Page 43 of The Virgin Duchess

Snorting under her breath, Diedre did her best to mask her chuckle, but Charlotte heard it all the same. The two of them giggled to themselves about the hilarity of the ton believing that the man was indeed a true rake because it was so very evident that nothing was further from the truth if you actually took the time to get to know the man.

After much longer than usual, Charlotte was dressed. She would go to Frederick’s room straight away. She couldn’t wait a single minute before speaking to him.

This will be perfect. It will be the perfect way to apologize to him. I shouldn’t have been so harsh to judge him after all. It wasn’t his secret to tell. He was simply being a brother protecting his sister. Of course, I can understand that.

Charlotte’s thoughts churned nonstop as she approached Frederick’s door. As she reached it, she rapped her knuckles against the wood and waited—not so patiently—for him to answer.

The door creaked open, and Frederick greeted her with a smile. “Charlotte, good morning.”

He studied her for a moment, cocking his head with a grin. “You seem like you have something to say. By all means, speak before you burst.”

She laughed before stepping forward and taking his hand. “I would very much like you to come with me to Amelia’s drum. It is being hosted this evening. While you have not gone in the past, it would mean the world to me if you would accompany me this time.”

A genuine look of surprise washed over Frederick’s face. Charlotte couldn’t stop the smile that crept up over her own before completely taking over, stretching her cheeks wide as she grinned broadly.

“Truly? You’ve never requested that I attend previously. I…I will admit that I am quite taken aback. Still,” he nodded, his own smile growing, “it would be my pleasure to accompany you.”

Charlotte curtsied, still grinning, knowing it was a ridiculous gesture after…howclosethey had become. Then she straightened, nodding her head.

“Perfect. I shall see you after readying myself for the night.”

He chuckled, reaching out to snag Charlotte’s wrist and haul her close. “You shall see much more of me if I can find the time today, I swear it.”

Her skin burned and hummed, and Charlotte felt a strange sort of giddy glee coursing through her veins. It was so odd and overwhelming. But she would be lying if she said that it was not pleasant.

“Regardless, Your Grace,” Charlotte teased, slipping away, “I shall see you then for certain, and right now, I need breakfast. I’m famished.”

“Hmm,” Frederick narrowed his eyes on her, a look of profound, dark hunger radiating through his gray stare, “indeed. Famished.”

The room was bursting with vibrant energy when they arrived, last, in fact, to do so because of a slightdelay. Frederick’s fault entirely, too. Every one of Charlotte’s friends who were in town attended. She saw them all huddled up near the open table of assorted tidbits—Selina, Magnus, Amelia, and Richard, of course, and even Rose had accompanied them.

As the evening progressed, the first hour or so spent enjoying lively conversations as the libations flowed, they all decided that a game was most necessary and settled on Charades. They split up into teams, and it was agreed that the team with the most points, achieved through successful guesses before the hourglass ran out, would win the game.

Amelia and Richard paired, of course. Then it was Charlotte and Frederick. And lastly, Rose and Selina. Magnus chose to sit out, in truth demanding it, and Charlotte couldn’t help but notice how quiet and almost sullen he appeared. She’d never seen him so despondent during a drum, and a strange notion caught in her mind that it might have something to do with Ethel’s absence.

He’s truly been so out of sorts since she left. Odd. He constantly bickers with her. Could he honestly be missing that?

Amelia and Richard began the round as the hosts, and it was hilarious to watch them work together to act out and guess the word baker. Amelia gesticulated wildly in some vain attempt to make it seem like she was plying dough. Through his laughs, Richard was finally able to guess the word with only a few moments to spare.

Next, it was Charlotte and Frederick’s turn. She was horrifyingly nervous to act anything out this round, so thankfully, Frederick agreed to go first. He drew a slip of paper from the stack that had been created before the game, and his eyes bulged at whatever word he saw. Charlotte’s nerves doubled down, but Frederick quickly began to act out his depiction of the word.

She tried to pay attention as the small hourglass, one that Amelia asserted lasted precisely two minutes. Still, it was impossible to keep herself from laughing as Frederick began to mime kissing someone. Her hands flew to her mouth as she fought against the giggles, still studying her husband for any clue as to what he might be acting out.

His gestures became more and more crude, and Charlotte could think of nothing that he might be trying to show her. This was supposed to be all about careers one might take, and they all had taken slips of paper and wrote down options for the game. Whoever had put this one in was a fiendish jokester.

“Time!”

Charlotte threw up her hands, still laughing. “What on earth was that?!”

Frederick caught his breath, his cheeks red from both exertion and what Charlotte believed to be embarrassment. He held out the card to the room and sighed.

“Prostitute.”

The room erupted into laughter, and then Amelia glared playfully at them all. “Who put that in there?!”

Selina slowly raised a hand, rolling her lips to keep herself from laughing herself silly. “I couldn’t help it! It was too humorous!”

Further laughter filled the room. Everyone there—even Magnus to a certain extent—was lost in a fit of stitches that took several minutes to come down from. It was so wonderful for Charlotte to be there, enjoying her friends and her husband all in the same place. While their relationship began on such a rocky foundation, it was a delight to have him here now, partaking in the silly game with them.

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