Page 6 of The Brooding Duke's Fateful Letter
The duke’s parents had stayed together to avoid becoming a spectacle. They would have been frowned upon from both society and the church had they not. No, it had been unthinkable. Their childhood had as a result been filled with spite and tension. He had made a promise to himself when one of their fights had gotten particularly unpleasant.
I will never settle for anything but true happiness. True love.
He tried to sleep but his mind was frantic as realization dawned. The reality of what he had written in that letter, of what he was getting himself into, made his stomach move uneasily.
This was a foolish idea. I have to stop that man from delivering the letter!
“The footman has just left… he cannot be that far away yet,” he said to an empty room. He rushed to the stables to have a horse prepared. Three men hurried to get the saddle in place. He mounted the horse and galloped toward where he had sent the man.
I know if I’m found then my secret will be found out. There’s little I can do now to rectify that. I’m closer to where the man should be than home. Besides its better to take a small risk than to make the biggest mistake of my life!
Chapter 3
Charlotte was a romantic who knew how cruel the world could be at times, yet chose to always have a sunny disposition. On this day, a conversation that was difficult not to overhear, would challenge her unwavering smile. She was simply on her way to get her book when her stepmother’s unpleasantly high voice rang from the main sitting room.
“What does it say?” Lady Wentworth asked her husband.
“Allow me to read the letter so that I may tell you.” Lord Wentworth replied as calmly as he could.
“It’s from The Duke of Devonshire. It’s about the promise I made to him years back.”
“What promise?” She almost hissed at him.
“That he could marry Bethany. It’s been years, I would have thought he would have found a wife by now. Also it was long before the accident. Bethany won’t accept this.” He replied.
“Then that’s the end of that.” She said folding her arms.
“No, don’t you see? I can’t go back on my word. It would disgrace our lineage.”
“I’ve got it,” she replied waving her hand in the air.
“What have you got?” he asked hopefully.
“We send Charlotte in her stead. They look so similar, he won’t remember what Bethany looked like in detail.” Lady Wentworth’s reply was smug.
Charlotte wanted to scream.
Would my father really agree to this? The thought made her panic.
“We can’t do that!” Charlotte breathed a sigh of relief at her father’s words.
“And why not?” Her stepmother’s tone was rather nasty.
“She’s younger than Bethany, and…” Her father said.
“And she will do perfectly,” her stepmother countered.
“I know she’s not your child, but that does not mean you should treat her differently,” he said with a warning in his voice.
“Bethany won’t marry… a man like him.”
“That’s unkind.” Charlotte heard the disapproval in his voice. “It had been such an untimely accident. Do you know the duke had just about to be wed to one of the most influential families known to modern society, only to find himself so egregiously injured by so much all at once.”
“Tis the truth. Then what do you suggest, love? Take away the only real chance Charlotte will ever have? That would be cruel. I care for her future.”
“I cannot make a decision like this hastily,” he told his wife.
“You had better decide soon. Or I will send Charlotte myself,” she warned.
