Page 60 of Under the Seductive Ladys Charm
Amanda frowned and looked down at her horse, her hands gripping the reins tighter. “Everyone seems to think they know Lord Stanhope better than me.”
“It is not that, Amanda,” Charlotte said. Amanda looked over at her at the use of her given name. “He asked me to marry him after he had already offered to marry you. What is more is that he was very forward and brazen. I do not wish to see you entangled with someone who is posing as a gentleman merely for gain.”
Amanda looked up, her eyes flashing with anger. “He said he loved me.”
“I am sure he did.” Charlotte sighed. “Men are not often as forthright as we would like them to be. You have so many suitors, why throw in with Lord Stanhope when you deserve better?”
A long silence stretched out before Amanda said, “I am sorry if Lord Stanhope did something to offend you, but he has done nothing to me. Should I hold everything he has done against him? Should I not take him as he is with me?”
“It is good that you offer him a chance of redemption, but I worry. I never took you for one to stand for being made a fool of. Surely you would not want a man who proposes to the likes of me?” Charlotte looked at her old friend with a pointed stare.
Amanda’s shoulders drooped and she looked at Charlotte with an unreadable expression. “I should not have made fun of your position. My own brother had a hand in your scandal, and I did not hold him accountable.”
“It was not your brother’s fault,” Charlotte confided in Amanda. “I can take responsibility for my actions. If you choose to continue your courtship with Lord Stanhope, I just wish you to do so with open eyes.”
They rode along side by side for a long time. Charlotte knew there was not much else she could say. Amanda would do what she wanted regardless of anything that Charlotte might do or say to her.
There may be water in the well, but there was no way to force people to drink it. The same could be said for accepting the truth of things. Then again, perhaps Amanda’s view of Lord Stanhope was the truth in regard to her.
People could often be two very different people depending on the company they kept. Charlotte frowned as she remembered the man’s actions around her. She certainly hoped that Amanda was right about Lord Stanhope’s intentions.
“I had no idea you lived like that,” Amanda said in a quiet voice.
Charlotte looked over at her. There was that touch of humility again. “At least it is a simple life, secure and simple.”
“Yes, but when you came to me for aid, I treated you poorly. For that, I wish I could make amends.” Amanda looked around at the woods. “Are you certain there are no robbers about?”
Charlotte shrugged. “I should think they could find a better place to set up camp than in a poor town like this one. It is still light enough for us to get to the town and the manor beyond.”
“I have never been out like this near dark, let alone past dark,” Amanda said in an earnest tone.
Charlotte looked over at her old friend. “You have gone to many balls past the evening hour.”
“Yes, but that was in carriages with escorts. This is outside my experience.” Amanda frowned and bit her lip. “I did not think the idea of running away through very thoroughly.”
Charlotte chuckled, which earned a glare from Amanda. “Do not look so vexed. Running away is not something people tend to think through. Most people run away before they have a chance to really stop and think about the problem.”
Amanda asked, “Is that what happened when you left?”
Charlotte had not expected the turn of the question, but she supposed it was fair play. She thought back to when she had left Berwick Manor and refused to return. “I guess you could say that. I saw no way to banish the scandal and I thought that my presence at Berwick Manor would only cause further rumours to spread.”
“You were right to leave,” Amanda said with a nod. “It was a good decision, faced with the scandal.”
Charlotte laughed. “I tell myself that often. Somehow it never quite rings true.”
“I should like to talk to that innkeeper and his wife,” Amanda said as she narrowed her eyes.
The amusement of Amanda’s reaction brought a smile to Charlotte’s face. “I did not expect indignation from you on my behalf. After all, did I not bring it down upon myself?”
“Women are seen very critically by society, Lotte. I know that all too well. My own brother considers me something of a hopeless case.” Amanda drew in a breath. “I cannot undo what I have done in the past, but I would like to do better.”
Charlotte assured Amanda, “Trying to be better is all we can ask of anyone, including ourselves.”
Chapter 11
The stable boy fretted and stuttered, “I did not know it was unusual. She just wanted to go for a ride.”
“Did she say where she was riding to?” Graham stared at the boy, unmoved by his obvious distress.
