“I suppose I will now be subject to some punishment or other,” Lady Fairchild said, her voice that of a sulky child than a manipulative older woman caught out in her games.
Charlotte tilted her head, and Alexander could see the pity in her eyes, too. “I do not wish to make Uncle Elliot sad,” she replied. “And despite all you have done, you are still my aunt. But we would genuinely like Uncle Elliot’s blessing for our wedding, and I should like you to find a way to fix the bad feeling.”
Lady Fairchild let out a humorless scoff. “Your uncle believes everything I tell him. I love him, but he is a gullible fool.”
“It’s only because he sees the good in people,” Charlotte replied, “whereas you only ever see the bad. If he believed you before, then he will believe you again, no?”
Without raising her head, Lady Fairchild nodded. “I will speak to him when we return to London.”
“No,” Alexander said, unable to stop himself from stepping in. He couldn’t wait that long. He needed to resolve this sooner than that. “Write to him. Now.” He nodded over to thewriting desk in the corner, a quill upright next to a small pot of black ink.
“But—”
“Such a good idea, my love,” Charlotte said, glancing at him, and he had that shiver of happiness yet again.
My love.
With the huff of a beaten woman, Lady Fairchild raised herself from the couch and toddled over to the writing desk. She sat down with a heavy thump, pulled out a sheet of parchment, dipped her quill into the ink, and began to write.
Chapter 34
“Let me read it,” Charlotte said, holding her hand out for the parchment as Aunt Lydia waved it in the air to dry the ink. “I want to check you have everything correct.”
Aunt Lydia snapped it through the air, holding it out of Charlotte’s reach. “Are you quite sure about this, Charlotte?” she asked, her eyes glazed with seriousness. “Have you forgotten that he is penniless?”
Charlotte smirked. “But he isnotpenniless, Aunt Lydia. It is true that he may have experienced some financial troubles when he first inherited the title, but the duke is intelligent enough to have made the right investments. His financial problems are over.”
Aunt Lydia glanced up at Alexander, her brow furrowed in disbelief. “Is that so?”
He nodded. “Not that I am obligated in any way to share my financial situation with you, yes, it is so. I have more than enough wealth to look after Charlotte in every way. In fact, her own wealth can sit in the bank and accrue interest for all I care, there ready for when she wants her own adventures.”
“Then why on earth do you want to marry her?” Aunt Lydia cried.
Charlotte gasped, hurt that her aunt could say such a thing. She had many a positive attribute, and she was certain that Alexander appreciated every single one of them.
“It is a good job I do not want to see Uncle Elliot sad,” Charlotte snapped, “because otherwise the duke would see to it that your reputation were ruined for good.”
Aunt Lydia glared at her, though she knew she had been beaten.
“And I thank you not to speak of my future wife in such a way,” Alexander added. “I love her, and that is quite enough.”
“You are being somewhat unfair, Aunt Lydia,” Arthur added.
“And this has nothing to do with you,” she cried, whirling around to face her nephew with a furious expression.
Charlotte took the opportunity to snatch the parchment out of her hand, quickly scanning the words on the page. She smiled, satisfied that her aunt had finally done the right thing.
Dearest Elliot,she wrote,
I am writing to tell you that I have made a grave error in judgement. I fell prey to gossip and slander which I have recently discovered to be untrue. Alexander, Duke of Ashbourne, is not the man he was purported to be by certain other members of the ton. Indeed, he is an upstanding citizen, and it has become very apparent to me that his love for our niece, Charlotte, is strong and true. If it pleases you, my good husband, it would be a wonderful thing if you could renew your blessing for their union.
Until we meet again, my love,
Lydia Fairchild.
Charlotte handed the page to Alexander to read.
“It is a shame you could not own up to your part in this,” he muttered as he read, “but at least the outcome will be the same. You trust he will take your advice?”
