Page 5 of The Virgin Duchess

“Careful, Diedre,” Charlotte cut in. “He is now a duke with his father’s passing.”

The jab in his direction was certainly noted, and Frederick flicked his stare to her for just a moment as the cut sunk in.

“Apologies, Your Grace. I will see if the master of the house is available for a meeting.”

Excusing herself with another bow, Diedre left the room. Only Charlotte and Frederick remained in the front hall now, and the tension that swam through the air was thicker than pea soup. She refused to look away from the man’s face even as her stomach clenched at the thought of him betraying her secret to Magnus.

Or worse still, coming forward with some horrible truth about what happened with the Baron.

“Lady Charlotte, I?—”

“I had thought we made an arrangement, Your Grace.”

Frederick stopped short in the middle of a step forward. He eyed her hard, regarding her for a moment, but then sighed.

“I have actually come to speak with you, Lady Charlotte. Not your brother.”

As much as she would have wished it, Charlotte was at a loss for words. Why on earth would the Duke want to speak with her? They had their agreement, and it hadn’t been long enough for her to have betrayed it—not that she would. She reeled slightly, taken off guard, and Frederick took a step closer, further into the home.

“I wished to check on you. Are you all right after last night’s…encounter? You stumbled fairly roughly, after all.”

His face was a mask of charming sincerity, but Charlotte didn’t believe it for a moment. The man was a dastardly rake, and she was almost positive that he had done something terrible last night.

“I am sure that isn’t your reason for coming,” she countered. “You have come to see if I’ve said anything about your Baron. Rumors have already spread of his disappearance, and you wished to see if you could lay the blame on me.”

The man didn’t so much as bat an eye at her accusation. Frederick only held her stare intently, calmly gripping his hat between his hands.

“What have you been doing with the poor man since his disappearance, I wonder?”

At that, the Duke’s stare went to the floor as he cleared his throat. After a moment, he looked up at her once more and took another step forward into the hall. Leveling her with a glower, Frederick kept his voice low—a dark edge to it.

“I have done nothing that the man did not deserve.” He ducked his chin slightly. “I assure you.”

A shiver ran down Charlotte’s spine. There was that look that she’d seen just a few hours ago. It was so different from the boastful charisma Frederick usually wore on his sleeves at all times. This wasn’t the man that she was used to, and the fact that he had so clearly been putting on airs signaled the worst.

I must tell Magnus about this.

“I believe it is a good thing then that you have sent for my brother. He should hear what you’ve done to him.”

The muscles in Frederick’s jaw worked, and he turned his face down toward the floor. “I truly wish you had not said that, Lady Charlotte.”

A flicker of nervousness dripped down her spine, skittering like spiders. The dark quality of Frederick’s voice made her pulse quicken, and she was not so foolish as to deny that she was scared of what he might do to her.

“I am in my own home, Your Grace. This would be anunwiseplace to try something untoward.”

The Duke chuckled, the sound too beautiful for the intensity of the situation. “You misunderstand. I do not wish to harm you. Though, I believe that your brother might have an interesting thing to say if he learned that you were out late last night in the streets—alone.”

“You can’t,” she snapped. “I have said nothing. And you agreed?—”

“Calm yourself, Lady Charlotte. I don’t wish to go down that road unless forced. Instead, I offer a solution, if an unorthodox one at that.”

Charlotte felt like some leaf blown about by a fickle wind back and forth, and she shook her head, scoffing at how Frederick continued to yank her about like a fish on a hook.

“A solution? And what, perchance, is this miraculous resolution to our situation?”

There was a brief pause where Charlotte noticed the deep crease between Frederick’s brows. He studied her, only the act of a moment, and then nodded as if solidifying himself to the decision.

“A marriage. One of convenience and mutual benefit.”

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