Page 37 of The Virgin Duchess

Heat gathered beneath her skin, though. The expression on Rose’s face was too much. Charlotte couldn’t deny her when the woman implored her so intensely with just the look in her eyes.

“Of course, Rose. How may I help you?”

“On the contrary, Charlotte,” Rose shook her head, “I believe I can help you.”

Faltering, with her heart in her throat, Charlotte sat on the edge of her seat, awaiting her sister-in-law’s words. It took a moment, Rose’s eyes falling to the table, before the woman had the strength to look at the Duchess again, and then she sighed.

“I have heard a bit of your conversation with my brother. And I feel that it is time you know the truth. It ismehe is trying to protect.”

Charlotte’s jaw dropped, and she blinked several times. “What?”

Rose took turns looking at the collection of food laid out on the table and then up at Charlotte. The moment stretched on, and with a heavy exhale that forced Rose’s shoulders to droop, she again glanced up at the Duchess and nodded.

“I understand your surprise. Frederick had wanted to keep this thoroughly buried. He has been working to protect me at every turn, and I am incredibly grateful for his help. Still, I won’t allow him to strain every relationship he forms because he is holding onto this secret.”

It was so strange to hear Rose speak like this. Charlotte had assumed for so long that the two of them didn’t get along. Even when it was clear that they cared about each other, Frederick remained so stoic about his intense feelings regarding the situation. He was a better actor than Charlotte believed, apparently, doing an expert job at hiding his concern behind a false smile.

What else has he allowed me, allowed others, to believe?

“Rose,” Charlotte started, taking her hand and offering a gentle smile, “I appreciate your concern for your brother. Still, I do not wish for you to injure yourself with the words you speak. I understand the need for discretion, even with me.”

The young woman smiled, squeezing Charlotte’s hand. “I know you do, and I will forever be grateful for the kindness you have shown me. But it is time.”

Charlotte allowed Rose all the time and space she required to formulate her words, to gather her wits enough to reveal something that the entire family had been so set on keeping secret.

“The Baron of Halfacre, or Thomas as he insisted I call him, lied to me. It was not very long ago when he first came to me…seeking my hand in marriage.”

Understanding grew in Charlotte’s mind. The clarity of the situation came into slow focus as essential pieces of the puzzle were laid in place. Rose was the target of the Baron’s affections, it seemed, but Charlotte knew that could not be the end of it. And worse, she sensed where the story was going.

“He wished to marry but it was quick, and there was an intense need from him to move through the engagement at a rapid pace. Everything with him was a whirlwind of emotions and rushing forward. It was wonderful at first, feeling so desired that a man was willing to forgo the requirements of the banns and such. But I had been naïve.”

“Your brother would not support the arrangement?” Charlotte cocked her head as she studied Rose’s expression. “Was he not supportive of your choice to marry well?”

Rose shook her head. “No, nothing like that. Frederick had been incredibly gracious and supportive of the marriage. He had volunteered his staff and services to ensure the wedding was a success, drafting up a message for the banns himself. Perhaps that is why he feels so awful to this day about how it played out.”

Charlotte was a bit shocked at that. She’d assumed that Frederick must not have liked the Baron right away. But it appeared that her husband had fallen prey to Thomas’s schemes just as Rose had.

“Suddenly, Thomas insisted that we could not wait. It came out of nowhere, but he was so adamant, so charming…” Rose’s stare drifted off to the side as she remembered the past events. “…He’d swept me away, convinced me to put on my best gown, and he would deliver us to Scotland where we could wed with haste. I was in the carriage when my brother appeared.”

Desperate for more answers, Charlotte leaned forward in her seat, gripping both of Rose’s hands tighter. So much was beginning to make sense, but what had the Baron lied about? How had Frederick gotten himself into that alley with him?

“Rose, please, what did Frederick learn? I need to understand why he is so furious with Halfacre.”

Her eyes glassed over with unshed tears, and Rose shook her head with a sniffle, trying to keep them at bay.

“When Frederick arrived at the carriage, he was furious. He said that he knew the truth about Thomas. He was not some well-to-do gentleman as he’d claimed but a financially and emotionally bankrupt rogue who’d been scheming women out of their dowries for some time. He was going to wed me, take the money he received, and immediately annul the marriage to return to his gambling hell.”

Rose’s tears won out then, and she forced herself to take strangled gulps of air so that she could continue her story.

“When…when he was revealed, Thomas…the Baron became violent. He screamed and fought against Frederick to get out of the carriage. The constables were on their way, and he would not be caught. He…he shoved me through the door, stepping on my leg as he ran off.”

Rose took her hands, leaning down to pull up the bottom of her house dress and reveal her ankle behind the fabric of her stocking. Angry scarring and damage covered her flesh, and Charlotte gasped, putting a hand to her mouth.

“It was a severe injury, part of the reason I have been cooped up in my room so often. I…I will admit that I was not ready to face the world after everything happened, either. I know that Frederick chased after the Baron, but because I was injured, he was delayed. Worse, the constables could confirm his guilt, so they refused to get involved.”

Charlotte’s chest pinched, an aching weight forced down onto her shoulders and chest. She’d said and assumed such terrible things about Frederick when he had simply been protecting his sister from a scoundrel this entire time. She could hardly breathe around the lump in her throat, guilt and regret swirling to make her sick to her stomach.

“I…I am so terribly sorry, Rose. I have not been nearly as kind to you and your brother as I should have. I have made a terrible mistake.”

---