“Name one convention that isn’t?” she retorted.
“Marriage and children?” he offered, hoping she would take the bait. Whether he truly was developing feelings for her or just needed a solution to his money troubles, he needed to ensure she was willing. He would not trick her either way.
It was a mistake. She stiffened again, her gaze moving off to behind him.
“I don’t know why everyone is so obsessed with it, truth be told,” she replied.
He admired her for speaking so openly, and yet the thought that she would never marry hurt his heart somehow. As if she had rejected him personally, though that so evidently was not the case.
“So you don’t want children? That is most unusual.”
Her eyes drifted back to him. “It is not the children I do not wish for,” she admitted. “But a husband. I have no desire to become someone’s little wife, at home and obedient.”
“But it doesn’t have to be that way,” he replied, surprised at her words. “Not if you find the right man in the first place.”
Miss Charlotte snorted, shaking her head. “And who is the right man? You?”
Alexander opened his mouth to speak but as he did, the music ended, and a hush fell over the room. Miss Charlotte stepped back, away and out of his arms. She curtsied.
“Thank you for the dance, Your Grace,” she said, before hurrying away from him.
***
Charlotte fell into bed many hours later, exhausted and overwhelmed and so very happy. The day had been perfect for Chelsea, just as Charlotte had hoped. Their planning and hard work had paid off, and now she could relax.
As she drifted off to sleep, though, there was only person on her mind: Alexander Wentworth. She had not expected him to ask her to dance, though she should have known, for he enjoyed teasing her. It had been wonderful, though. Natural. She had danced with men before, of course, but she had never enjoyed it quite so much.
There was something about being with him. It changed the way she thought. She had always believed in freedom, but with him it was as if she wastrulyfree, not merely playing games and avoiding detection. With him, she felt she could be her true self and not merely the lady she presented to theton. She closed her eyes for a final time that night, and he joined her in her sleep for a kiss.
The following morning, Charlotte woke with a surprising amount of energy. She bounded out of bed, ready for the day, and as she dressed herself because she was too impatient to wait for the maid, she realized that she was eager to see the duke.
Alexander.
She tested his name out on her tongue as she checked her hair in the looking glass and splashed a little lavender oil onto her neck. She remembered how much he liked lavender. When she finally approved of how she looked, she dashed out of the room and skipped down to breakfast. He was an early riser as she was, and she was certain she would find him sitting behind his newspaper, muttering to himself as he had on previous days.
Except, when she got there, the room was empty but for the maid still laying out the food. Charlotte’s heart sank, her shoulders sloping with disappointment.
“Oh.”
She didn’t realize she had said it out loud until the maid looked up.
“Is there something the matter, my lady?” she asked as she straightened out the silverware at each place setting.
“Oh, no.” Charlotte shook her head. “I am surprised, that’s all. I had expected others to be down to breakfast already.”
“You’re the first,” the maid replied with a gentle smile.
“Oh,” Charlotte replied a little brighter and took her seat. Perhaps the duke was simply still sleeping. It had been a long and arduous day, after all, even if it had been a joyful one.
“Well, except the two gentlemen, of course,” the maid continued.
“Oh?” The knot of dread reappeared, tightening itself around her throat.
Surely he wouldn’t leave without at least saying goodbye?
“Yes. Lord Stanhope and His Grace,” the maid continued. She leaned over and turned the jug of orange juice so that the handle faced forward. “They left very early this morning. Backto London, they said. These gentlemen and their important business—you know how it is.”
“Yes, of course,” Charlotte replied. She hoped the disappointment in her voice wasn’t too obvious to the maid.
