Page 76 of To Resist a Scandalous Rogue
“No.”
The woman jerked her head back. Charlotte was sure Lady Flora could count on one hand the amount of times such a word had been directed at her. “I beg your pardon.”
She mentally planted her feet. “As much as I appreciate your concern, I do not need your help. My course is set. You may not agree with it, and that’s all right. But it’s what I have decided to do, and I will not be swayed from it.” She swallowed. “I love him. I love him so much that the thought of hurting him makes it feel like my skin is on fire and I’m breathing in the sparks. But I have to do it. Ihaveto. I will only bring him down if I don’t. The Townsends may be content with two hundred pounds now, but what happens when that runs out? Will they return and demand more? Will they continue to use their knowledge of my clandestine relationship with the viscount to hurt him? Will he demand Finlay vote a certain way or support a certain cause merely because the man deems it? I will not take that chance.”
Lady Flora wrinkled her nose. “I think you’re ascribing the man more power than he possesses.”
“Am I?” Charlotte leaned forward, her jaw firm. “He knows a viscount, the heir to an earl, has been conducting an affair with a schoolteacher at a foundling home. A home that relies on donations to operate. That seeks to place its children in positions of employment within the great homes of Mayfair and Belgravia. A campaign of whispers would hurt more than just Finlay and me.”
Lady Flora’s curses peppered the air. “So, what will you do? You’ll get your blackmail money from Firthwell, pay the Townsends, and just leave? Abdicate the life you’ve built here? Start over again somewhere else?”
“Yes.” She squared her shoulders. “I don’t want to leave. For the first time in my life, I have the promise of stability. A promise of permanence that is not dependent on anyone else. But I’ve rebuilt my life once, and I can do it again.”
“I thought we were friends. I would have helped you before it got to this point. Why didn’t you tell me?”
The laugh that rent the air jarred Charlotte to the marrow. “Only a person of your class would think it possible to be friends with a person of mine.” She flung her arms wide. “You were my employer. A lady. The daughter of a duke. It’s no surprise you would think you could just forge a friendship with whomever you wished. You are used to certain rules and protocol bowing to your whim, but heaven forfend if my class were to do the same. Just because you wanted to be friends didn’t erase all the other factors that separate you so greatly from me. How can I be friends with someone who possesses so much more power than I do? I am surprised you would even deign to think it possible.”
Flora stared at her, her mouth a slash of displeasure. After a long moment she exhaled noisily. “I had never thought of it that way. What I consider friendship was actually just an arrangement I thrust on you. I am sorry.”
The women were silent for several minutes. Charlotte resisted the urge to bite her fingernails and instead toyed with a loose thread on her skirt.
“I do not understand why you feel this is the only way forward for you and Firthwell. I’m certain we can deal with your horrid in-laws in some other way that won’t cause you to leave.” Lady Flora rose to her feet. “But it’s not my decision to make. You have to proceed as you see fit.”
“Yes.” Charlotte stood, her knees shaking but her resolve firm. “Which is why you need to stand aside while I do what I must.”
Her former employer sighed. “I’ll help in any way you deem necessary. And if it’s simply to walk away right now, I’ll miss you.”
With those parting words, she slipped out the door, thesnapof the wood settling into place jolting Charlotte as effectively as a lightning bolt.
She returned to her chair, collapsing on the unyielding seat. Could she do this? Could she really exploit Finlay’s deepest secret? Making him hate her was the easiest way to protect his future and ensure she was able to free herself of the Townsends, but she wasn’t certain her heart could take it.
A few scant minutes later, a knock sounded on the door. Charlotte pressed her fingers to her brow as she willed herself not to cry.
You can do this. Once this is done, he’ll be free to pursue the future he deserves, and you’ll be free of the Townsends.
With that thought, she rose to her feet. Her legs trembled despite her resolve, and she braced herself against the frame for support as she requested her guest’s identity.
Lady Flora’s contrite expression came into view when she opened the door. “I forgot my crop,” she said, gesturing with her hand toward where it sat on the bed.
Charlotte sagged against the wall as a sob burst from her mouth.
“Oh Charlotte, please don’t cry,” Lady Flora crooned, wrapping her arms around her shoulders and drawing her toward the bed, kicking the door shut behind her. “It’s just me.”
Jerking her head, Charlotte could not stop the tears from falling. She’d shored up her defenses for this final confrontation with Finlay only to have them swamped by the simplest of actions.
“I can’t do this,” she gasped. She unclasped the locket from around her neck.
Lady Flora glared at the necklace. “If you don’t use it to get the money you need, and you won’t let me help you, what will you do?”
She pulled away, wrapping her arms about her waist as if she could hold herself together. “I think you know.”
“You don’t have to be a martyr.”
“I’m not dramatic enough to be a martyr.” She flashed Lady Flora a crooked smile. “No. I’m tired of running.” Charlotte gulped in a sustaining breath. “I don’t want to play their game any longer.”
“But why?” Flora made to speak but, obviously catching her resolute face, abruptly cut off whatever else she had planned to say. “This is not at all what I had in mind when I mentioned alternative plans. I had hoped to just pay the amount they claim you owe before finding a way to run them out of town in disgrace.” She slowly shook her head, her eyes sad. “I wish you would let me do that.”
Charlotte’s heart felt full at her fighting words, but she shook her head. “TheyknowI don’t have the money. I refuse to start that vicious cycle.”
