Page 65 of The Duke's Hidden Scandal
The duke’s eyes were fixed upon her, and after a few seconds of hesitation, his face broke into a wide smile. It was unguarded, happy, and unique—the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.
“You did not want him?” he asked, his voice laced with hope.
“No, your Grace. Never.”
The duke looked down, and after an interminable length of time, where seconds seemed to stretch into minutes, his hand moved to cover her own in the gentlest of gestures.
Charlotte’s breath caught in her throat as he curled his fingers around hers, the motion so alarmingly intimate she could hardly contain her joy.
The duke was still for a few moments, and then he began to speak.
“Lady Wentworth, the news of Lord Kilby is not the only reason I have come to see you this day.” His eyes were soft and earnest as he looked up at her. “For a long time, I never believed that I would find happiness. I had little interest in matrimony, occupied as I was with my father’s business and the estate. My mother often spoke of finding a match, but I never met any woman to my liking.” He gave her a rueful smile as he sighed, his other hand coming to join the first.
“I thought that if I ever did choose to marry, that the match would be the result of duty.” He looked up at the ceiling with a fond smile. “But then, on one rather fine summer’s evening, I met a woman by moonlight who has, quite simply, changed my life.”
Charlotte’s breath was coming faster now, her fingers tightening around his.
“I convinced myself, when we saw each other again, that it had merely been a coincidental meeting and that you had no real interest in me. Then we spent the day at Gunter’s, and I felt a connection I was unable to describe—something that I came to treasure.
“When I asked you to dance at my mother’s ball, it was just before the world fell apart around me, but I recognized in those slow steps about the floor a truth I had not seen before.”
The duke paused, a slight frown marring his handsome face.
“I had a strange upbringing, Lady Wentworth. I was rarely shown affection by my parents despite being an only child.” He looked at her then, deep into her eyes. “You must forgive me for not recognising love when it bloomed in me, but I was not accustomed to the feeling. Not before I met you.”
Charlotte sucked in a sharp joyful breath.
“Your strength of character, compassion for others, and the unwavering spirit you show to the world have captivated me from the first moment I met you. I pray now that I am not too late. That you might harbour the same feeling for me.
“I have been torn between two worlds, shredded into pieces by them both, knowing that in one there is a world of duty and responsibility for my family, and in the other my ever-deepening feelings for you.”
Charlotte’s eyes were filled with tears, and she could not find the words to speak. The duke’s eyes were so imploring that she longed to express everything as eloquently as he had done but she was unable to find the words to do so.
Rising to her feet, she walked to the mantelpiece and took down her mother’s journal. The duke’s face was confused as she returned to him. With trembling fingers, she opened the journal and took his hand again.
Charlotte was not able to find the adequate words, but she knew someone who had said everything she needed to say, who was just as dear to her as the man sitting beside her.
Finding the right passage, she began to read.
“I have spent my life wishing to find a man who I could speak with as an equal, to whom I might find the greatest of companionship. I believe I have found that in Auric. He is a light in a dark world, a path that I do not fear to tread. When I met him, I felt like my life had fallen into place, and it continues to do so every time we are together. I have been happy, truly happy, in his presence, and I can only pray that he feels the same.”
The tears had begun to fall as she had read the passage and the duke gently brushed them away. When she turned to him, he was frowning down at the pages.
“What is this?” he asked.
“It is my mother’s journal, your Grace. I discovered it hidden in my room some weeks ago. I had no knowledge of it—my mother never spoke of her past loves—but it has given me an insight into her life. I do not know if your father ever spoke of this to you; but my mother and your father were very much in love at one time.”
The duke’s face was all astonishment. “I had no notion of this. Those were your mother’s words?”
“They were. I have read this book a hundred times in the past few weeks, seeing the parallels between the life my mother lived and my own. Her words have resonated with me, not just as a mother’s words might influence a daughter, but because of the similarities of our situations. Ihadto accept Lord Kilby, your Grace. I had no choice but to do so. But all the while I was trying to find a way that I might undo the promise I made to him. A promise I now know he did not deserve. I do not want to repeat the past and live a life of misery as my mother did.”
She looked up at him then and she saw the same vulnerability in his expression as she knew must be in her own.
As she finished speaking, she gasped as his hands came up to cup her face, and he looked lovingly into her eyes, his expression truly unguarded for the first time.
"Charlotte," he said softly, "we will not repeat those mistakes. We will learn from them. Ever since we first met, I have felt a connection with you that I have never felt with another. That is a rare and precious thing that must be fought for. I want to build a life with you as my equal. I want to see us shape each other into the people we will become.”
Charlotte leaned into his touch, closing her eyes as his were filling with tears.
