Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Afew days passed. Charlotte was able to do as the Duke wished and keep her distance. However, she moved about the house cautiously, always checking around the corners for sight of him. If she happened to hear anything that might indicate his presence, she veered away immediately.
In an attempt to distract herself, she spent a lot of time with Mary and Lydia.
Edmund and Alfred, who were getting on splendidly, had taken Clara for a brisk walk, tasking her with identifying a number of things around the estate.
Agatha insisted on speaking about wedding arrangements with Beatrice, and Beatrice was too polite to decline.
Presently, Charlotte, Mary, and Lydia were sitting in a sunroom, enjoying the bright light that shone through the wide windows. They were practicing their embroidery, although Charlotte’s mind kept wandering, her hands remaining still.
“Pray tell, Charlotte, is there any news of your marriage?” Mary asked.
Lydia stifled a small laugh. She had been growing more comfortable since their arrival and was no longer shy in showing different aspects of her personality.
Charlotte cast an admonishing glance in her direction.
“No, and there never shall be. I am quite happy with the way things are.”
“Still? I thought you would have changed your mind by now,” Mary said.
“Charlotte is not in the habit of changing her mind,” Lydia argued, her eyes bright with mischief.
“Not about important things, but I do change my mind when it is warranted.”
“And it’s not warranted because of His Grace?” Lydia asked lightly.
Charlotte stiffened at the mention of the Duke. For a moment, she froze and attempted to adopt a neutral expression, not wishing to betray any of her unwanted feelings to her sister and cousin.
“Why would the Duke of Winthrop warrant such a thing?” As she asked this, she could feel the words turning in her mouth. It was as though she had forgotten to speak entirely.
Lydia and Mary shared a glance. Mary looked down at her embroidery, hiding her smile, while Lydia giggled and leaned toward Charlotte.
“We have seen the way you act with each other.”
“Act? We do not act.” Charlotte leaned back, aghast.
“You are like a cat and a dog! One chases, and the other nips back, and then you change roles. And everyone knows that all great love stories begin with chaos.”
“I feel we should defer to our cousin on that matter since she is the only one here who has experience of love,” Charlotte suggested, turning to Mary.
Mary shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
“I can’t say that it happened that way for me,” she began. Charlotte nodded and made a smug sound, arching an eyebrow in Lydia’s direction. However, Mary had not finished. “But that isn’t to say things can’t begin that way.”
“It happens all the time in stories,” Lydia said, clasping her hands together.
“I have told you many times before that we do not live in a story, and sometimes when two people clash, it means they are unsuited for each other, quite the opposite of what you imply.”
“You seemed to gravitate toward each other during the game,” Lydia pointed out. Mary nodded.
Charlotte opened her mouth wide.
“Am I at the heart of some conspiracy? Have you been discussing this matter behind my back?” She glared at her companions in turn. It was Mary who wilted first.
“There was some mention of you both when you went to fetch the ball. You were both taking the game more seriously than the rest of us.”
Charlotte straightened her back and adopted a haughty expression.
“Every game should be taken seriously. It is how you show respect for the game itself and your opponents. Treating things with a lax attitude only shows that you do not care. Frankly, I would be disappointed if the Duke did not display such an attitude.”
“And you matched him every step of the way,” Lydia observed.
Charlotte pinched her dress and spoke in an airy manner, attempting to dismiss the accusations.
“I merely rose to the challenge. Besides, it strikes me that he could do with having his pride pricked. It seems to have swollen beyond all control.”
“You rarely left each other’s side,” Lydia pointed out.
“Edmund and Alfred had one flank, and you two had the other. I hardly had a choice. It was simply a matter of circumstance,” Charlotte replied.
“And you did go in search of the ball together,” Mary added quietly. Lydia added to this with a firm nod, as if it proved their point entirely. Charlotte felt heat rising to her cheeks, which she tried to quell as quickly as possible.
“I was merely trying to be a good guest. The ball rolled a long way. It was challenging to find,” she said, hoping they would not catch the hitch in her voice or detect the way her heartbeat quickened.
There Nathaniel was again, looming in her mind. Just as she felt the chair against her back, so too did she feel his chest, his arms, every endless aspect of him. She sipped her tea and cleared her throat.
“I believe it would serve us better to change the subject. Have you noticed how tense the Dowager Duchess is around Grandmother? I’m not sure Her Grace is all that fond of—”
Charlotte’s efforts to deflect attention away from her and Nathaniel were futile.
“Come to think of it, he always seems to be around you whenever you are near some kind of trouble. Clara told us about your previous tumble in the garden, and both times, he was close,” Lydia mentioned.
While Charlotte and Nathaniel had not shared details of what happened during their search for the ball, their muddy clothes had been impossible to hide. The others had surmised that a fall had taken place.
“Are you suggesting this is a positive thing? To me, it suggests he could be a bad omen, although I am not prone to superstition,” Charlotte said guardedly.
“I am. I remember the morning after I met Alfred; a rainbow appeared in the sky. It was so beautiful, and it assuaged any doubts I might have had,” Mary said, and the smile that adorned her face was so pure, it might have been mistaken for a rainbow itself.
