Page 27 of The Virgin Duchess

All through playing, Charlotte’s mind returned to the fact that Frederick had done all this for Cordelia and Kitty, and he had not said a single word. He'd provided the assistance, even the physician, without a second thought. And he’d done it likely without the expectation of being praised for it. Otherwise, he would have surely told her about his magnanimous acts.

Why didn’t he tell me? He’s so…

“Oh, please, Miss Lady. I must go to the ball.” Kitty’s playful voice pulled Charlotte out of her head—if only a little.

She did her best to carry on the game with the girl, acting out little bits of a fairy tale and laughing as Kitty put on a grand show. Cordelia watched from her chair, content to see her daughter so happy and cared for.

Frederick had truly done something wonderful by helping them, and Charlotte was beyond moved. She couldn’t understand the man’s motivations. He had to be seeking something out of this, but what? Was he only trying to get into her good graces? There would undoubtedly be a less expensive way of doing so. And he hadn’t said anything about it to her, which might have led her tobelieve that he was just trying to goad her into feeling favorably about him.

They would soon be enjoying another evening together following the night spent at the party. Frederick had stayed on that dance floor with her until the final movement was called. He hadn’t asked even once to step away for a break or to leave early.

Something was going on with him. Charlotte was sure of it. And when she saw him this evening, she would get to the bottom of it.

Chapter Thirteen

“Frederick?” Charlotte called out into the quiet estate, climbing the stairs in hopes that she would find him in his bedroom.

As the wood creaked beneath her steps, the door to Frederick’s room opened, and he joined her in the hall. Approaching him, Charlotte noted how his brows were raised in surprise, and she sucked in a breath to secure her nerves.

“Charlotte, do you require assistance with something or?—”

“I would like to begin our third night together if you are amenable to it.” She spoke as evenly as she could, holding his dark stare as her heart fluttered like a hummingbird.

Shock played over Frederick’s features, but he nodded as a slow smile spread over his lips. Lips that Charlotte had a difficult time peeling her stare away from.

“Of course.” He stepped back, gesturing inside his room. “Would you care to join me inside?”

Charlotte forced herself to swallow down the sudden panic that gripped her. She’d been so confident on the trip back to their estate. She had even gone through what she would say to him in the carriage. All that preparation flew out of her the moment she laid eyes on her husband, however.

“Thank you,” she replied, ducking her head in a little bow and slipping past Frederick and into his room.

Following after her, Frederick shut them in together, not locking the door but closing it securely. Charlotte’s pulse was overly loud in her ears, and she could feel it dance in her neck.

As the Duke went to the small table in his room, pulling out a chair for her, the room hung in silence. Charlotte took a seat, allowing Frederick to help tuck her into the table, and then waited for him to sit down across from her.

Several moments passed before she could speak again, and Charlotte had a feeling that Frederick would wait for her to do so as long as it took.

“I’ve just come Cordelia’s home.” Frederick’s brows rose at the words, a grin ticking up the corner of his mouth. “It is immensely improved over the state in which I last saw it. Cordelia and Kitty, too. They are in much better health, and apparently, I have you to thank for it.”

“Ah,” Frederick nodded as his stare rolled to the side, a slight chuckle leaving him, “I see. Well, I should have liked to remain anonymous, as I told Ms. Wood, but yes. I was able to assist them. I am glad to hear that Cordelia’s health has improved with the aid of the physician.”

Charlotte waited a moment to see if he might say more. She nearly expected him to put forth a brag or joke, but there was nothing. Frederick only smiled gently at her, a growing expectation on his face as the silence persisted.

“Why did you help them?” Charlotte immediately regretted the flat tone of her voice, but she couldn’t stop the question from bursting from her.

“They are people you care about,” Frederick supplied. “And I hold the means to aid them without taking on any strain myself. The estate is quite well-off, and I’m unlikely to spend everything I’ve been able to make in several lifetimes. Why not help those in need?”

Throat tightening, Charlotte shifted in her chair, her eyes burning. “I am incredibly grateful, Frederick. Not everyone would be so kind.”

“Think nothing of it, Charlotte. I am happy to have helped.”

The man sitting in front of her, the one she’d danced with into the early hours of the morning, was not the one she’d heard about through the ton. He was not this wild, outlandish rake,and in Frederick’s eyes, Charlotte only saw genuine comfort in having been helpful.

Her heart fluttered against her ribs, the pound of it so firm against them that she wondered if the muscle might crack one of her ribs. How was it possible that Frederick could make her feel like this? So wound up and off-balance while providing a grounding that made her intimately aware of her body.

How did he indeed work a strange magic that shot straight to the core of her like an arrow shot from Eros’s golden bow?

“You surprise me,” was all that she could think to say, and the lift to Frederick’s cheek as he smirked at her did nothing to relieve that buzzing sensation in her chest.

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