Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Afluttering occurred in Charles’s chest at the words, though he wasn’t ready to give in quite yet. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“I’m not, and you know it,” Tristan said. “She is the perfect calm to your chaos. Your equal in looks and accomplishments. Your comrade in arms. And look at the way she instantly came to your rescue after your pathetic attempt to lie. She is your better half, whether you admit it or not.”
Charles refused to listen. “Those are weighty statements, seeing as how you hardly know the woman.”
“You hardly know her either,” Tristan said. “And yet, you’ve already fallen for her.”
Charles made a sound of disbelief, but it sounded weak even to his own ears. “Well, it doesn’t matter anyway. We’re still seeking an annulment.”
Tristan’s smile faded. “You can’t be serious.”
“I am. Mr. Page will be getting back to us shortly. He’s speaking with a friend of his who specializes in annulments as a solicitor in London. I expect he’ll send word any day now that will help us find a way out of this predicament that will leave us both unscathed.”
Now who was being ridiculous? Charles could have laughed at his preposterous words. He knew now more than ever that an annulment would not ever be granted in tandem with the promise of Marie’s reputation remaining intact.
But more than that, he was ridiculous in choosing to believe that he still wanted to end the marriage.
Seeing Marie with Tristan, seeing her as the lady of the house who came to his aid, had solidified that knowledge. As had Mr. Page’s writing from before.
“Enjoy your latest adventure.”
Those words had shaken loose Charles’s bonds. He’d been looking at life through foggy spectacles, blinding him to reality. His marriage to Marie was an adventure—and she was standing right beside him, willing to take part in that adventure, too.
She was someone who could be relied upon. Someone who could be a helpmeet to him. Someone he could fall desperately in love with. What more could a man ask for in a wife?
“You’re a fool, Charles.”
Charles averted his gaze. “I know it.”
“Then why do you still cling to the annulment?” Tristan asked, his voice low. “What is stopping you from jumping forward with her?”
Charles cursed their twin connection. Once again, Tristan could see into his very thoughts. There was something holding him back.
“She said she never would have chosen to marry me,” he finally voiced aloud. “She fully agreed to the annulment. The last thing I’d wish for is to be married to a woman who feels obligated to remain with me. She deserves more than that. She deserves—”
He stopped abruptly at Tristan’s growing smile.
“What?” Charles asked.
“Oh, nothing. It is just nice to hear you talk this way about a woman, that is all. When your letter first arrived, I thought you’d gotten married to avoid paying the rest of us.”
Charles gave a mirthless laugh. “I’m certain that’s what they’ll all think.”
“Until they see you with veritable stars in your eyes each time you speak of your wife.”
Charles looked away, knowing he had them in his eyes now. “If I do remain married, that only means the pressure mounts for the rest of you. Unless you already have a woman you’re pursuing?”
“I have many women. You know me.”
But there was something in his tone that gave Charles reason to pause. Was Tristan pursuing someone?
“Perhaps if you’re daft enough to pursue the annulment, I’ll go after Marie myself.”
His brother’s words knocked Charles’s curiosity from his brain. Tristan was teasing, but the very thought of such a union caused his stomach to revolt.
“Oh, he doesn’t like that,” Tristan goaded.
Charles scoffed, then looked away to hide his growing annoyance. He was ready to be finished with this part of the conversation now.
“All would be easier if Mr. Page would simply respond with a firm answer,” he said. “Then I could know if we are to end this or not.”
“Or,” Tristan began, “all would be easier if you made the decision to do everything within your power to encourage Marie to fall in love with you.”
Charles’s eyes swung up to meet Tristan’s.
Encourage Marie to fall in love with him.
That was an idea. They were to return in just two days’ time to Grendale, and being back with his parents and the rest of Society would certainly make it more difficult to draw closer.
He knew she was attracted to him, but was it possible—had he any hope at all—that she might fall for him as he was falling for her?
He supposed there was only one way to find out.
