Chapter Six #2
“Oh.” How odd to be asked how she felt regarding anything.
“I am… anxious about the future, let’s say, but also, there is this queer curiosity about it as well.
” At least if she did marry the earl, she wouldn’t need to live with her parents any longer.
That was a sort of freedom she hadn’t expected. “About many things, I expect.”
“Please try not to worry.” The duchess gave her a small smile and a nod of encouragement. “All will be well. A forced engagement born from scandal isn’t as bad as it sounds, and Scarborough is really quite fond of Wolcott. Perhaps your influence is exactly what the earl needs.”
“My influence?” Charlotte snorted then pushed her spectacles back onto the bridge of her nose. “I have none, of course. And what about what I need?”
“Ah.” The duchess’ smile turned mysterious. “Who can say that he’s not it? Besides, Wolcott is titled, he’s responsible when he remembers to be, he has a lovely country property in Kent, and once he settles down, he’ll no doubt prove a good husband and a father if that is what fate has for you.”
Fate. Something that had been far too unkind to her in the past. “I rather doubt the earl is the settling down type.”
“He could be. All men think they aren’t until they meet the right woman.”
Except men couldn’t be trusted, and the earl in particular seemed one to do his own thing regardless of what society demanded.
She admired that about him, but it might also prove a stumbling block.
Charlotte shrugged. “I don’t want to be married.
Men are more trouble than they’re worth.
” Hadn’t the episode earlier in Hyde Park shown her that?
Why had she let him touch her so intimately?
Heat seeped again into her cheeks. Oh, she knew the answer.
Because it had felt all too lovely, and she’d never had a man’s interest in her that way before.
The duchess chuckled. “I won’t argue with you on that account, but some of them are quite lovely.”
Despite herself, Charlotte pointed her gaze briefly to the ceiling before looking at the other woman again. “And the rest?”
“Well, you must hope they can be redeemed.”
“And if they can’t?”
Lady Scarborough was spared answering when Charlotte’s father and the earl came into the room followed by the duke. Her father’s expression was triumphant; the earl’s was a thundercloud, while amusement danced in the duke’s eyes as if he’d heard a jolly joke.
“We have come to an agreement,” her father said as he made his way over to where her mother sat. “Charlotte will wed Wolcott before All Hallow’s Eve this year.”
Her stomach dropped. That was only five months away.
“How lovely!” Her mother was beside herself, and she grinned. She clasped her hands in glee. “I can’t wait to start planning! We’ll need to reserve the church and have the banns read. Finally, all my children settled and wed!”
“Ah, well there is something to look forward to.” The duchess walked over to her husband. They exchanged a speaking glance. “Of course we will come.”
“Indeed.” Scarborough nodded. “It is an engagement, but there is much work to be done between them. I can honestly say I don’t know what will happen, for Wolcott is quite recalcitrant.”
“With good reason,” Charlotte whispered as she closed the book with a snap. She left it on the small table then rose and met the earl in the middle of the room. His eyes flashed green fire. A fierce frown tugged the corners of his mouth downward. “Is it true, then?”
“Yes.” The answer was quite curt, and it conveyed his mood perfectly.
“Oh.” Her heart sank and her stomach knotted with worry. “I’m sorry.” Though to be fair, he started it by kissing her so scandalously in the park. “Yet I don’t hold the scandal against you.”
Confusion flickered through his expression. “I am sorry as well.” His jaw worked, but he didn’t say anything more.
She dropped her voice. “Could I speak with you privately in the corridor?”
“Why not? It seems I’m beholden to your family now.” His mood was quite palatable as he walked beside her until they slipped into the corridor beyond the drawing room. Then he turned to her. “What? Do you wish to take something else from me?”
That was debatable. Not knowing what else to do, and feeling slightly overwhelmed, Charlotte crossed her arms beneath her breasts.
He needn’t come the crab about this. When he temporarily dropped his gaze to her bosom, she bit back the urge to grin.
“Talk to me. Did you try to convince my father that an engagement—that a marriage—wasn’t needed? ”
“Of course I did,” he snapped back. “I argued. Scarborough argued, but your father remained firm. Clearly, he wants you off his hands, and I’m the unlucky nodcock who gets the responsibility of you.”
“As if I’m such a burden,” she blurted out with narrowed eyes. “You aren’t the only one inconvenienced in this situation.”
“Perhaps, but it is my freedom that is threatened.”
“So is mine, perhaps even more so than yours.” Surely, he wasn’t that big of a prick, or had she assumed far too much of him? “If you hadn’t initiated that kiss…”
“It wasn’t just that,” he hissed in a whisper. “Apparently, a few people saw us driving along Rotten Row, as well as spied us together at the auction, and noted where my hand was.”
She snorted. “Again, your fault.”
“Can I help it if your breasts are quite lovely and distracting?” he asked in a barely audible voice in some semblance of his usual self—she assumed.
“Ha. You would think the same about any woman.”
Unfortunately, he didn’t answer, but he sobered. “That is beside the point.”
Did that mean he wouldn’t remain loyal to her? She was too afraid to ask.
William’s eyes snapped lightning. “I’ll call on you tomorrow. We shall talk more at that time. I am far too out of sorts for that just now.”
In this, she could grant him latitude, yet deep down within her, hot anger began to brew.
None of this was fair, and she was being forced into an engagement she didn’t want to a man she didn’t know, a man who was apparently a bit notorious to land in a carnal diary of sorts written by his former mistress.
“Very well.” She nodded. “Don’t do something reckless just because you’re going off halfcocked.
If we are indeed engaged, you shall need to prove your fidelity to me and work at being a proper gentleman.
” In this she refused to argue, and she would remain stubborn.
If she was forced into this, she wanted it on at least some of her own terms.
“It is good to know your tart mouth hasn’t been spooked away.” Though his lips twitched, a grin never materialized. “My cock is the reason we are in this horrid mess.” Seconds later, he stormed along the corridor and then plunged down the stairs at a rapid pace.
When she went back into the drawing room, she passed Scarborough and his wife, who were taking their leave and rightfully so. Tensions were high within the room.
The duchess laid a hand on her arm. “I’ll call on you soon, Charlotte. Please try not to worry. It will be as right as rain, you’ll see.”
“I truly hope you are correct, Your Grace, because right now, I don’t know what to think or to feel, and I’m very nearly on the verge of tears.”
Then she was left alone with her parents, but their smugness proved too much.
“If you don’t mind, it has been a rather stressful day.
I need to lie down as a megrim is forming.
” After quickly snatching up the book from where she left it, Charlotte fled the room with tears in her eyes.
This was a terrible ending to such a promising day.
I’m going from one gilded cage to another.
How disappointing.