Page 84 of Married to the Icy Duke
He glanced at her. “A party?”
“Yes. I shall host my first party as a duchess. Everything is already untidy and ready for entertaining, the ballroom all cleared out, and I believe the musicians are still nearby. We could host a ball. Well,Icould host a ball. Oh, not a ball! A masquerade. What do you say?”
He took a step back, eyes on the punching bag, and flexed his hands. Rolling his head between his shoulders—which created a shiver-worthycrack—he clenched his fists once more.
“You are the duchess. You may do as you like.”
“You’ll come, won’t you?”
Charlotte didn’t remember deciding to ask such a thing, but the words were out now, and there was no taking them back.
Isaac glanced her way, just briefly. Their eyes barely met. Charlotte couldn’t help but feel that he was avoiding her.
“Yes, of course,” he responded at last, his voice cool.
Charlotte felt a smile tug at her lips. He was acting strangely, to be sure, but shehadbroken through to him.
He desires me. He wants to be with me. Hecares. And if that is the case, I can make this work. Why shouldn’t we be happy together? I want us to be happy together, I do. I’ve had a glimpse of what could be, and I am determined to make it happen.
“Very well,” he responded. Clutching the bedsheet around her shoulders, she scurried out of the room.
Charlotte’s heart thumped as she made her way down the hallway. There was no sense in denying her feelings now. When she saw Isaac, her heart constricted and beat faster. She acted the fool, thought too much about him, too much about whathethought about her … oh, it was a mess, a Gordian Knot of a puzzle. At the heart of it, she was sure, was her stubbornness and his.
But that can be got through, can’t it? That can be managed. We’d be fools to let the prospect of happiness slip away so easily. If I can only convince him, only make himsee …
Excitement tightened her throat. She scurried along the hallways, lost in thought. It was only when she turned a corner and came face to face with Mrs. Ribb.
The housekeeper skidded to a halt, looking surprised for possibly the first time in her life. She was carrying a bundle of linens, which she nearly dropped. Her eyes slid down Charlotte’s sheet-clad form, and color rushed into Charlotte's cheeks.
“Shall I fetch you a housecoat, Your Grace? A robe or wrap, perhaps?”
Charlotte cleared her throat, trying to will the blush away.
I am a duchess now,she reminded herself.Mrs. Ribb remembered, see? She called meYour Gracealready. I must act like one.
She lifted her chin and tried to act as if she were not scampering about the hallways in a chemise and bedsheet. She remembered too late, disgruntled, that she’d left her wedding dress in Isaac’s room. Well, she would just have to send somebody to fetch it, wouldn’t she?
“No, thank you, Mrs. Ribb,” Charlotte responded, as coolly as she could manage. “My room is just down the hall. Tell me, is Tommy awake yet?”
“Master Tommy? Heavens no!” Mrs. Ribb laughed. “Not after all that excitement last night. No, no, he fell asleep the instant his head touched the pillows, bless his heart. He’s still sleeping soundly. Mary thought it would do him good to sleep until he wakes naturally, you know. I agree, although of course, as the duchess, you’ll now have a good deal of say in how the young master is raised.”
Charlotte gave a wry smile. “I’m not willing to try wrestling a sleepy toddler out of his bed before he’s ready to leave it, Mrs. Ribb.”
The housekeeper chortled. “Amen to that.”
“I had some news for him, that's all. And … And for you, I suppose.”
Mrs. Ribb lifted an eyebrow. “Oh?”
Charlotte breathed in. “I wanted to host a masquerade tonight.”
“Tonight?”
“Yes, Mrs. Ribb. To celebrate my becoming a duchess. It won’t be as large as the wedding party, of course. I … I suppose I thought it might help me settle into my new role. And I thought …” Charlotte trailed off, suddenly feeling silly. What right had she to ask the poor, overtaxed Mrs. Ribb to organize yet another party so soon? And how silly to imagine that she could win Isaac’s affection for her with a pretty gown and a party!
Charlotte was on the brink of retracting it all and telling Mrs. Ribb not to bother when the housekeeper drew in a deep breath, met her eye, and gave a steely smile.
“It can be done, Your Grace.”