Tristan left for London shortly after dinner, and Marie and Charles stood in the doorway together, waving goodbye until he disappeared into the darkness.
“He knew, didn’t he?” Marie asked, not wasting a single moment.
Charles hesitated. “He did.”
Just as she suspected.
Dinner had been pleasant and peaceful. The very fact that Tristan had watched her with curiosity instead of suspicion proved that he was fully aware of their relationship being an act.
She suspected he knew all along, but she knew Charles had told him the truth when she’d left them in the sitting room, which was the very reason she had left—to allow them an opportunity to speak.
Still, it was fun to playact all night as if she and Charles were happily wedded. How unfortunate to end it now.
“It was nothing you did that made him aware,” Charles said, turning to face her.
“Oh, I know that. It was your stiff delivery of every single line.”
He chuckled. “Just so.”
The candlelight from inside flickered across his features, and she traced the angle of his jaw with her eyes. “Charles?”
“Yes?”
“I have something to ask you.” She hated how vulnerable she sounded, but the brightness within his expression encouraged her to continue. “Something...I wish to do.”
His eyes searched hers, his head tipped with intrigue.
“Would you like to come with me somewhere tomorrow?”
A soft smile curved his lips upward. “I’d be happy to. But might I inquire as to where?”
She shook her head, her courage growing. “No, it is a surprise.”
“A surprise? Then I absolutely will join you.”
“Good. We must leave tomorrow morning. Early, if you are up to it.”
“You know I am.”
Her heart tripped with nerves. “Excellent.”
Their eyes caught, lingering looks of longing hovering between them. But when his eyes dropped to her lips, and that familiar desire swirled at the base of her belly, she drew a step away.
As greatly as she wished to continue what they’d started before, she first needed to prove what she was willing to do for him. After he’d sacrificed everything for her, she wanted to prove that a marriage to her didn’t have to be any more of one.
“I will see you tomorrow morning, then,” she said softly.
“I can’t wait.”
That night, after Jane left and Marie sat near the window, brushing out her hair as she sang a song, her smile would not leave her lips, nor would the anxious turning of her stomach cease.
Tomorrow had to be perfect. Tomorrow would be perfect. They would return to Dorking the day after, and there, the stresses of reality would be upon them once again.
But in the morning, Marie had one final chance to convince Charles that perhaps an annulment wasn’t what they wanted after all.
“We’re here.”
Marie spoke beside Charles the next day as the carriage rolled to a stop. He peered out of the window, eying the fields and other carriages the groom stopped beside.
“Where exactly is here?” he asked.
“You’ll see,” she said with a conspiratorial smile.
Charles’s intrigue and joy were paramount, not only for what surprise lay ahead, but the very fact that Marie had planned this on her own.
Never in his wildest imaginings did he think she would want to do anything of the sort—leave the comfort of home, travel to a town she’d revealed she’d never been to. All of it was so...adventurous.
Charles exited the carriage first, then offered his hand to Marie, who accepted it with a bright expression.
He wondered how long it might be before she let him in on her secret, but as they moved beyond the carriages and crowds and closer into the town, he didn’t need an explanation at all, for he knew exactly what she’d brought him to.
“A festival?” he said.
“A festival,” Marie repeated beside him, her hand looped around his arm as they paused to take in the sight. “To remind us of the first adventure we found in common. And, perhaps, the first real adventure we share in together today.”
Charles shook his head in disbelief. All of this was unthinkable in the best possible way. Did that mean she wished to keep adventuring with him? Did that mean she wished to stay married?
With joy threatening to topple from his heart, he cast his eyes around them.
The town was full to bursting with booths set up at various locations, tables overflowing with cakes and biscuits and cheese. A juggler tossed colorful balls into the air as he moved down the street, and children laughed at the puppet shows popped up near shops with their doors propped open.
A group of musicians played in the town square where impromptu dancing now took place between a number of couples, and makeshift fences barred in cows, sheep, and pigs.
