rounded a bend and stepped from the path to the grass, he saw a woman up ahead of him. And not just any woman.
    He saw Isabel.
    Isabel breathed the sweet air and smiled. She had hesitated when Grace encouraged her to take a walk to release some of her nervous energy, but her friend had been right, as always. The warm sun, the light breeze—these were exactly what she needed to clear her mind of distracting clutter and inappropriate desires.
    Reaching up, she loosened her bonnet and removed it to allow the warmth to touch her head and her face, at least briefly. Just as she lowered the hat, she heard a sound behind her.
    “Lady Avenbury?”
    Isabel froze in her spot.