“He has addressed you more than anyone else as well,” Lydia observed, this time more thoughtfully. She tapped her finger against her lip as though she were figuring out the pieces of a puzzle.
“I’m sure that can’t be true.” Charlotte frowned as she spoke, replaying the group conversations.
“He’s certainly spoken to you more than he has me,” Lydia said.
“Then again, you have been as quiet as a bird. There’s no need to be so shy, Lydia. You are going to have to find your voice sooner or later if you wish to find a husband,” Mary suggested, nodding sagely.
“And I thought that men preferred their wives to be quiet and obedient,” Charlotte muttered under her breath.
“Not every man is worthy of being a husband. Alfred has always been interested in my opinion. We have many deep discussions about various subjects.”
“I’m glad at least one man in this family is able to discuss rather than lecture,” Charlotte said, this time a little more loudly.
Mary waved her hand through the air.
“Oh, cousin, I think you are being a little too hard on him. He is not all that bad. He has been a gracious host, and I have never known him to be anything other than courtly.”
“I find him to be strict. He is not called the Iron Duke for nothing,” Charlotte pointed out, acting as though she had just scored a point.
“That is just a nickname. People are prone to exaggeration; besides, someone needs to stick up for tradition,” Mary argued.
“I think it is a princely quality,” Lydia added.
Charlotte rolled her eyes.
“I believe he merely seeks to control whatever he can. You have certainly won the favor of the gentler brother.”
“While I will not argue that, I must counter your opinion, Charlotte. I straddle both families now, so I cannot allow these slights to pass unpunished,” Mary warned with a kind smile.
“I do not wish to be uncouth; I am merely sharing my opinion. Something that the Duke would discourage, I am sure,” Charlotte said, unable to help herself. However, as she witnessed the disapproving stares of the others, she wondered if she had pushed too far in that direction.
It was one thing to declare no interest in him but quite another to slander his character. She had to remind herself that saying a kind thing about him would not lead the others to suspect that a kiss had occurred.
“He does maintain a wonderful estate, and he fosters a good relationship with animals. You can tell a lot about the master from an animal’s behavior, just as you can tell much about a parent from the behavior of the child,” she observed.
“If that’s the case, then I am in trouble,” Mary joked, and they all burst out laughing. The tension in the air eased a little as they continued with their embroidery. Charlotte was even able to make some progress.
“There is a reason why he is the way he is,” Mary said after a time.
“Who?” Charlotte feigned ignorance, even though she knew full well who Mary meant.
“The Duke, of course,” Lydia said before turning her attention to Mary. “Pray tell the reason, cousin, as long as it is not a secret.”
“If it were a secret, I would not have mentioned it. Alfred told me that his parents, especially his father, were extremely strict with His Grace. They raised him to be a duke, after all, giving him a strong sense of duty and obligation. These are the factors that drive him rather than anything else, even niceties. Why, he doesn’t even believe in love! ”
Lydia stared at Mary agape, but this did not surprise Charlotte in the least.
“He doesn’t believe in love? How can anyone not believe in love? It is the inspiration behind so many stories, songs, and poems. One only has to look at you and Lord Blackwood to see its presence,” Lydia said.
Mary inclined her head in deference to Lydia’s comments.
“That is very kind of you to say, dear cousin. But yes, it seems His Grace is convinced that love simply does not exist, at least for him. Perhaps it is because of his position that he feels any relationship would be…” she paused as she searched for the right word, “transactional. That is why he asked his mother to find him a dutiful wife.”
“He is looking for a wife?” Charlotte said, her ears pricking up.
“Indeed, and he has very strict criteria, of course, although I am not privy to them. The lady in question is arriving here tomorrow. It will be the first time they shall meet.”
“Perhaps it will be a case of love at first sight, and His Grace’s opinion will change as soon as they meet. She will teach him to believe in love.” Lydia clasped her hands together and swooned.
“Or she will realize how difficult this life will be for her,” Mary muttered.
The idea of his having a wife should not have bothered Charlotte as much as it did.
“Do you know of her qualities?” Charlotte asked, trying to pretend that she did not care, but her curiosity got the best of her.
She stared at her embroidery, feigning indifference and hinting that she was only asking to be polite, but her hands were unmoving, and all of her attention was focused on Mary’s answer.
“I’m afraid I do not know. It shall be a surprise for us all, especially His Grace. Although I cannot imagine the Dowager Duchess, exacting as she is, would find anything less than a perfect match for her eldest son.”
“I see,” Charlotte replied. She found herself thinking about this mystery woman. Was she intelligent? Was she beautiful? Could she play cribbage? Would Nathaniel fawn over her, or would he treat her with the same contempt that he treated Charlotte?
Most of all, she wondered if her kiss would erase Charlotte’s from Nathaniel’s lips. After all, he had received her first and likely only kiss. It seemed odd that such an important milestone for her would be swept away by a flurry of kisses from another woman.
Perhaps it was for the best that the kiss was forgotten to history, but it still left her with a sense of unease, one that could not be easily shaken.