Page 77 of The Virgin Duchess

As time wandered forward in a slow march, Charlotte eventually grew too tired to remain conscious. She rested her arms on thetable where Frederick lay, using them as a pillow, and drifted off into fitful, nightmare-filled sleep.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Discomfort droned from within Frederick’s skull. It was a gentle throb, thankfully, and the air around him was so much warmer than it had been before. Lord knew that the empty building where the Baron had brought him was?—

The Baron!

Frederick sat up abruptly, his head spinning as he did and a terrible pinch working through his side. His attention immediately dropped to his waist, and Frederick recalled the feeling of the Baron’s knife sinking deep into his abdomen. It was gone now, thankfully, but the area was wrapped in a thick bandage.

And he was not in that building from earlier.

“You’re awake!”

Refocusing, Frederick looked toward the end of the strange table-like surface he lay on to find Charlotte sitting in a chair next to him. She surged forward, standing quickly and rushing up to his side and taking his hand.

Looking around, Frederick had no idea where he was or how he had gotten there. The last thing he could recall was collapsing in that abandoned building after having struck the Baron over the head with the butt of his gun.

“Charlotte? How did I…?” The words faded, a dull ache setting up shop between his brows.

“Rose and I brought you here with the help of Dr. Brown. This is his home. He’s a physician and offered to assist you when Rose had gone looking for help.”

Frederick scanned the space, seeing the various accouterments of a medical professional lining the walls on multiple shelves. The room was also hushed, and bright light from the window shone through the thin curtains.

“How long have I been here?” He returned his stare to Charlotte, Frederick’s stomach churning as a pang registered in his chest. “It cannot be evening.”

Charlotte shook her head. “No, it is not evening. You’ve been here all night. We needed to wait until you woke up. It was the only way to know if it was safe to move you.”

Guilt washed over him, and Frederick silently wished that Charlotte had not gone through all that just for him. He hardly deserved it. And what’s more, they had fought before he’d gone to face Halfacre. She should still be furious with him. Why had she bothered to come find him at all?

Come to think of it… “How did you find me?”

Eyeing him, Charlotte let out a breath, squinting at Frederick as if she were appraising him.

“Rose overheard you, and your conversation with George was rather telling.”

His eyes flared wide. “You spoke with George? And he told you about?—”

“Your father’s pistol? Yes, he did. It is clear to me that he—similar to several men I know—will back down when confronted with a woman who demands what she needs from him.”

As much as Frederick wished that Charlotte had not been made aware of all that, he had to admit that the resolve his wife showed was admirable.

The quiet returned, and in truth, Frederick was at a loss for what to say. While he wanted to know why she had come for him, it hardly seemed appropriate to ask. As his stare fell, landing on where she held his hand, Frederick pulled it back slowly.

“I am grateful for your assistance.” His throat was tight, his tone so distant.

Charlotte’s brow furrowed, deep and intense. She eyed him, running her gaze all over his face while she shook her head.

“Don’t do that.”

He flicked his stare everywhere but his wife before his eyes found her again—drawn to her inexplicably.

“Don’t do what?”

Frederick had the occasion to see his wife truly enraged only a handful of times. Still, he felt as if he’d seen the worst of it already. He was quite wrong, apparently, for the way that Charlotte glared at him now put all the previous looks of disdain to shame. He swallowed hard, and Charlotte crossed her hands over her chest, staring him down with the intensity of a factory fire.

“You are pulling away from me. And I have a feeling I know why.”

“Charlotte, I do not know what you are referring?—”

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