Page 78 of The Virgin Duchess

She pressed a finger to my lips, silencing me. “You will listen to what I have to say, and you will not interrupt me. I have learned a great deal since yesterday morning, and I will not stand herand allow you to flee from what I know is the best thing either of us has found.”

When she pulled her hand back, Frederick didn’t move. This was a side to Charlotte that was so novel, something that he’d seen glimmers of but had not seen fully realized. He’d wanted to, admittedly, so Frederick would not stand in her way now.

“I am unsure of the cause, but I will tell you that I’ve discerned that you do not find value in yourself. I suspect that it has something to do with your father.”

Frederick felt as if he’d been struck in the sternum, all the air leaving his lungs.

“I’ve also gone and spoken with Margaret. There is something you should know.” Charlotte’s stare drilled into Frederick, demanding every bit of his attention. “Shewishedto become a nun. The woman admitted to me that she was using you for your reputation because her parents would not allow her to pursue the nunnery on her own.”

His jaw dropped, the shock hitting Frederick like a bullet. “What?”

“Furthermore,” Charlotte continued, her brows up as if to say ‘you should have listened to me and talked to me sooner, “she did not know that you had tried to propose marriage until after she was already relocated to the convent. Her parents—too much like so many of ours—did not tell her of it until much later.They had only assured her that the ‘issue’ was taken care of. Thattheyhad taken care of it.”

Letting the truth wash over him, Frederick considered Charlotte’s words. While he believed her, knew undoubtedly that she had spoken the truth, it sat uneasily in his stomach. Magaret had been a beautiful girl when he’d known her, and yes, he had intended to simply do the right thing by her. But it had also been foreseeable to him that he might one day grow to love her. They had had a connection.

It was odd now to know that she had been…leveraging his reputation to her benefit.

“I am…grateful to know the truth. Thank you, Charlotte. Still,” Frederick sighed, his stare falling to the side, “it seems to reinforce that I am a man of a certain reputation, one that I welcomed. I would be lying to you if I said that I had not leveraged that vision of me for my own gains as well.”

She glared, shaking her head with a look of disbelief on her face.

“I…I will not hold you to the arrangement that we formed. I understand should you wish to proceed with an annulment, and I will not fight it.”

“Why on earth would I want that?” Charlotte’s brow creased as she stepped forward, clearly irritated with him.

“I will not force you to be with someone like me.”

Dropping her head so that it hovered over her shoulder, Charlotte regarded him. It was a moment before she spoke, collecting herself with a deep breath, and when she did, Charlotte floored him.

“And what type of man is that, hmm? One that has helped to take care of the bastard child of my father? One who has kept my secrets easily? One who cares about his sister so much that he will put himself in great danger to uphold her honor and happiness? That type of man?”

Frederick was genuinely shaken to his core. Charlotte saw him so differently than his own mind would allow him.

“Charlotte, I?—”

“Oh, I have forgotten. A man who also seeks to make his wife’s wishes come true, paying attention to her desire to see a particular garden and going out of his way to make that happen. Someone who has seen the best and worst of me and embraced me all the same.”

“Someone who ruins people, Charlotte. I am ever on the verge of being a disgrace to my family. My father knew it, and I know it.”

“Thank is not true,” she responded, stamping her foot lightly. “You do not ruin people. Don’t let the tales of your self-started rumors affect you. You did not want to marry. Fine. That is not uncommon. Lord knows I didn’t before all this. But I have seen you. I have seen you stripped of all that exterior bravado, and I would have you like that for as long as time allows.”

He didn’t know what to say, the weight of the emotions that flooded him seizing up his throat and making his tongue dry and overly thick.

“I thought you were going to die, Frederick. I was terrified. The thought of a life without you in it is too much for me to bear. I have found myself during these days of marriage. I have found you and all that you are beneath the persona you wear. We have connected beyond the shared concern of secrets revealed. I have...I have so enjoyed the evenings we’ve shared together away from the expectations of society and family.”

Charlotte stepped up to him, taking Frederick’s hand and squeezing it so tightly he could feel the pressure on his bones. As she met his eyes, Charlotte didn’t look away. She leveled him with her stare, opening herself up through her expression and allowing Frederick to see all of her.

“I am a better person thanks to the time we have spent together, and I understand what I want better than ever. I want you, Frederick. I want to be your wife—in every way, not just convenience. I have fallen in love with you, and I will not keep the truth locked away inside me a moment longer.”

“I…Charlotte, I don’t know what to say…” Frederick shook his head, trying to wrap his mind around everything.

“You owe me one more night, Your Grace.” Charlotte smiled, dipping her head to the side as she held his flabbergasted stare. “What say you?”

A moment passed, and that voice in his head demanded he not sully Charlotte with his presence screaming so loudly. But then he breathed. He looked into her eyes—this incredible woman who had changed so much for him—and he saw her. He saw everything that she represented and everything that she allowed him to be.

It was time. He’d held onto the past for so long. It was finally time to let it go.

Bringing Charlotte’s knuckles to his lips, Frederick closed his eyes and kissed them reverently. She was the world and sun and stars. Charlotte was his way to be better, to step into the light and leave the shadows behind.

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