Page 97 of How to Seduce a Duke this Autumn
“Where would I go?” Adam growled, his irritation flaring. “I have so much work with the estate, it’s going to take me a lifetime and a half to even begin to sort it all out.” His tone was clipped, but Charlene could practically feel the heat radiating off him as he straightened.
“Not you. David!” His mother’s voice rose an octave, reverberating off the walls as she gestured toward Charlene with a dramatic wave of her hand. “This hoyden broke his heart, Adam! She sent him scurrying off to France like a beaten dog. Isn’t that right?” She pinned Charlene with a poisonous look, her expression curling with disdain. “And yet, here you are, spending your coin on these little trysts at the hotel while my David starves in France. Is that how you care for him?”
The words were a hammer blow, reducing Charlene’s fragile composure to ruin. Her throat tightened painfully, making breathing impossible, much less speaking. She wanted to contradict the accusation, explain, and defend herself—but hertongue refused to obey. The shame was palpable, an oppressive weight bearing down on her chest until it hurt to sit still. Her ears rang, magnifying the silence that dragged on too long after Adam’s mother’s vicious declaration.
Adam’s sharp exhale broke through the suffocating tension. His hands ripped through his hair, sending the black strands into wild disarray. Charlene’s gaze betrayed her, drifting to trace the unruly locks as they fell against his forehead. Even now, drowning in her humiliation, the sight of him unguarded stirred something warm in the pit of her stomach.
Then his eyes found hers, and his expression had nothing but resolute calm. Beneath the embarrassing chaos unfolding around her, a flicker of gratitude bloomed as he met her gaze with a reassuring softness, the corners of his lips lifting faintly. It was impossibly brief, like a hidden lifeline tossed her way before he turned his attention back to his mother.
Adam rose to his full height, his broad shoulders squared in defiance. “It’s not like that at all, Mother,” he said firmly, his voice low and unyielding. Charlene felt the shift in the room like a crack of thunder, his authority palpable. He tilted his chin upward, meeting his mother’s cutting glare head-on.
“And it’s time you knew the truth.”
The declaration dropped into the silence like a stone into a pond, sending ripples outward. The air practically thrummed with tension, the unspoken truths circling just out of reach, waiting to be uncovered. Charlene’s stomach twisted as equal parts dread and curiosity coiled tighter within her, daring her to brace herself for what was to come. How could she ever hope for acceptance when she was both the casualty of one son’s betrayal and the keeper of the other’s heart?
Chapter Twenty-Six
The stillness inthe room made the tension almost unbearable, but Adam held his ground, refusing to yield to the chaos threatening to overwhelm them. His mother’s eyes darted to him, her expression a storm of hurt and confusion, but he spoke as gently as he could manage. “First of all, David should go to France. Even farther away. But you ought to know that the duchy can’t continue to pay for his lavish lifestyle.”
Her head snapped back as though his words had been a physical blow. “Lavish?” she echoed, her voice trembling despite the incredulous note she tried to inject. She shook her head slowly, as if the weight of incomprehension had settled there. “He told me the house needs new staff and renovations before I could visit. He needs money to maintain a standard of living befitting the brother of a duke.”
Adam exhaled deeply, a bitter edge coating his tone. “He lied, Mother. As usual.” His eyes flicked briefly to Charlene, who had wrapped her arms around herself. The sight of her, so quietly retreating into herself, made something twist painfully in his chest.
His mother’s trembling turned to a vibration of indignation. “How dare you call your brother a liar?” Her voice cracked though her attempt at authority surged on, but he could tell she lacked her earlier conviction. He understood. She didn’t want tobelieve it. “And in front of our friends’ daughter, no less! After what you’ve done with the girl!”
“Mother.” Adam instinctively reached out for Charlene’s hand, but she jerked back, the move subtle yet impactful, making his arm hang awkwardly between them. He didn’t withdraw immediately, though her reaction stung far more than he could admit. “He is a liar,” he pressed instead, his voice lower, firmer. “He lies whenever he opens his mouth.”
Her next words erupted like cannon fire, shaking her index finger in the air. “Name one lie!”
For a heartbeat, Adam faltered, his gaze swiveling to Charlene before returning to his mother. The defensive set of Charlene’s shoulders nearly unspooled his composure entirely, but he gathered himself again. His voice cut through the static. “What did he tell you about why the engagement with Charlene never came to be?”
The question struck its mark. His mother faltered, blinking rapidly as though clearing fog from her mind. But no response came.
“And why he broke his tooth?” Adam pressed, taking a cautious step forward.
Her hesitation unraveled into a pointed accusation as her gaze locked on Charlene. “She did it.”
The air thickened. Adam didn’t flinch. “Yes, that’s true.” His voice dropped, his tone a blade’s edge. “And she should have done worse, if you ask me.”
Charlene flinched visibly, her arms tightening around her body, her mouth pressing into a firm, pale line. Adam swallowed hard, his chest tightening at the sight of her retreating even further into herself.
His mother’s voice lowered, quivering under the strain of what she didn’t want to hear but felt pressed to understand. “What are you telling me?” Her voice cracked, fingers tremblingas they clutched at her skirts. “Tell me, Charlene, what happened that you broke a vase on my son’s face? Or was that a lie, too?”
Charlene’s response came after a breathless pause, her words as fragile and quiet as paper. “It wasn’t. I did that.”
“To my son!” The words trembled out of his mother’s lips, half incredulity, half anguish.
“Yes, Your Grace.” Charlene shrank even further, her tone nearly swallowed by the weight of the moment.
His mother stepped back, the slightest wobble betraying her intent to keep control. “Why?” The demand held no heat now, only a note of raw disbelief.
Several seconds of excruciating silence passed. No one moved.
Finally, Adam stepped forward. The words were heavy in his mouth, and he steadied himself with a deep breath before letting them fall in Spanish. “He forced himself on her and he would have done worse if I hadn’t caught them. She fought back, and that’s when she broke his tooth.”
The trembling returned to his mother’s frame, violent enough now to make her waver on her feet. Her hand fluttered to her mouth, covering it as a soundless gasp escaped. Her eyes fixed on Adam, searching his face as though searching for any trace of exaggeration or deceit. Tears pooled at the corners of her determined gaze, and her lips moved wordlessly before she whispered, almost inaudibly, “Sins of the flesh.”
Adam’s jaw tightened, the words cutting deeper than they intended. He took another step forward, his voice gaining strength, but it carried no malice. “This is what David spends his money on, Mother. A castle in France. Lavish banquets. Entertainment far removed from decency. He lives above and beyond his means with no regard for the dukedom.” His voice grew quieter, almost a solemn lament. “With no regard for anything but his own needs.”
