Page 39 of The Brooding Duke's Fateful Letter
He looked at her for a long while. The easy smile on his face, along with the look of awe made her pause and put her utensils down. She took a napkin and dabbed at her mouth.
“My father passed when I was twenty and my mother succumbed to her grief six months after he had passed. I have six aunts and three uncles. My mother’s mother is still alive as well. Now that you know who I have lost, you may feel more free to speak, My Lady.” He said that all with a fond smile, a way perhaps of showing that no offense was taken.
“I lost my mother when I was young, Your Grace. My father remarried too soon after her passing, to me at least. My family was in full support of their union and I was made to feel that I had been a jealous, heartless daughter. My stepmother and new stepsister did not like me.”
“However could anybody not like you, My Lady?” He said with a look of genuine shock that bordered on comical. Charlotte tried to find a way to hide the fact that he had made her blush by looking at her plate and starting to eat again.
“That is a question I ask myself to this day, Your Grace. Not why would anybody not like me. Why do two people who have just met me dislike me so strongly?”
“I did not mean to cause you pain, my lady,” he said with a look of anguish.
“You are not responsible for their insult, Your Grace,” Charlotte replied.
He looked at her for a moment before returning to his meal. He still looked disturbed that he may have caused her emotional distress. It was a new feeling Charlotte found she could become accustomed to. Her family had long forgotten that she had emotions and opinions of her own.
“We should invite them to visit soon, My Lady. I imagine you must miss home and your father mentioned that you may want to bring your horse.”
Charlotte nearly choked on the food she had just swallowed. As much as she would adore having Princess there with her, there was still the issue of her identity!
“I would have to see if my sister can travel. She has a difficult time getting to places, it causes her condition to worsen.” Charlotte made an excuse for how she could prevent her sister from coming to her and being recognized.
I feel detestable, having to lie again. Worse still, to a man that shows me such care! Charlotte thought as her stomach lurched.
“Please would you, My Lady? I shall like to meet them. To also show that I am more than capable of taking care of you.”
Charlotte knew that the longer she kept this secret, the more it would rip apart the trust they had built. He had asked for a freshstart, and it had been the perfect opportunity for her to have told him. The guilt had gone from a thorn in her side to an open wound.
“Of course, Your Grace,” she said, and tried to enjoy her meal as much as she could.
I could tell him now! Yes, it would ruin our day and anger him but, then when my sister comes we could explain and he would see that we had meant no harm. Charlotte thought about it as she absent-mindedly ate her meal. She chewed at the food with such extra force that a toothache shot through her jaw. She had also just missed what the duke had been saying to her.
“Or would that be too many people, My Lady?” He finished his question.
“Would you please say that again, Your Grace? I believe I missed a few words,” Charlotte requested apologetically.
“I thought we might travel abroad, My Lady. On the topic of your family coming to visit. Well, I had thought they may like to join us, perhaps. We might take the ferry. I have found it makes me less prone to travel sickness.” He spoke patiently, repeating himself and showing consideration for her sisters’ imagined frailty.
That would mean weeks, months, even! If my stepfamily joins us for so long, he will realize what we have done in a way that wouldseem like he was surrounded by traitors. Charlotte’s mind raced in one part as the other fought to find calm words to reply to him with.
“The way you care for others is a rare and attractive quality, Your Grace,” Charlotte said with her head cocked slightly to one side. Her mind and mouth had always had an extremely short pathway. She had said what was needed and not thought about what offense the truth would cause anyone. Her mind had become the one screaming the truth while her mouth was forced shut. What she had just said had been a rare moment she had allowed herself. She had not thought it out first and rehearsed it in her mind.
“Thank you, My Lady. Though I did not consider it attractive, I agree that I find that few people return the favor.” He replied in a shy way. Charlotte wondered if he had not received many compliments throughout his lifetime.
“Would any of your family want to go along, Your Grace?” Charlotte asked. She would like to have a good amount of time to get to know them. “I am of the opinion that they will be so relieved to see your recovery that it will be the best voyage yet.”
“That is a rather interesting proposition, My Lady. Our families would have the time to be properly acquainted and as you say, should be relieved I am this well. Then it is settled, My Lady. We are all going on a family voyage.”
Chapter 14
The duke had been alone for so long that the thought of being surrounded by new and old family was both an exciting and fearful endeavor. He knew his family would adore her as much as he did.
Do I adore her? He asked himself as they took a stroll after their meal. He felt exhilarated being able to make future plans with someone whose company he enjoyed so thoroughly. The next step he took sent a bolt of pain up his leg and into his hip. He dismissed it as a weakness in not walking that far for so long.
The pain reminded him of the accident. He had been on his way to visit the woman he was meant to marry. It had all been arranged down to her gown. He had found everything he had wanted in a woman. In Emma. She had been sweet of nature and as in love with him as he had been with her.
He looked at Bethany who had moved slightly ahead of him and looked back. He thanked the accident for the first time since it had happened. If Emma had been hurt the way he had, then he would have stayed by her side.
She had of course not shared his loyalty. Lady Bethany had, on the contrary, taken him at his most broken and pieced him together. The doubts that he was worth loving or being cared for evaporated with her every kind gesture. Each time he hadthought she would turn away from him, she had surprised him by being there for him.
