Page 61 of An Unwilling Earl
She blinked, caught. “Who knows with Charlotte? Like I said, her faculties are not all there.”
“Doesn’t that concern you that she is all alone?”
“Of course it does, Lord Ashland. That was why I asked for your help, and now she has been out there far longer than is acceptable. I’ve tried to keep this quiet, but eventually friends will notice that she is absent, and her reputation will suffer.”
There was so much Jacob wanted to say to that. “I’m sure your friends will realize that a feeble-minded girl wandering away from home is not a social pariah but rather someone to be pitied.”
“Of course.” She was getting tripped up in her lies, and her hands, still clutching the Bible, were white with the effort.
“Does she have friends I can speak to? Maybe they will know where she is.”
“None.”
“No friends? None at all?”
“We don’t go out much, just to church and occasionally to the market.”
“She has no church friends?”
“No.”
“What about Edmund? Would he know where to look?”
“Of course not.” She seemed horrified by the idea.
“That doesn’t give me much to work with.”
“Just find her, Lord Ashland. Find Charlotte and deliver her back to me.”
Chapter Eighteen
Charlotte entered Jacob’s office and stopped short.
The two men stood, Jacob shifting from one foot to the other. Bringing Chadley into this was a calculated risk, and he had been aware that Charlotte would be angry, but after his discussion with Lady Morris, he also knew they needed more help than he could offer.
“What are you doing here?” She directed her question toward Chadley but glared at Jacob, his betrayal clear in her angry look.
“Lord Ashland asked me to come,” Chadley said.
“Why?”
“I think we need help,” Jacob said.
She looked at Chadley again, then back at Jacob. “You told him, didn’t you?”
Jacob hesitated. “Yes.”
Tears filled her eyes. “How could you?”
“I spoke to your aunt this morning.” He spoke quickly.
“You did what?” Her whispered words came through bloodless lips. “Is there no end to your deception?”
“Charlotte—” Chadley said, but Jacob held out his hand to stop him.
“I had to know,” he said to her. “Sometimes knowing your enemy is the best defense, and I needed to know more about her.”
“I know all there is to know about her and about her son.”
