Page 24 of A Lady's Dangerous Secret
“I want you to come to Gabe’s town house tonight.”
Charlotte looked taken aback. “Are you fit for Bedlam? With his mother and sister there?”
“No. His other town house. I’ll make sure he’s not using it. It would give us one night together before you marry the Duke.”
Charlotte worried her lower lip, turning the proposition over in her mind.
If only she knew what that thought did to him.
Her eyes refocused on his, and her chin tilted stubbornly. “I’ll come. I want to experience something that is my choice, not something laid out for me before I’m forced to become a wife.”
“I’ll meet you by your aunt’s mews at midnight.”
Charlotte nodded. Without another word, she turned and rode away.
James was dismissed.
Charlotte went through the motions of the day: visiting hours, social calls, and idle conversations, all while wondering what the night would bring. She was a mix of emotions ranging from angst and guilt to anticipation and excitement. She had bolted from Hyde Park after accepting the foolhardy proposition from James. She had acted with her heart, not her mind, and she had a terrible inkling it would lead to trouble.
Return to reason.
Charlotte, theforgotten fifth,had been noticed for who she was, not just a dowry or a broodmare, and she could not deny the heat between them. She told herself their liaison would assuage the flaming desires between them before her marriage to the Duke; thus, helping the union in the long term. Men behaved improperly all the time with no recourse. She, a woman, deserved one cherished memory to carry with her into a marriage of convenience.
Charlotte told herself,it is a perfectly reasonable plan. A nagging feeling in her gut told her it was wrong, but she chose to ignore it.
After she completed the afternoon’s forced social obligations, she slumped into the upholstered chair in her bedroom, ready for a break. Just as she leaned back and closed her eyes, a knock sounded on the door, and Bailey entered and walked briskly toward her.
“Milady, your aunt ordered me to dress you for your ride in Hyde Park with His Grace.”
Charlotte groaned. With so much on her mind, she had already forgotten about her outing with the Duke.
Bailey looked at her apologetically. “Lady Hardwicke would like you to wear your new riding habit.”
Charlotte reluctantly raised herself from the chair, and Bailey proceeded to dress her in a green woolen skirt accompanied by a tight-fitting jacket with brass military-style buttons, which glistened in the daylight filtering through the window.
“A riding habit befitting a duchess,” her aunt had crooned in the modiste’s shop.
Charlotte wished she could dress Aunt Frances in these ridiculous costumes and have her go in her place. Her aunt truly enjoyed being on display, and a ride down Rotton Row with the Duke of Westcliffe would suit her perfectly. Charlotte shook her head, picturing her aunt stuffed into her petite outfit, smiling obscenely and waving to thetonfrom her seat next the Duke.
“Lady Charlotte?” Bailey said.
The vision evaporated. Alas, this was her own fate, and she had to do whatever was necessary to marry Westcliffe. She sat at the vanity with resignation, her shoulders curled forward. She was in no mood to be paraded about with the Duke, but she had to prevail. Her life depended on it.
Bailey tugged at her hair, which forced Charlotte to straighten her posture.
Yes, I can do this,she coaxed herself.
Bailey rearranged Charlotte’s mane into a low chignon that accommodated a matching, jauntily set chapeau. Like her aunt, it included a dramatic flair with a feather proudly fastened to the fabric.
Her lady’s maid arranged the hat and gave it one final tug. Bailey stepped back to appraise her handiwork as Charlotte looked at herself in the mirror and saw a stranger. She was still not used to seeing herself adorned in the latest fashions like the rest of the ladies of theton. In for a penny, in for a pound, as they say.
“You did well,” Charlotte said.
Bailey curtseyed and left the room.
Charlotte took one last look at her alien appearance.
I can do this, she repeated to herself and went downstairs. Her aunt must have been impatiently awaiting her arrival, because she immediately swept into the entrance hall.
