Martha looked at her intently. “Do you not think Lord Harry has already shown you his true colors? I am so worried he will hurt you again, my dearest sister.”
Charlotte closed her eyes and threw her head back onto the pillow. She remembered the times she had spent with Lord Harry, how he had pressed her hand to his lips and looked at her so earnestly when he spoke of his great affection for her. Could it be true that he was trying to find a way to escape his arrangement with Miss Thomas so that he could be with her? She did not know what to believe anymore.
Something in her heart, though, desperately longed for it to be true. That Lord Harry really did still love her the way she loved him. She wondered for a moment if she really did still love him. But of course, she must. She had been longing for this moment since the night of the ball, wishing that he would write to her again and tell her that the engagement was a sham and he still wanted to be with her.
And yet she felt a nagging doubt in her heart about the whole thing. He had shown himself to be inconstant so many times. Why would this time be any different?
She heard the wheels of a carriage approaching the house and ran to the window to look out. “Heavens, the Duke is here already for our excursion!” she exclaimed. “Come, Martha, we must get ready.”
* * *
Luke had known that there was something amiss the moment he saw Charlotte as she came down the steps of the house and was handed into the carriage by the manservant who was to accompany them on their trip.
She greeted him with civility as she sat next to him, but he could detect a slight reticence in her manner, which had not been there the previous evening, as they had talked together at the pianoforte and then afterward over tea before the Duke had returned to Seton Hall for the night.
He could not ask her outright, as Martha was present in the carriage with their maid too, but he resolved that he would try to find out what was wrong as soon as they were able to converse privately.
That opportunity did not arise for a frustratingly long time, though. Once they were finally in the park, promenading the pathways between the perfectly manicured lawns, he ensured that there was sufficient distance between them and Martha and Sally, who were walking a little way behind them, before he finally spoke.
“Miss Hervey are you quite well?” he asked. “I have been thinking, ever since you got into the carriage, that you seem somewhat out of sorts.”
Charlotte glanced at him as they walked along arm-in-arm. “I am perfectly well, Your Grace,” she replied and said nothing further.
Luke groaned. She was definitely hiding something, he was sure of it. “Charlotte, I may not have known you for a long time, but I can tell when you are not being your usual frank self. I am concerned for your happiness, you know, even though the arrangement between us is somewhat unusual.”
He felt her grip on his arm tighten a little. “I know you mean well, but I cannot speak of it,” she said.
“There is something, then!” he said triumphantly. “You must tell me, Charlotte. This ruse of ours will only work if we resolve to be completely honest with one another.”
Still, she said nothing. Luke felt his frustration growing.
“Is it something to do with Lord Harry?” he asked. “Please, Charlotte, it pains me to see you upset and not be able to do anything about it.”
She let out a sigh. “I suppose I should tell you,” she said, checking over her shoulder to ensure that no one was near enough to hear their conversation. “He wrote to me. I received his letter this morning.”
“And what does he have to say for himself?” Luke felt rather skeptical towards the man, but he had to remember that the whole point of this plan was to bring him to his senses. Perhaps it had worked more quickly than he had thought it would.
“He says that his engagement to Miss Thomas is a sham and that he has gone along with it only to buy some time until he can work out a way that we can be together,” Charlotte said.
“And are you happy about this?” Luke asked. “I confess that I imagined you would be rather more upbeat to receive such news, yet you seem very downcast.”
Charlotte frowned. “I know. I thought this was what I wanted, yet I am not sure I can trust him to tell me the truth.”
Luke felt a surge of anger flaring up inside him. “It all does seem very confusing and, indeed, rather shocking,” he said. “If he means not to marry Miss Thomas, he was most dishonorable to announce his engagement in such a public manner. And how does he intend to pave the way for the two of you to be together if he has not managed it so far?”
“I do not know,” Charlotte said quietly. “Is it so hard to believe, though, that he does want to be with me?”
Luke looked at her, with her auburn ringlets escaping prettily from her bonnet and her green eyes sparking. His heart twisted as he realized that he could not tell her his true feelings on the matter of what would make a man want to be with her. He could not speak it out loud, not yet. Things were too complicated already. No, the situation with Lord Harry had to be resolved first, and he began to form an idea as to how the thing might be managed.
“This cannot go on, you know,” he said. They were nearing an ornamental fountain in the center of the park, and he led her towards a bench, where they both sat down. The water cascaded down the stones into a pool below, making a pleasant splashing sound, with a fine mist of water vapor emanating into the air above. “I feel that I must do something. Do you give me your consent to go and see him to try and find out the truth of the matter?”
She turned to look at him. “Why would you do that for me?”
“Because I do not like to see you unhappy,” he said simply. He wished to say so much more – that he wanted to be the man to make her happy, to show this wretched Lord Harry just what he thought of him for causing her so much distress, and that he wanted… He sighed. He could scarcely allow himself to finish the thought, let alone say it out loud. But he could not let himself lose control, not now. She thought it was all a game, their courtship, and perhaps she still loved Lord Harry in her heart, and that was why she was being so standoffish with him today.
Charlotte gave him a sad smile. “I am afraid I am not very good company today, Your Grace,” she said. “It is difficult to know what to do. Of course, as a woman, I cannot go and find him and demand the truth from him. But you can, and if you could find the time to do such a thing for me, I would be most grateful.”
Luke nodded, a sense of determination building inside him. “I will do it this very day,” he declared.
