Chapter Six
Lambertson House
Manchester Square,
Mayfair, London
Good heavens, what have I done?
Charlotte perched on the edge of a low sofa in her parents’ drawing room, for the earl had just conveyed her home, on demand of the Duke of Scarborough, who drove his open carriage directly behind William’s curricle.
After she and the earl had tumbled out of the shrubberies to the shock and surprise of the ducal couple as well as another, she’d known that the ensuing scandal would forever alter the trajectory of her life.
On the ride home, William was silent, but she could practically feel the heated waves of anger rolling off him.
The few times she tried to initiate any sort of conversation, he either ignored her altogether or gave her a grunt in response.
Eventually, she’d given up and sat in the quiet wondering how the impending gossip would affect her and when it would reach her parents’ ears.
This isn’t good at all.
Once home, the Duke of Scarborough practically demanded that William ask to speak with Charlotte’s father. In fact, she’d caught a snippet of a whisper.
“…if you don’t tell him, I will…”
With a few choice and quite vulgar words on the earl’s part, he finally agreed and then asked the butler if her father was in residence. The butler was only too eager to reply that the viscount hadn’t yet left for parliament and that he was in his study.
The duke and William had gone that way, while the duchess went up to the drawing room with Charlotte. That’s where she found her mother, who glanced up from reading a missive in her trembling hand.
“Do you realize what you’ve done?”
Charlotte frowned. “What do you mean?” Surely, she hadn’t heard about the scandal already.
“I just received a note from Lady Jersey, sent her by one of her footmen, telling me what she saw in Hyde Park not a half an hour past.” There was a frosty note in her mother’s tone, but there was also a gleam of avarice in her blue eyes.
“I guess gossip does travel faster than good news.” When neither of the other women laughed at the attempted joke, Charlotte huffed out a breath. “It wasn’t supposed to go that far, Mama. Things simply grew out of hand, and had the earl not stepped on my hem—”
“That doesn’t matter now.” Though her mother did glance at the torn section of the jonquil day dress.
She shook the missive in her hand. “How could you do that with the earl? How could you let him do that to you? How do you even know him well enough for any of it?” Shock etched through her expression.
“And in front of a duke and duchess, to say nothing of Lady Jersey and her husband!” Her voice rose with each accusation. “Have you no shame?”
“To be honest, I don’t know what I’m feeling.” Tingles of pleasure from what William had managed to tease her with still zipped through her blood, but it was tempered with fear, disappointment, and annoyance, both at herself and at the earl.
“Oh, you are such an ungrateful girl!”
Before Charlotte could answer, the Duchess of Scarborough stepped forward. “Perhaps we should all remain calm. This isn’t the end of the world, exactly. My husband is making certain Wolcott does the right thing by your daughter, Lady Lambertson.”
As if her mother finally realized they had company, and a duchess at that, her mother took a shuddering breath. She quickly folded the paper in her hand and then put it into a trinket box on a nearby decorative table. “My apologies, Your Grace. Would you like tea?”
“That would be very refreshing. Thank you.”
“Charlotte, please ring for a footman.” Her mother’s tone brooked no arguments.
Managing to hold her tongue, Charlotte gained her feet and then moved across the room to yank on the brocade bellpull.
As soon as a footman arrived, she mentioned her mother wished to provide tea for the duchess, and the footman departed with more than his usual haste.
Not wanting to call attention to herself while her mother chatted with Lady Scarborough, she moved to the opposite side of the room.
After slipping into a comfortable winged-back chair, she furtively removed a book from her reticule.
The earl had given her the book, basically to hide from everyone involved.
She had protested at first, but not wishing to have the volume confiscated, she’d quickly hidden it next to the book she’d purchased at the auction.
Since William was probably being dressed down by her father and being forced to discuss terms for an immediate engagement, she opened the book allegedly full of illicit secrets.
Yet her mind continued to dwell on what was happening behind closed doors.
Today was not a happy occasion, of course, even though her mother gushed to the duchess that her daughter would soon marry an earl.
