Page 61 of How to Seduce a Duke this Autumn
Charlene wanted towalk away. It was certainly what the handbook would urge.
So she didn’t.
She didn’t know how she felt about what she saw, but—No. She did know. She just didn’t know how to explain it. It didn’t feel good seeing another woman on Adam’s arm. Terrible actually.
And the most baffling part, it was confusing after what he’d said and done. Why this now? Even though they had kissed. None of that changed anything when it came to the root of the problem. In fact, she ought to feel vindicated, if nothing else. It proved her right about him. That roguish blood ran through his veins. The same as with his brother.
But the sight of that woman leaning in, smiling up at him as if she belonged there, felt like a splinter beneath Charlene’s skin. It festered with something she didn’t want to name. Not jealousy—surely not—but it carried teeth, that feeling. Sharp, unexpected teeth that scraped at her insides and made her throat feel tight.
It was only now that she realized she didn’t want to be right. When it came to him, she wanted her mind to be oh, so, very wrong. If only she could follow her heart. Because she didn’t want someone else hanging on his arm. She didn’t want him to allow such a thing. And perhaps most frightening of all, she didn’t want him to ever look away from her.
Because the man she’d glimpsed—the one with both protectiveness and shadows in his eyes—that was the man she wanted to believe in.
So, she did something she never thought she’d do. She turned on her heel and marched up to him. It was the craziest, most brazen, and boldest thing she’d ever done, but she couldn’t stop herself. Not even the wide-eyed glance she glimpsed from Maddie was enough to stop her.
Even his eyes widened fractionally.
Good!
She smiled at him. “Rotheworth, what a delightful surprise.”
“Lady Charlene.”
“Ah, Charlene,” his mother stepped up. “It’s been ages since we’ve had a chance to meet.”
Yes, my family didn’t come to the late duke’s funeral because of what David did.
Charlene inclined her head. “I am sorry about my silence all year.”
A furrow appeared between the duchess’s brows, but that was nothing to the scowl on the woman sticking much too close to his side.
Charlene glanced back at Adam. “My apologies for the intrusion, but I promised you a dance.” Just a tiny, big bluff.
“The duke is not dancing tonight,” the woman at his side said.
“Oh,” the duchess motioned to the woman. “This is Miss Martin. She’s a distant relation but a close friend. Miss Martin, this is Lady Charlene Fielding, daughter to the current Earl of Beveridge.”
Ah.
So they have history. A faint memory itched in the back of her mind. She believed the brothers had talked about a cousin they grew up with when they were young. So, this was the woman.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Martin,” Charlene greeted, even though she felt the chill of the woman’s gaze.
“A pleasure to meet you, too, Lady Charlene.”
She doubted that, but Charlene kept her smile in place as she returned her attention to Adam. “Well, since you are not dancing, how about accompanying me for a glass of punch? We can dance another time. I have something to discuss with you anyway.”
His lips pinched as though he tried very hard not to grin. Extracting himself from Miss Martin, he nodded at his mother. “Please excuse me. I shall come find you later. Have some fun, Miss Martin. Dance. You, too, Mother.”
Charlene didn’t miss the two women’s looks, but she almost laughed. She placed her hand on Rotheworth’s offered arm. When they were out of earshot, she murmured, “So, Miss Martin seems highly interested in you.”
“Are you jealous?”
She scoffed. “Hardly. Why would I be jealous?”
He let it go, instead, asking, “Do you truly wish for punch?”
No, that had been the first thing that popped into her head. If she were honest, she wanted to withdraw from this crush, and quite frankly, Miss Martin’s blazing gaze which she felt stabbed between her shoulder blades. “I actually thought we might take a stroll in the garden.”
