Sherecognizedhis attractiveness, but it didn’t necessarily make her feel anything. It was a simple fact and nothing more. She knew then that Chelsea’s little matchmaking plan would not work—and from the polite smile on Stewart’s face, he knew it as well.
“I am certain we shall enjoy one another’s company while we are here for your wedding, Chelsea,” he replied.
Ever the diplomat.The tension in her shoulders softened. There was simply no spark there, no bolt of lightning such as she had read about in romance books.
Such as I experienced with the duke.
She looked away, once again irritated by her own intrusive thoughts. It felt like they were turning against her—her own thoughts! If only the duke would stay out of her head, she would be grateful.
“Are you going somewhere?” Stewart asked, looking down at their cloaks.
“Oh, yes,” Chelsea said. Her eyes had lit up with an idea. Charlotte recognized that look and she groaned. She had rather been hoping for a quiet day, just the two of them. “We are going into town. You should come along! It’ll be a great day.”
Stewart opened his mouth to answer but he wasn’t given the time. A voice came from the stairs behind them.
“Where are we going?”
Charlotte froze, every muscle in her body tensing. She had, perhaps foolishly, hoped she would not have to face the duke again. Between her anger and her desire, she wished to hide from him. He already popped up far too often in her mind. How dare he have the bravado to appear in real life as well?
“Just in the nick of time, Alexander,” Stewart declared. “Come, meet my dear cousin, Lady Chelsea, and her friend, Miss Charlotte.”
Charlotte turned slowly, her heart rapping loudly through her entire body. She wanted to see him again, goodness she did. But then, she also wanted never to see him again.
I want to see him.
When she finally laid eyes upon him, their gaze locking, she felt the leap in her chest, the way her belly turned and fluttered. Such a fierce, visceral reaction to his presence. So very different to how her body had reacted to meeting Stewart, and once again, she felt betrayed by her own being.
The duke bowed. “I have already had the pleasure of meeting Miss Charlotte,” he said. “But it is a true delight to meet you, Lady Chelsea. I have heard so many good things. May I congratulate you on your upcoming nuptials?”
“You’ve already met?” Chelsea asked, raising her eyebrows at her friend, seeming to forge t all her manners entirely.
Charlotte had not mentioned it at all, and now her cheeks warmed with embarrassment. It was rare that there was anything she didn’t share with her best friend. She looked at the floor, praying the duke would not be so cruel as to tell everyone how they met, and she hoped Chelsea would assume their meeting was so unassuming that there was nothing to tell.
“At breakfast,” he said softly, his eyes fixed on her reddening face, and the tension melted away.
Thank you.
“You didn’t tell me,” Chelsea said, turning to Charlotte.
Charlotte shrugged. “It must have slipped my mind. I can’t say the meeting meant much to me.” She glanced up at the duke to see whether her cruel words hit their mark. By his wince, she had succeeded.Good.“Besides, I’ve been so excited about the wedding. It’s impossible to think of anything else.”
“It’s quite understandable,” Stewart said. “These fripperies are always so all-encompassing for you ladies.”
“Either way,” Chelsea said, “it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Your Grace.”
“Alexander, please,” the duke said, rather magnanimously, Charlotte thought. “I am a guest in your family’s home, after all.”
“Well, Alexander,” Stewart said. “As I said, you’re just in time. We’re off into town. Care to join us?”
The duke glanced at Charlotte. Was that a smirk she detected?
“I think I will,” he said. “That sounds like the perfect way to the spend the afternoon.”
***
Alexander had never before thought that shopping, of all things, could be enjoyable. He’d always considered it something for empty-headed ladies with nothing better to do. But as the foursome traipsed from shop to shop, picking up trifles for the wedding, he found himself light, happy, and so very far away from his problems.
He had always known Stewart to be great company, but he discovered that both Ladies Chelsea and Charlotte were equally a delight to spend time with.