How interesting that she’d changed her mind from earlier that day regarding the earl.
Charlotte frowned, for she didn’t want the earl this way.
It wasn’t fair and it was degrading to them both.
Her especially.
While the tea service was delivered to the room and her mother poured out for the duchess, Charlotte ignored them both in favor of thumbing through the book that was titled, Sexual Diaries Featuring Various Men of the Ton written by Mrs. S.—a mistress.
Did the book indeed reveal secrets about the Earl of Wolcott? There was no way to tell until she could lock herself away behind her closed bedroom door, but as she opened to a random section of the volume, words seemed to jump off the page.
…when he put his mouth on my flesh and suckled my pearl, reality ceased to exist and I swore I was sent flying…
A soft gasp left her throat. She cast a quick glance to her mother, but she was enthralled in conversation with the duchess.
Charlotte stuck her gaze back to the page.
What did that passage mean? Did people truly pleasure each other with their mouths on those parts of themselves?
How fascinating. Could she have the courage to do that?
To William? Heat infused her cheeks just thinking about it, but if having his mouth on her nipples had made her feel as if she would melt into the ground, imagine what she might feel if he continued with his seduction.
Curious and with an odd longing throbbing through her person, Charlotte bounced her gaze to another page.
…The E of W might be shallow and distant at times, but he is a marvel at carnal games…
Good heavens. Just what had he done to this woman and with her?
“Charlotte, did you even hear a word I’ve been saying to Her Grace?” Annoyance threaded through her mother’s voice.
“I’m afraid I did not.”
“Come over and share tea with us.”
“I’m not in the mood for tea.” It was a valid enough excuse, for finding oneself most probably engaged to a man she barely knew did affect the digestion. “What did you ask me?”
“When we spoke at breakfast today, you said you didn’t know the earl. Has that changed, given how the two of you were found?” One of her eyebrows rose. “Or were you coerced?” Both she and the duchess rested their gazes on her.
Another round of heat went through Charlotte’s cheeks. “No, he didn’t coerce me into anything, Mama. We saw each other at the book auction. Afterward, he asked me if I’d like to go for a drive to Hyde Park. I didn’t see the harm in it.”
Her mother snorted. “Until you decided scandal was what the afternoon warranted.”
“Lady Lambertson, perhaps now is not the time to scold your daughter,” the duchess gently chastised, as she set her teacup into its saucer. “This must be a difficult time for her, even if you see it as a victory for you.”
Charlotte bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling. “Thank you, Your Grace. It’s been a very confusing couple of hours.”
“Charlotte has always been strong-willed,” her mother complained.
“She has fought me every year on how ladies should comport themselves and what they should want from life.” There was decided dismissal in her tone.
“I don’t understand why she doesn’t covet what every other woman wants from this life. ”
The duchess made soothing noises. “There is no right way to live one’s life. Charlotte is still a valuable member of society even if she doesn’t marry or wish for a family. There are other things she can do to live a fulfilling existence.”
That didn’t convince her mother. “Her sisters were very successful when they were launched.”
“And so Charlotte shall be if you give her time and freedom.”
“I certainly hope so. All she seems to care about is books.”
The duchess shrugged. “Reading is quite a powerful tool in our society. It gives a woman a chance at freedom. And it means she is educated, willing to expand her knowledge base. Don’t turn up your nose at that.”
“You see, Mama? Preferring the company of books is a good thing.” Somewhat mollified, Charlotte turned another few pages in the book until a new snippet jumped out at her.
…though the E of W is quite talented when it comes to carnal endeavors, he is not a man any woman should contemplate a future with of any kind. I truly believe he cares more about that canary diamond in his signet ring more than anything else. I really hoped he’d give me that ring…
What ring? And why hadn’t she noticed it? And why had the mistress dismissed him so thoroughly? What happened to end the relationship? There were so many questions she had about him, but she supposed if they were going to be engaged, she would have plenty of time to see them answered.
“Charlotte, how are you feeling about this potential change to your life?” the duchess wanted to know as she drifted toward her. “Nothing will ever be the same again.”