Page 64 of An Unwilling Earl
The love that Harriet had felt for George Morris must have been immense to walk away from all of this.
Charlotte was grounded enough to know that money did not buy happiness and that Harriet’s father, Charlotte’s grandfather, had not been an easy man to live with, which might have made the decision to leave a bit easier.
She sat primly on the edge of a settee, her ankles and knees together to keep her body from trembling. She thought of her mother looking down on her from heaven, and Charlotte wanted to make her mother proud.
Would Harriet have wanted Charlotte to be here? To reach out to her uncle? So many times she’d wished her mother were alive to talk to, none more than this moment.
Her talk with Jacob the night before had kept her awake until the sun crested over the buildings of London. Now, more than ever, she knew that leaving England was the only choice. There truly was nothing here for her except bad memories, unrequited love, and a family she didn’t really know.
Jacob and her uncle could take the information that she had on Edmund to Scotland Yard, and they could do with it what they wanted. It was out of her hands now, and she felt better knowing that someone else knew.
The door opened, and her uncle walked in, all smiles. He was a nice man. It was such a shame that his father had been such an old goat who couldn’t see past Society’s strictures. He’d lost his daughter because of his narrow-minded beliefs. And his granddaughter. But that was all in the past now.
Charlotte stood, very aware that she was the poor relation wearing a dead woman’s gown.
“My lord,” she said with a curtsy.
“Really, Charlotte, I think you can call me David. Or uncle. Whichever you prefer.”
She tilted her head in acknowledgment. “Uncle.”
“I was surprised to hear that you had come.” He held up a hand. “Not that you aren’t more than welcome. This is your home, too.”
It wasn’t her home, and they both knew it. Her uncle lived here with his wife and children. Even if Harriet were alive and had wed per her father’s orders, she would not be living here.
“The marchioness would love to meet you, but she didn’t want to come barging in and make you feel uncomfortable.” He raised a brow in query, silently asking for her opinion.
Charlotte didn’t want to meet her aunt. She didn’t want to become embroiled in this family any more than she had to, because she was leaving and there was no reason to forge attachments that would not last.
So Charlotte bypassed the question altogether. “I’ve come to ask a favor.”
Disappointment tightened his features, but he smoothed it away. “Of course. Anything.”
He was so eager to please. So eager to put the past behind them and make amends, but Charlotte could not let go of the fact that her mother had died thinking her family had forsaken her. Maybe if Harriet had received the blessing of her father, she and Charlotte’s father would not have had to live in the country, away from the doctors that could have saved her mother. Then Charlotte would have known her mother and she would never have had to live with Lady Morris.
“As you know, I have plans to travel to America. I would like to educate the American heiresses who are interested in securing a marriage with an English noble. I feel I am quite suited to this task.”
Her uncle hesitated. “I was under the impression that you were to wed Lord Ashland.”
“That was Lord Ashland’s and your plan. It was never my plan.”
“But…it’s a good match. A solid match.”
“Because he is an earl and I am the granddaughter of a marquess?”
“Because you two suit.”
“Do we?”
“From what I could tell, yes.” He indicated the settee she had risen from. “Please, let’s sit.”
Reluctantly she sat, smoothing her lavender skirts. This was the closest gown she could find that suited her own style, and still she was well aware it was not her own, that she owned nothing. And she was here to beg for money.
Humiliation warmed her cheeks, but she pushed it away. She would do what it took to get the life she wanted.
“Uncle. Jacob only wants to wed me to help me out of the predicament I am in. He feels he can save me from my aunt who seems to want to have me committed.”
“I don’t think you’re seeing the broader picture, Charlotte.”
