Chapter 40 #3
From here, she could watch the crowd and wait for Perry, protected by the potted trees and decorative blooms. As she scanned the sea of delicate tulles and silks, her ear was drawn by voices discussing nearby, a conversation led by an elegantly dressed woman with a lace fan fluttering in front of her.
“Personally, I don’t think she should have ever left the country. Imagine the daring of showing her face here. It is impossible to imagine what could inspire such a man to marry a fallen woman,” a blonde woman in an icy-blue dress with curls framing her face said, her tone sharp.
Another woman with soft, bouncy red curls piled on top of her head in a pastel pink lace and tulle gown replied in a quiet voice that Charlotte could barely hear.
“Well, men love being a hero. The earl has a soft heart, apparently, or perhaps the chit is his after all. It would be hard to know who the father is when the woman is as free with her love as the…” The woman cleared her throat.
“Well, we mustn’t speculate. The earl didn’t look so very trapped on the dance floor,” a woman in a cream gown interrupted.
“Had I known he was looking for a wife, I would have made my interest clearer…” the woman in blue added.
“He is a brave man making the best of a terrible situation,” the woman in pink said with a giggle.
“I don’t think you could have made your interest any clearer, Lucinda.
The man must be blind to set his cap for such a plain woman when you shine so brightly on any dance floor. ” She gave a tight smile.
“Yes…blind…or most likely, feeling pity for such a pathetic creature. If he didn’t marry her, who else would?” The women snickered behind their fans at the comment. “We’ll have to see how long she can hold his interest. He looks to be a man of great appetites.”
The cluster of women tittered and wandered off into the crowd.
Her mortification complete, Charlotte recognized herself immediately as the topic of their conversation. No one could see her, as she was hidden from view by the column. Her stomach sank at the realization that her reappearance had already set tongues wagging.
It was impossible to conceive that another such fallen woman would have appeared at the same ball as her on the same night.
People were expected to gossip, she just didn’t imagine it would hurt this much.
Swiping her gloved finger across her cheek to catch a stray tear, Charlotte decided to run and hide.
After all, it was what she did best. Melting into the crowd of people and clinging to the wall of the ballroom, Charlotte made her way to the retiring room, as quietly as a mouse.
She needed a moment to gather herself before facing the crowd again.
The words the women had spoken were mostly true.
Though Perry was determined to be a father to his daughter, he had likely married Charlotte, knowing no one else would have her.
She was a ruined woman. In the comfort of the ladies’ dressing room, a lady’s maid touched up her face and fixed her drooping hairstyle.
Charlotte was grateful for anything that would make her look less…
ordinary. She hated the word because it confirmed everything she always thought about herself.
Men wouldn’t be breaking down doors to get to her; she could hardly get her first betrothal contract, and that was only because the Viscount Dewberry was old and less selective about what woman he wanted for his breeding stock.
Even he dropped her like a hot stone when another, more tempting woman appeared before him.
With a heavy sigh, Charlotte touched a rogue curl that had become slightly damp and unruly in the heat.
It was hard for her to hate the face that had brought her Perry.
In the heat of the warm summer sunshine, he loved tracing the path of her freckles and kissing her generous mouth.
It was much too wide, compared to that of the beauties here tonight.
Her hair and eyes were the wrong color to be conventionally beautiful.
Yet it was impossible to look upon herself and not love every part that had attracted her husband.
There was nothing she could do but admire the golden-brown eyes her husband worshipped and the brown hair, with the same warm highlights as Aurelia’s.
There was no room for her to despise that which she admired so much in another.
Gathering her courage, Charlotte allowed the maid to give her a dusting of powder and pinched her cheeks to bring that soft pink glow to her face.
Picking up her skirts and admiring the delicate sparkle of the fabric, she reminded herself that this was supposed to be hard.
Winning over society wasn’t going to be easy, and only time would allow for the whispers about her to be replaced by some about someone else.
A new scandal would be the only thing to save her.
Holding her head high, she re-entered the ballroom, searching for her sister-in-law, another scandalous woman she could cling to for support.