Page 48 of Charlotte's Story
I froze, my breath misting in front of me. “You can do that?”
“Yes.” She didn’t elaborate, leaving me to wonder if it was because they were both brownies, because they were siblings, or something else completely.
If William’s memories returned, did that mean I would lose the man I’d been getting to know the last few days and things would go back to the way they were before our marriage?
“I would like that.” William squeezed my hand and glanced at me. “Your brow is furrowed, which from past experience usually means you’re worried. You don’t have to be. Getting my memories back will be a good thing. I will know what happened with Dahlia that was making you so concerned, and I’ll remember why Lady Catherine called me back on the night of our wedding.”
“Okay,” I whispered over my pounding heart. Whatever happened, I’d already decided to trust him, and this wouldn’t change that. I glanced up at the icicle lanterns hanging overhead which still glowed with different colors, though the illumination was only a shadow of what it looked like at night.
William closed his eyes, his grip on my hand tight.
Maris held out her hands, and a small silvery glow shimmered from her fingers toward William. It briefly wrapped around him before soaking into his skin like a fragrance soaking into candle wax.
William slowly opened his eyes and looked at me.
“Did it work?” I whispered.
“It did.”
My heart pounded in my chest, and when I glanced back to where Maris had stood, she’d already melted back into the scenery. She was probably on her way back to Rosings.
“And are you okay?” I asked.
“I am.” His brow furrowed.
“So what happened then?”
“On the night of our honeymoon, Lady Catherine needed me to help with her secret beau. Since she’d given the brownies the night off and Anne doesn’t know about him, she had no one else to ask.”
I blinked. Lady Catherine had a secret boyfriend? That was about as wild as if I’d heard that Mrs. Bennet decided to take a vow of silence. But now wasn’t the time for that. I shook my head. “No, not that. What happened with Dahlia?”
“Dahlia approached me before the wedding and kissed me.” His expression tightened as he looked at me, and he rubbed the back of his neck. “She asked me to cancel the wedding and be with her instead.”
My stomach clenched, and I dropped my gaze.
“But I told her no.” He hesitated, then put his hand under my chin and tilted my face up. “I told her you’re the one I’m going to marry and stopped the kiss. I regret that it happened at all. It caught me by surprise, but I chose you.” His hand tightened around mine. “I will always choose you, and from now on, you will be my priority.”
My breath caught. It had been a long time since anyone had made me feel this way—since I’dletanyone make me feel this way. But William had a way of accomplishing the unexpected.
“Is that okay?” he asked hesitantly.
“Oh, yeah.” I kept walking, unsure what else to say. It was hard to know what to do with someone who jumbled all my plans.
The heavy clouds overhead emptied tiny flakes of snow on our heads. William twirled his finger again and the snow fell around us like we had an invisible umbrella overhead.
“What perfect weather for my perfect wife.” William gave me a small smile.
I snorted. “I’m far from perfect.”
“But you are the perfect fit for me, and I have documented evidence.” He stopped outside our front door and pulled a small leather notebook from his pocket and handed it to me.
“What’s this?” I ran a finger over the smooth leather.
“It’s my observations. You can read them if you wish.”
“Okay.” I opened to the first page, which held William’s small, precise script.
~After my proposal, Charlotte laughed at a joke someone said. I didn’t understand it, but I would like to learn more so we can laugh about the same things going forward. I want to know how to make her smile.
