Page 47 of To Resist a Scandalous Rogue
“Did you know him long?”
“A handful of months.” Charlotte stared out the window again, yet her face had relaxed. “He’d come into the shop to inquire about the heel on his boots, and was so kind and gentlemanly.” She lifted a shoulder. “I wasn’t used to customers, especially men, treating me with anything other than casual disregard or outright lechery.”
She perched herself on the window ledge, her finger twirling the ribbon at her waist. “I began to encounter him in different locations around the neighborhood, and he always went out of his way to greet me and ask about my day. Soon, he asked me to walk with him in the park, then accompany him to tea or for an ice. Before I knew it, I was in love. Head over heels, as they say. I didn’t have much experience with men, but I was convinced he was my prince.”
“When he took me to meet his parents, I was beside myself with nervousness. I knew they wouldn’t be happy with our engagement. Roderick came from circles I couldn’t even fathom, and the people he knew would look down their noses at me and my humble origins. And I was right. But it was his parents’ reaction that was the most hurtful. They said horrid things to me, accused me of seducing their son, warned that he wouldn’t be welcomed into any society gatherings if he married a Jewish shopgirl with no family and no connections. Roderick defended me vehemently and declared they could either embrace our marriage and my place as his wife, or they would no longer be a part of his life. He pulled me from there and didn’t look back. We were married by special license a few days later.”
An uncomfortable feeling twisted in his gut as a picture of her life over the last few years began to take shape.
“Marriage was wonderful.”Charlotte’s lips stretched into an affectionate smile. “I’d never been so happy. I’d never been closer to another person. Oh, I have vague memories of happy times with my parents, but I was young when they died. I’d never had someone care for my well-being and happiness the way Roderick did. I had never had someone to love and care for. I felt so blessed.” Her smile withered. “And then he grew ill.”
“Cholera?”
“Yes.” She slowly swallowed. “The fever came fast. I spent day and night at his bedside mopping his face, changing the sheets, and praying he survived. On the fifth day of his battle, his parents were suddenly there. Apparently, they had written Roderick, alerting him to their visit to Bombay for an investment opportunity, but either the letter never reached him or he’d planned on telling me at a later date. However, once they arrived, I had to battle them as well as Roderick’s fever. They didn’t want me tending to him and tried to have me banned from the rooms. From my own home.” She visibly clenched her teeth for a moment. “Thankfully, the physicians had them removed instead.”
“And…and despite your efforts, he died.”
She winced, as if even his simple words were painful. “I’ve never been so devastated in my life.”
“What happened with his parents?”
“They appeared the next day and ordered me out of the rooms.” Charlotte dropped her chin to her chest but not before he glimpsed the starkness in her eyes. “They claimed they had a copy of Roderick’s will, which he’d never changed after we married. They were still listed as his beneficiaries, and the small fortune he’d accumulated through hard work and sound investments went to them. They delighted in telling me I was left with nothing.”
Before he knew what he was about, Finlay had come to kneel in front of her, his hands gripping hers. He waited until she met his gaze. “They threw you out of your home with nothing? In a foreign country?”
Her face ghostly white, she nodded.
“Good God,” he mumbled, standing and pulling her into his arms. He tucked her head under his chin and rubbed circles on the small of her back. “I don’t understand how they could do that to you just because you married their son against their wishes. What did you do?”
“Thankfully, I had friends I could stay with.”
He squeezed her tighter when he realized she was shaking, as if remembering that awful time brought about a physical reaction.
“Everyone was very sympathetic and offered assistance in various ways, but my in-laws are very well connected, and Roderick’s superiors and friends were wary of defying them. And I certainly didn’t possess the funds to hire a barrister. In the end, I was forced to sell my wedding ring for passage back to England.”
A distant memory of her toying with her fingers the night they spent together flitted through his mind. He’d found it an odd but charming habit of hers, but now he understood why she did it. That knowledge burned in his throat at the same time it made him clench his jaw in anger.
“I returned to England and struggled to find decent work. I was so relieved when my cousin told me Lord Belling was hiring additional maids for his house party.” She laughed into his chest. “And we both know how that turned out.”
Finlay buried his face in her hair and inhaled her crisp, memorable scent, willing himself not to think about that night. Not when she was encased in his arms, as he’d hoped she would be since he’d seen her again at Campbell House. Not when he couldn’t take away her troubles the way he ached to.
Swallowing, he forced himself to say, “Were they at the Eddingtons’ last night? Roderick’s parents?”
Charlotte was silent and motionless for a handful of heartbeats until she shook her head. Once.
He opened and closed his mouth several times as he debated what question to ask next. He wanted to know who they were, but she wouldn’t tell him if he demanded it. It was probably for the best, because he wasn’t certain he could refrain from charging to their residence and calling out her father-in-law.
Also, he wanted Charlotte to tell him because she trusted him. Trust was hard for her, and he was willing to be patient to earn it. Like an abused horse skittish at a raised hand, he would have to move slowly.
Instead, he switched tactics. “Do you suspect they’re behind your recent abduction attempt?”
She burrowed her head farther into his chest when she answered, “I don’t know.”
Her response was a little too quick. A little too vehement. It was obvious she wasn’t being truthful. He waged a mental war on whether to challenge her on it, his fingers flexing at her waist, but didn’t.Patience, he told himself. Patience.
“Finlay,” she said, pulling back to peer up at him. “As if you didn’t already have a slew of reasons to avoid my company, this tale should drive home the point. If you’re seen with me, if anyone were to learn we’ve become friends”—her blue eyes grew round—“if anyone learned about our past together, my in-laws would sabotage your campaign. And they would see to it that my employment at the Home would be terminated.”
Finlay shook his head furiously. “I would not let that happen. Lady Flora and Inverray wouldn’t stand for such underhanded tactics, either.”
