Page 102 of How to Seduce a Duke this Autumn
They reached the end of the path, where a small sundial caught the last light. Lady Rotheworth turned and faced her fully.
“He nearly came to blows with your father,” she said quietly. “Not because your father was angry, but because Adam insistedon making things right. He wouldn’t let your name be tied to disgrace. He defended your honor when others—myself included—were slow to act.”
Charlene felt her breath catch. She had not known that. Adam had told her very little of what happened after that night. She had been too lost in shame to ask. Too uncertain of whether she even deserved to know.
“I tried to protect David from consequences,” the duchess said, softer now. “Adam chose to protect you instead.”
Charlene swallowed past the knot in her throat. “He didn’t have to.”
“He did. I know now that he was right to because you, my dear, are our future and deserve our protection. And, because he loves you.”
Silence stretched between them, but it was not heavy. It was full.
Lady Rotheworth reached into her reticule and withdrew something wrapped in fine linen. “This belonged to Adam’s grandmother,” she said, unwrapping a delicate pendant of deep green peridot set in gold. “It has been passed down to the women in our family since before Rotheworth was ever a dukedom.”
She extended it to Charlene, whose fingers hesitated just above the chain.
“This is for you,” the duchess said simply. “Not because you will be duchess one day, but because you have shown more courage, grace, and dignity than most women twice your age. And because you already are my daughter in my heart.”
Charlene’s eyes burned. She took the pendant in trembling hands, the warmth of the metal startling against her skin. The peridot glowed as if lit from within.
“I don’t know what to say,” she whispered.
Lady Rotheworth smiled. “Then don’t say anything. Just wear it. And know that I see you.”
Tears slid down Charlene’s cheeks. The shame that had clung to her for so long, the burden of that night, lifted. Not erased—but acknowledged. And that, more than anything, set her free.
The duchess touched her shoulder, just briefly. “Adam chose well. I am glad he did.”
Charlene could only nod, too full to speak. They stood together in the fading light, two women bound now not just by circumstance—but by choice. And family.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
The drawing roomat Charlene’s house was quiet, save for the subtle crackle of the fire and the steady ticking of the longcase clock. Adam stood near the window, his gloves clutched tightly in his left hand, his right smoothing the lapel of his coat out of habit. He had waited too long for this conversation, and now that he stood in the Fieldings’ home, preparing to ask for Charlene’s hand, the silence pressed in like a verdict.
The door opened with a soft click.
“Rotheworth,” came Fielding’s voice, even and measured.
“Adam,” Waylon added, nodding as he followed their father into the room. He looked both curious and cautious.
Adam turned and bowed. “Thank you for seeing me.”
“You wrote requesting a private audience,” Lord Fielding said as he gestured to the armchairs near the hearth. “I gather this is not to discuss the weather.”
A flicker of humor in his tone, but not much. Charlene’s father was a formidable man even in his gentler moods.
They took their seats, Waylon beside his father, Adam across from them. The heat of the fire did nothing to calm the nervous chill along his spine.
“This is the most important audience I will ever request,” Adam began, his voice low but clear. “And I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life.”
He paused. They waited. The air thickened.
“I love your daughter.” He cleared his throat and turned to Waylon. “Your sister.”
Lord Fielding’s expression didn’t shift, but Waylon’s brows rose slightly.
Adam continued, “And I believe I always have. Even when I didn’t allow myself to know it. Even when my family’s expectations, and yours, pointed me elsewhere. I thought Charlene was meant for David.” He swallowed hard. “That was my mistake. One I’ll regret all my life. But I’d like to make up for my past failures.”
