#who else wants to duel with ben?? asdfgshsj

[laviexenrose-a]

* . ⊹ @honorhearted // continued from x

What better way than the thought of being in your arms?

Isabelle could not find fault in that. If she were being brutally honest, she would have told Ben that her dreams of the past were often of them tangled together in a warm embrace, loving each other as though it were their last night on Earth, the same way they’d just been but a short while ago.

Perhaps your father saw reason and has called off the duel...

“Yes, perhaps he has,” she accorded quietly, swallowing the small lump within her throat. As soon as the words had left her, she knew that was wishful thinking, and it was futile to even so much as get her hopes up. Although… Isabelle was still very much determined to have a private word with her father before the duel in one final, desperate attempt to persuade him to call it off. Even if she were unsuccessful, it was worth a try.

As she readied herself to stand, taking a hold of the sides of the tub, Ben instructed her to remain where she was. Leaning back, Isabelle nodded her head at him then watched helplessly as he left the room to answer the door. She heaved a small sigh before carefully getting out of the tub, unable to sit there with the suspense hanging over her head. At the very least, she had to know who was standing on the other side of the door.

With a bit of haste, she wrapped the sheets around her frame and walked towards the door, mindful that each step she took could potentially cause the floorboards to creak beneath her feet. Reaching the door, she cautiously placed her hand over the handle and cracked open the door just enough to eavesdrop on the conversation down the hall.

Josiah.

Letting out a light gasp, she took a step back. Josiah, of course. Ben had declared him as his second. With the duel fast approaching, him showing up on the doorstep unannounced wasn’t so out of the ordinary.

Once again, Isabelle listened in on their exchange, the thudding of her frantic heart beating wildly inside of her chest making it difficult to hear every word Josiah spoke, but she had managed to catch the gist of what he had said: he, too, wanted a duel with Ben…