Any smell that might have exuded from the livestock was removed promptly due to a gentle breeze that pulled the scent of strawberries and brown sugar around the space.
Excitement flapped its anxious wings within Charles’s chest. Never had he experienced such a thoughtful gift—for that was precisely what this was, a gift from his incomparable wife.
“You are pleased?” Marie asked, looking so adorably hesitant, he wanted to wrap her in his arms and kiss her until she knew how greatly he was pleased.
Instead, he pulled her hand up and soundly kissed the back of it, knowing anything further would elicit more than a few stares. “I have never been more happy, m—Marie.”
Their eyes caught. He’d been about to call her, “My darling.” He didn’t wish to startle her with his sudden shift in affection toward her, and yet, as her eyes found his, warmth encompassing every inch of those chocolate depths, he wondered if she might have welcomed the words, after all.
From that point forward, Charles tested his theory as they enjoyed the sights of the fire blowers, the smells of the fresh bread and cherry tarts, and the sounds of laughter and conversation around them.
He was attentive and complimentary, placing his hand at the small of her back time and time again and leading her forward with eager fingers through crowds.
He could hardly comprehend what was occurring as he walked about the space with his wife.
He’d experienced far more adventurous moments—storms at sea, peering over the edge of enormous cliffs, walking through caves—but never had he enjoyed himself so fully as walking about the town with Marie on his arm, his fingers securely over her hands.
He’d always had great fun with his friends, but there had always been something missing—a companionship, a careful feminine touch—and now that he had it with Marie, he knew he would never settle for anything less.
After sampling cheeses and cold slices of meat, they wandered toward a man at the edge of town who was sending his trained falcon into flight to the amazement of the gathered crowd.
“I’ve always enjoyed watching birds,” Charles mused aloud as the fowl returned to its master.
“They are quite fascinating,” Marie agreed. “My dear friend Mrs. Chumley has just married an avid bird observer. I hear he has been attempting to put on an expedition of sorts through England.”
“Now that would be an adventure in its own right,” Charles said, and Marie hummed in response.
Next, they moved on to listen to the music, a group of female singers having replaced the musicians from before.
“You ought to perform,” Charles said.
“Oh, no. I do not make it a habit to sing before others.”
Charles had been about to claim otherwise, but he held his tongue. He wasn’t quite ready for her to know that he’d been falling asleep to her beautiful singing for a week now.
After listening to the performance, they kept up their meandering past shops and booths, munching on hot pies and fresh strawberries until the sun drew close to the horizon, and the day wore out.
As the rest of the town dispersed, Charles and Marie reluctantly returned to their carriage and climbed in with sore feet and full hearts.
Once settled within the coach’s walls, Charles peered at the empty seat beside her. “Do you mind?”
She gave a little shake of her head, scooting just a degree to her left as Charles settled at her right. Roses—the scent of her hair, perhaps?—plumed around him, and heat blossomed through his core as their arms pressed up against each other.
The carriage bumped down the road, and soon, Marie fell asleep, her head bobbing up and down until Charles gently coaxed her to rest on his shoulder. She sighed, settling deeper against him as heat pooled in his chest.
Charles was overcome with exhaustion, as well, but he had no desire to end the day. Tomorrow would bring Grendale, his parents, and the Oakleys, and he was not quite ready to face any of them. He enjoyed Marie’s company too greatly to have to share her with anyone.
More than that, he couldn’t help but fear that he and Marie might fall into who they were before. He, a juvenile individual, and she, a woman who could not be herself. Would their delicate marriage stumble upon such rocky ground?
These concerns and more continued to billow around him until his exhaustion finally overcame him, and his eyes drooped to a close.
Charles didn’t know how long they’d been asleep for when a loud clunk and a jostle launched him against the carriage wall, bringing Marie to fall right into the side of him.
She yelped, and he reached out, holding her securely to keep her uninjured as the carriage tilted to its side.