Page 48 of Awakening a Lord's Desires
He was relieved that Caroline was not ill, but he still couldn’t get it out of his mind that she had rejected visitors for the day. It did not seem like her, and he feared something was terribly wrong. The surprise interaction with her stepmother as soon as he entered the ballroom did not make him feel any better.
“And so, I find that I can trust you, Lord Spencer. I wish to tell you of a secret that is very close to our family.” She turned to look at Max, who grinned back at her.
The baroness was practically glowing with happiness, and Charles wondered what on earth could involve their family that could both make her happy and somehow interest him.
“There is to be an engagement,” she said softly, and then she put a hand over her mouth and giggled behind it like a young girl.
It seemed entirely at odds with what he already knew about her as well as how her stepdaughter described her as severe and heartless. Charles’ brows knit together with confusion. He looked between her and her nephew. Was it possible that…?
Perhaps the man is not her real nephew, and they have only been waiting for the baron to die before they could announce their love and marry one another.
“An engagement,” he repeated slowly, waiting for her to elaborate. “Between whom?”
“Why, between my nephew, Mr Thornhill, and my stepdaughter, Caroline. Isn’t it wonderful?”
Suddenly, the room felt cold. It had been light and merry when he’d entered it, but now, after hearing that news, it felt as if everything in the world that had once been lovely was now dimmed. He couldn’t move or say anything for several seconds as he let those terrible words sink into his consciousness.
Eventually, he replied, “I’m sorry, but are you in earnest?”
He waited, hoping that, somehow, she had made a terrible mistake, and she would laugh and tell him how much of a fool he was for having heard wrong. But no, that was not to be.
“Oh yes, it was only decided yesterday between her father and me. It has not been announced yet, and it has not been in the papers, but we are all just so happy that I wanted to share the news with someone I knew would be terribly discreet, such as yourself.”
“So it has been decided,” he said, feeling dizzy.
“Yes, it has been decided. My stepdaughter Caroline is to marry Max.”
Chapter 48
Charles knew his expression looked pained, but he couldn’t possibly find a way to mask it at that time. He also didn’t care who could see it. He had been ready to get down on one knee for Caroline, to give up the life that he’d always thought he wanted so that they could be together. He had told his parents about her.
She was the love he had finally and surprisingly found. But now, it seemed that that was all just a dream. It had all disappeared in a puff of smoke. She was engaged to another, and she had not thought to inform him of such important news.
“Well, I suppose I ought to say congratulations,” he managed to somehow stutter, but his voice cracked and he clenched his jaw afterwards, unable to say anymore.
Neither the baroness nor Max seemed to notice that anything was wrong. Max said, “I have been secretly courting Caroline since I arrived, you see. It was always the plan, but we wanted to make sure that everything was right before we officially decided upon it.”
But this couldn’t be true. Caroline had told him many times of her hatred for Max and her difficult relationship with her stepmother. None of this seemed possible, and he was confused as to why and how they had construed this. They seemed overjoyed, but Caroline only the other day had seemed eager to be with him, and she had vehemently fought against him when he’d believed she was being courted by another.
But she had only reacted to the accusation of being courted by Alexander, not Max.
Charles quickly thought over their relationship. Was that why she had grown cold in the woods when she’d seen Max’s carriage arrive before they’d nearly kissed? She’d rushed away, knowing that their courtship was soon to begin, and she hadn’t wanted Charles to know?
Was that why she’d laughed at the thought that Alexander was her suitor? Charles had so many questions, second-guessing every interaction they’d had. Why had she allowed their relationship to go so far? Why had she pulled him into the alcove that evening?
If their relationship had been purely sensual, then perhaps he might have understood it, but it hadn’t been. They shared things together, and they spoke of their lives. They did activities together too, and there was so much more between them than passionate kisses or the ecstasy of pleasure. They enjoyed one another’s company, and she was the partner he had now decided to spend his days with.
“I see,” he said, his anger growing at the way he’d been played, at the way she had been danced around him in the past few weeks.
Why had she done this to him? What was the point of it? It felt like a sick, twisted, cruel thing to do, and he grew angrier the more that Max kept talking about it and smiling in front of him. His fists clenched at his sides, and he might have swung out if he hadn’t felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Forgive me, everyone, but there is someone who is desperate to speak to Lord Spencer about a land matter. They will not stay long, and they need to see him.”
“Of course, Mr Blackwell,” the baroness said, taking her nephew’s arm.
“Until later, Lord Spencer,” Max said, continuing to smile as if it had been pasted to his face and he could not remove it.
“Good evening,” he spat out, and then he allowed Oliver to tug him along out of the ballroom and towards the balcony doors.
