Page 47 of The Duke and the Wrong Bride

“I should never have doubted you,” she said between kisses. “I should have never—thank you!”

As Charlotte kissed and thanked Henry for the good news, a strange feeling that he hadn’t been expecting took hold. For all their bickering, fighting, and subsequent heavy petting, there was more to this relationship than pure physical attraction.

This right here, how happy he had made her, how grateful she was, the pure sense of joy and relief pouring from her very being, was perhaps even more rewarding than her reaction when he took her to bed.

Henry, it seemed, was starting to like his wife, as odd a notion as that sounded. But also, a most welcome one.

ChapterFifteen

“There’s no need to be nervous,” Henry said gently.

“I’m not nervous,” Charlotte responded, although she very clearly was.

“She’s going to be happy to see you,” Henry persisted. “Probably glad, truth be told. All this hiding and running, I can’t imagine she thought it would last for much longer.”

“I’m not nervous,” Charlotte snapped this time, swinging around to fix Henry with a glare that spoke to how frustrated she was… and nervous. Henry stiffened at her tone, and she grimaced. “Sorry…”

“It’s fine.”

“It’s not.” Charlotte sighed as she went back to looking out the carriage window. “And you’re right, I am nervous. If Beatrice had wanted to come home, she would have. You don’t know how she is.”

“If she’s anything like her sister, I think I have an idea.”

Charlotte side-eyed her husband, a sly smirk to let him know that she appreciated his concern. She might have pushed a little further, maybe even leaned into the way she was feeling—a perfect time to raise a quarrel, as it was. But now was not the time to succumb to temptation, even if she might have needed it to keep her mind from wandering.

What she needed was to focus. A challenging task with her husband so close to her, alone in the carriage as they were, with nothing but time to pick up where they had left off this morning. Again, Charlotte was forced to remind herself that there would be time for such things later, and the very last thing she needed was to arrive at where her sister was hiding with a flushed face, messy hair, and clothes likely torn apart.

“If you like,” Henry started gently, shuffling a little bit closer, resting a hand on her thigh that was both commanding and concerned. “I can go in first and speak with her. She might respond a little better if she doesn’t think of this as some sort of ambush.”

“She doesn’t even know you,” Charlotte pointed out, “or what has happened. If you turn up alone, she might think you’re there to claim your bride.”

Henry chuckled. “I hope she doesn’t become jealous when she realizes.”

Charlotte rolled her eyes at him, but then those eyes flicked to the hand on her thigh, to his body, which was pressed right against her own. Even when the situation was this serious, and her mind was this addled, she couldn’t stop herself from thinking about her husband. And after the way he had treated her this morning, it was a wonder that they’d made it this far without breaking and finishing off what he had started and then so rudely stopped.

She supposed that just spoke to how serious the situation was… and how nervous and anxious and worried she was feeling. Even the arousal that her husband sparked inside her was forced to lay dormant. Which, she reminded herself, was for the best.

“It’s fine,” she assured him, resting a hand on top of his. “I’m the one who insisted she be found, so it should be me who speaks with her.”

Henry hesitated a moment but then nodded. “As you wish.” And then, most surprisingly, he leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

He was treating her so well. Far too well. A far cry from the way the two had been behaving all week, nothing but bickering and arguing and even fighting if the mood struck. Charlotte had long since learned that this was the best way to seduce Henry, a guaranteed method to lure him into dragging her to bed and treating her as the misbehaving wife he seemed to relish so much.

She loved that side of him. She did. Even now, with everything going on, she yearned to start another quarrel because she knew just where it would lead. However, there was a small part of her that wondered why she couldn’t have both—that being the beast of a husband who took her any way he pleased and the kind, gentle soul who she was rather enjoying getting to know before all of this started.

It was a push and pull as she tried to decide on what she wanted from this marriage. Companionship or pleasure? Because as things currently stood, she could not have both.

“What are you going to say?” Henry asked softly.

“I wouldn’t have a clue.”

“You haven’t thought about it?”

“No, I have not,” she said with a hint of venom, which she then pulled back. “I’m expecting it to come to me. She can’t hide out here forever, and once I explain that to her, I expect…”

“Expect?” he pressed.

“Once you meet Beatrice, you’ll see why I’m so hesitant. You think I’m bad.” She snorted. “Where do you think I get it from?”

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