Page 9 of Miss Mulberry and the Moody Marquess
“Indeed. The most unpleasant call I have ever received.” Charlotte sighed, then gave herself a slight shake, as if divesting herself of that unpleasantness. “Won’t you sit down, my lord?”
As he moved to do so, she continued, “The nature of the unpleasantness is most absurd. Mrs. Cranford seems to believe that I have both the desire and the ability to make her husband set her aside in order to reconcile with me.”
“Do you have the desire to reconcile with him?”
Charlotte shook her head in immediate denial. “I do not. Perhaps that makes me seem quite fickle, but I’ve come to realize that my feelings for Mr. Cranford were not the sort one ought to have for the person one is to marry. I had a fondness for him, certainly, but not the sort one wishes to have for their husband… At any rate, she imagines that the two of us—you and I—are colluding together to carry out this diabolical scheme. That your kindness to me yesterday was, in fact, nothing more than a bit of theatrical flirtation carried out for his benefit.”
Chapter Six
Ethan let out the breath he’d taken, the one that had lodged in his throat as it had tightened with the anticipation of a terrible confession that would dash his hopes. He could accept that Miss Charlotte Mulberry did not have feelings for him yet. It would be much harder to accept that she still had such tender feelings for another.
“Miss Mulberry—Charlotte,” he corrected. “I must confess that I come here with ulterior motives.”
She looked at him quizzically. “What ulterior motives could you possibly have?”
He wanted to say it. But he couldn’t force the words out. Instead, he said, “I brought my curricle. Let us take a drive.” It was an open vehicle and they would be in full view the entire time. There would be no impropriety. Well, not much impropriety. He was hoping for at least a hint of it. Would stealing a kiss truly be so wicked?
“Oh, that sounds quite lovely. I just need to look in on my uncle before we leave.”
She excused herself to do so, and he rose to pace nervously about the small room. What was wrong with him? How difficult was it just to tell a woman you wished to court her? Did hehave to court her? Couldn’t he just get to the point and offer marriage? Was it too soon to simply propose to her and be done with it? It was. Of course, it was. He knew that. But impatience had always been something he struggled with. Hadn’t that been the very thing that put him in a terrible mood for seven years? He’d fallen headlong in love with the woman before even ascertaining whether or not she was free.
Thinking of his earlier conversation with Regina, one possibility kept circulating in his mind. What if someone else came along and asked her before he did, just as Arliss Cranford had? Not that there were a great number of bachelors about in Ambleside, but there were enough that he wasn’t entirely without competition for her affections. If he allowed fear to stay his hand, the misery of his future without her was assured.
It wasn’t long before she returned, a shawl draped about her shoulders, a bonnet dangling from her fingertips and ready to depart. Taking her arm, he escorted her outside and helped her up into the conveyance.
“It truly is a fine day,” she said. There was a note of panic in her voice, despite the mundane nature of her statement.
“Charlotte, if you do not wish to go?—.”
“Oh, no! No it isn’t that, at all. I very much want to go for a drive with you. It’s just that… if people see us, they will assume that this signifies some attachment between us. Now I feel so terribly awkward and I’ve no notion what to say or do with myself,” she admitted glumly. “You must think me a complete ninny.”
“I could never think that of you, Charlotte. As for what you should do, the answer is quite simply nothing more than be yourself and speak your mind,” he reassured her. There was nothing he wanted more than for her to feel secure enough with him to be so free with her thoughts.
“I can be quite opinionated, my lo—Ethan. You may wish to retract that offer.”
“You will never be less than perfect in my eyes.”
“I am so very far from perfect!” she protested, clearly uncomfortable with such praise. “That is an impossible standard to meet.”
“No, it isn’t,” he insisted. “Perfection, Charlotte, is defined solely by what you are. Anything and anyone else would pale in comparison.”
Her lips parted, forming a soft ‘o’ of surprise. But she didn’t say anything in response. And he wondered if perhaps he hadn’t made a fatal mistake and said far too much, too soon.
Charlotte was still stunned. They had driven through the village, down to the lake, around the remains of the Roman fort and were now heading back. He’d been pleasant, charming even. Still relatively taciturn, it was quite obvious that he was making a great effort to be a conversationist for her benefit. There was no evidence at all of the moodiness that others had often accused him of. And his effusive praise of her was something she had never encountered—not from anyone. Even Arliss had always seemed to think her very, very ordinary. Charlotte was used to being overlooked. She was simply there, like a piece of furniture or a sturdy tree.
“Why do you think I’m perfect? Why the sudden change?”
She hadn’t meant to ask the question. It simply slipped out. But as he glanced at her before turning back to the road, she saw a flash of something in his gaze.
“It is not a sudden change. I have always thought you perfect. From our first meeting onward. But you were not free and I amnot a man dishonorable enough to flatter and pursue a woman promised to another,” he said.
One word stood out to her. “Pursue? To what end?”
“I’m doing this very badly. I’ve never actually paid court to a lady before, and quite frankly, the process is beyond me. I’d much rather just have it all out in the open and be done with it.”
“Have what out in the open?” She could not quite fathom what he was saying. Oh, on the surface the words made sense, but how those words related to her own life just did not mesh.
He pulled back on the reins, the curricle halting in the middle of the roadway as he looked at her. “I’ve sat quietly by, watching you languish while Cranford did everything else in the worldexceptmarry you.”
