Page 50 of The Brooding Duke's Fateful Letter
“Charlotte, my name is Charlotte,”she replied as those tears streamed down her cheeks.
“Charlotte.” He spoke softly, seemingly trying the name to see if it fit her.
“Yes, Henry?” She replied. Hearing him speak her name was the sweetest sound she had heard.
“A name as beautiful as the owner.” He said. “Do you dislike your name that much that it brings you to tears?”
“Not anymore. Are you not angry with me?” Charlotte asked.
“No. I am not pleased with the situation, yes. I do wish you had told me, though. Perhaps there would have been a way.” He moved toward the door. “ I cannot stay too long. We will speakto your family tomorrow and make arrangements to make this right.”
“Is it not right the way it is now?” She asked.
“Very much,” he turned back to say. “Charlotte, you know as well as I do that we can no longer be together,” he said gently.
“You would leave me to that terrible man? He wants my hand in marriage as a way of repayment for his mother helping mine. I find him repulsive.” She said, trying to make him see what would happen to her.
“Charlotte, we must meet with them to see what their intentions are. Perhaps they will not want marriage if they feel they have received their due. Then there is a chance. Do you truly believe that I would be happy to see you with another? Especially not such an ill-mannered wretch as that LeBlanc,” he said, and she could tell by his angry expression that he would rather punch the man.
“So even in your home, you must have others tell you how to live? Do you not find it in the least suspicious of how they have come here now? Not long after news of your recovery has spread far and wide?” Charlotte asked.
“Of course it is. That is not, however, what is being called into question here,” he said, moving closer to her once more. “If Icould, then I would run off with you this very instant. Would you want a man who would run from his word?” he asked.
Charlotte wished she had an answer that would allow her to say that she would find that acceptable. She could not.
“No, you know I would not,” Charlotte admitted.
“That is the dilemma. What I want is the opposite of what is right.”
“It is only made unjust by their lies. This, what we have, is no lie, Henry,” she replied.
“Be that as it may. They made the lie and have now claimed it back. I shall do what is expected of me.” He said, turned away from her, and walked toward the door.
“You so easily cast me away?” she murmured to his back. He stopped walking and replied to her without facing her.
“I could never cast you from my thoughts, My Lady. Let alone cast you away.” He walked to the door, opened it, and left. Charlotte watched as he walked out of her room, and out of her life. Since she had arrived there, she had wanted to tell him the truth. She had not considered that Bethany would find a reason to want to take her place.
Bethany and her mother are as shallow as all the others! She does not care for him, She could never care for him the way I do! Charlotte thought as she stared at the door. It had been as though her dreams had brought him to her. She was still not sure if he had just been there or if her breaking heart had played a trick on her mind. A trick she hoped all night would repeat itself.
She lay in bed and tried to persuade her body to rest. Her mind had no intention of letting go of all its thoughts.
He is not even angry at me! That makes it so much worse. He feels the same for me as I do for him. All the things I have longed to hear he has said. He wanted to be with me and not for an agreement—but because he loved me. There must be a way to get him away from my sister. They do not know him and only want what comes with marrying him… money, and title, Charlotte thought as she started to drift off to sleep.
The next day, another carriage brought another guest, early in the morning. Charlotte made her way downstairs to greet them and was introduced to Henry’s brother, Edward. He had sandy blonde hair and was a little shorter than Henry. He was seemingly as happy as Henry to see him. She was not sure how he would introduce her.
“This is my beloved Charlotte,” he said, not wasting a moment. “Though there has been a development that means I may not be able to wed her.” He told his brother with an openness she hadnot expected. Henry put an arm around his brother’s neck and spoke to him in a whisper. Henry looked back at Charlotte with a wink. A gesture to let her know they were still a team, that he had not given up on them.
Charlotte decided to look for George. He had grown so rapidly that he mostly slept or ran around the estate. She would give Henry time with his brother, and if Bethany wanted to be married to him, she would have to entertain him at the drop of a hat.
Perhaps this will give her a taste of the life she thinks she wants. The reality may scare her off! Charlotte thought with a smile as she headed for her apple tree. She had found George nearby. He had taken two apples and searched daily for any that may have fallen from the tree.
Charlotte enjoyed the quiet of the orchid. She knew that the situation they were in would work out as it should. It felt ghastly to depend on how Bethany felt. Charlotte had no choice in her destiny. There were underhanded ways she could get what she wanted, yet that would make her no better than her stepfamily.
She started to play with George by picking a few apples and rolling them on the ground for him to catch and eat. He ran after them at full speed, often missing them with sheer enthusiasm. She heard footsteps on the path nearby and looked to see Henry as he approached her.
“Having a good time?” he asked with warmth in his eyes.
“George is having the most fun, I would say,” Charlotte replied with a smile.
