Page 80 of How to Seduce a Duke this Autumn
What could he say to that? He could have informed her several times, but he hadn’t wanted to ruin the moment. Ruin her happiness.
And that had left her vulnerable for unwelcome surprises.
“I didn’t mean to keep this from you.”
“But you did.”
He did, yes. And that was perhaps the cruelest part—he always did. Always holding too much back and never finding the perfect timing. What would it cost him this time?
*
Charlene’s heart leapedat the same time her breath seemed to be swallowed into her lungs. She still couldn’t believe Adam had come to her house. He should know how her brother felt about him, and still he came.
But the reason he came…
He was a man caught!
She couldn’t deal with this right now. Her mind was in a shambles. She needed to regroup. To settle this unsettlement inside her as well as gather her wits before she spoke to Adam.
The last thing she wanted to do was to fall apart.
In front of him.
Again.
Once in her lifetime was enough.
It was enough that she was ready to march straight out the door, manners be damned. Yet her feet remained rooted on the spot. Fortunately, the tears had dried, but she found herself battling to keep her eyes from attaching themselves to Adam’s face. Searching. For any sign that he had betrayed her. Lied toher. Kept the horrible truth that his brother had returned from her.
But with Mr. Grafton here, she couldn’t. Lest their conversation make its way back to her brother. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him, but men would always be men. If they thought it was for a woman’s good, her wishes rarely counted.
She’d rather not take the chance.
But she didn’t want to send him away either. He was her shield. At least, for this moment. But Adam’s cryptic, her cryptic conversation…
Mr. Grafton, bless his soul, cleared his throat. “Perhaps this is a conversation for another time?”
Adam dragged a hand through his hair, and all Charlene wanted to do was ease the lines forming between his brows. But she refrained from softening. If she softened now… No, she had to be strong. She had to clear her head.
“I agree. I’m rather tired and think I should get some rest.”
Adam nodded, but he didn’t move an inch. His eyes, dark and broody, stayed locked on hers, and something passed between them. Something that burned hotter than her confusion, than her fear.
Something her addled brain simply couldn’t explain at the moment, but she had to grip her skirts, bunching the fabric in her fists to keep herself from reaching for him. To keep from scattering caution to the wind.
His words from earlier sprang to mind. The comment about properness, and Charlene knew, she just knew, he wouldn’t leave her alone with Mr. Grafton. She honestly didn’t know what to feel or what to make of this short interaction, but the throbbing that started in her temples didn’t seem like it would go away if she stayed.
So, she said, “Then if you will excuse me, gentlemen, I believe I shall retire to my room.”
Silence stretched.
Then Adam asked in a low, hoarse, tone, “Can I call on you tomorrow?”
She didn’t know how to respond to that. Didn’t know if she could. All she wanted was to fall back on the bed and forget this day ever happened. If she could, she would like to return to the moment before she’d spotted David Cross in the crowd. Any moment before. No, the moment she was in the garden, and she kissed Adam. But then, that moment was tainted now, wasn’t it? Because he should have already had his suspicions then, shouldn’t he?
“I just—” he went on, but she shook her head, and he fell silent at once.
“Later,” was all she managed. They could speak later.
