Charlotte laughed. “I should imagine you will have a whole ballroom full of daughters for whom you will have to do this for as well, given how lustful you so evidently are. ”
Chelsea giggled. “You would be lustful too, had you felt the touch of a man so close. It is a temptation too much, and it is worth a marriage, I’d wager.”
Perhaps.
“ And if I do have that many daughters, I shall I irritate them so much that they leave me alone and plan it themselves,”she replied. “I wonder if that’s what Mother is doing. She’s managing to irritate me even from a distance!”
The girls broke into giggles as they approached the house, climbing the four stone steps that led up to the double oak doors. It was a beautiful estate. Charlotte had always admired it. The gray stone frontage stretched into the distance, eight large windows on each side of the door, sixteen chimneys pouring smoke out into the world.
The butler, seeing them from inside, opened the grand door with a loud clunk, bowing as they passed. Charlotte nodded her gratitude, but they didn’t speak to him.
“It’s the cook next,” Chelsea said, guiding Charlotte toward the kitchens. They slipped to the left, down the steps that led to a bank of kitchens and larders. “Mother suggested guinea fowl. What do you think?”
Charlotte wrinkled her nose again. “Surely a banquet would be more appropriate. We had guinea fowl last night, and that wasn’t a special night at all.”
“Let’s see what Cook says, shall we?”
They skipped through the hallways, ever narrower for being a servants’ passage, until it opened up into the large and bustling kitchen.
“What can we do for you, Miss Chelsea?” the cook asked from where she stood kneading dough. She didn’t even look up.
“We wanted to talk about the wedding, if you have time, of course.”
The cook finally looked up and beamed. “Time to talk about a celebration? Always.”
She directed a young maid to take over the kneading, then led Charlotte and Chelsea out into her small room that contained only a desk, a ledger, and a sheaf of parchment. She sat down with a contented sigh, dipped her quill into the ink, then looked up at them again.
“Where shall we start?”
They talked about the wedding plans for hours, and soon it became apparent that evening had befallen them. Charlotte was positively exhausted and more than a little overwhelmed by everything.
“Goodness,” the cook said. “Look at the time! You’d best get yourselves ready for dinner.”
“Actually,” Charlotte interrupted, wincing at the sharp pain in her head. “Do you mind sending my dinner up to my room?”
Chelsea whipped around and looked at her. “Are you quite all right?”
“A little headache, that’s all.”
Chelsea pouted. “But I was hoping you would meet Stewart this evening. We have all changed so much from the little girls who used to run away from the boys.”
Charlotte smiled weakly but the truth was, she could not muster the energy. “I will meet him tomorrow, Chelsea dear. I really need to rest.”
She slipped away quietly and tiptoed to her room. The silence enveloped her, and she relaxed into it with relief.
Chapter 7
The following morning, Charlotte woke early, as was her habit. She lay in bed for a long while, watching the sun rise through the window. She had been so exhausted the night before that she had quite forgotten to close the drapes, but for that she was now grateful.
She had slept well and for many hours, but her dreams had been full. She was at the lake again, her hands raised above her head as she prepared to dive into the glistening water below. She heard the crack of the twig, just as she had in real life. Though, this time, it wasn’t from a man hiding between the trees but from a man approaching her.
She caught sight of him just as she launched herself into the air then sliced through the water seamlessly. She swam beneath the surface until she reached the far side of the lake. When she broke through, water cascading from her hair, she found herself next to the man.
He was in the water now, moving seamlessly thanks to the magic of dreams. He gazed at her as if she were an angel come down from heaven. She stared at him open-mouthed, this, the most beautiful man she had ever seen.
“I am sorry to disturb you,” he said, his voice like soft velvet. “But I couldn’t resist joining you.”
In her dream, Charlotte could hear the blood rushing in her ears, feel the first stirrings of desire in her belly. The tightness began to wind within her, and she want him to reach inside her and loosen it.
