Page 54 of Every Rake Has A Silver Lining

Dipping her pen in the inkpot, she sighed. The pen hovered over the paper.

My dearest brother,

I hope this letter finds you, Adalyn, and Benjamin well. I write to you with both joyous and disconcerting news.

She paused, her pen poised over the wordsand disconcerting. Should she strike them? No, best to prepare him. She left them for the moment and continued.

Honoria has given birth to a healthy baby girl. They have named the child Katherine and will call her Kitty after the duke’s great aunt. The duke shows no distress over the sex of the child. In fact, he is overjoyed, cuddling and cooing at the infant. He is completely besotted. I can no longer think of him as Burwood, which conjures a cold and uncaring image, much like our father and brother, but only as Drake, which he has requested I call him. Honoria, of course, radiates happiness.

She pondered how to deliver her next news. Better to ease into it.

Odd to think there was a time when Honoria could have become my sister, should you have courted her in earnest. I have done my best to fulfill your wish to look after her. And now, by an unforeseen series of events, I find myself as close to her as a sister could be. Not only has she requested I be the godmother of her beautiful little daughter, but

She paused again, pulling in a breath before writing the words of stark reality.

I am married to the duke’s man of business, Mr. Simon Beckham. It was quite sudden, and I hope you do not hear of it through other sources. Know that it was completely of my choosing, and I intend to make the best of it.

Please write again when you are able with news of young Benjamin, Adalyn, and your ventures in America.

With affection,

Your sister, Charlotte.

There. Short and to the point. No need to coat it with sweetness. Nash would see past such insincerity in a blink. She would have Frampton frank and post it first thing in the morning.

Even with such forthrightness, Nash would have an ocean of questions. And at that moment, she was grateful he was so far away, giving her time to think and plan appropriate responses.

Tap-tap-tap.

Had the rain increased again? Mercifully, it had eased as night came. She rose and moved toward the window. But when she pulled back the curtain, no streaks of water dripped down the pane of glass.

Tap-tap-tap.

“Charlotte?” the now familiar voice called.

She pulled her wrapper around her more tightly, making certain the tie was secure, then opened the door to her husband.

After makingit upstairs unseen by his family, Simon washed and prepared for bed. With a deep breath, he fortified himself, stepped from his room, and knocked on Charlotte’s door.

She didn’t answer. Perhaps she had already fallen asleep. He knocked again and called her name.

When she opened the door, Simon literally felt his jaw drop as Charlotte stood before him in her dressing gown.

Lord, she was beautiful with all that glorious dark hair flowing over her shoulders. When she’d taken the pins out earlier, it had been haphazard and messy—fitting for the illusion that they’d been busy in the bedroom.

But with it brushed smooth, he wanted to run his hands through it and muss it in earnest.

She glared at him. “Close your mouth. You’ll catch something.”

Her words hit him like the douse of cold water that had got them into this mess to begin with. He snapped his mouth shut. “I came to say goodnight and see if there is anything I can do to make you morecomfortable.” He winked.

She glowered. “I’m fine, no thanks to you.” She leaned in, and for a moment, he thought she might kiss him. She sniffed. “At least you don’t reek of liquor. Where did you go?”

“Early in our marriage to start nagging me about my whereabouts, don’t you think?”

She quirked a dark brow, but all he wanted to do was kiss it.

Damn.

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