Page 108 of In Need of a Duke
“You’ll do fine, Celeste,” Charlotte cooed, picking her up. She gave the black cat a scratch behind her ears, relaxing a moment when the cat began to purr. That’s when she remembered. “We have a new student for the fall term.”
Lily looked up at her, confused. “A new student? Who?”
“Well, this will stay between you and me,” Charlotte said, masking her face, but Lily saw the grin stretched across her lips before she pulled it into a mask of seriousness. “It’s Ian’s half sister.”
“No, really?” Lily exclaimed.
Celeste tilted her head so Charlotte could concentrate on scratching beneath her chin. The demanding feline.
“Yes, his father had a second family. Kept them out of London and never told Ian.”
“I see,” Lily said, “that explains something.”
“What does it explain?”
“Well, it explains why he hated his father so much, for one.”
“I thought of that.” Charlotte set down the cat, then squeezed the slice of lemon into her tea. She didn’t even care for lemon tea. “And he wishes to establish a family, perhaps see he has the opportunity that his father didn’t provide for him.” Charlotte frowned. “I am not making excuses.”
“I know,” Lily said.
“I just... I don’t know what to do.”
Lily picked up a pile of papers and walked over to her friend, puzzling her over. “See, that’s the confusing thing because Lottie, you have always been the one to swoop in and rescue me or Kate or anyone else. You have this calm, unwavering grace about you. That’s what I love about you. That, and your kindness, your ability to love even those who are unlovable, like your duke.”
She wouldn’t go as far as to say unlovable. He had his fair share of moments.
Charlotte made a face. “My duke?”
“I think the problem might be that you know what you wish to do, but you don’t like the answer.”
Like every other conundrum she ever faced.
Drat.
“You think I should have him go through with the divorce?”
“I can’t make those decisions for you,” Lily said. “That’s the problem with love. You’re the only person who’s able to understand your heart.”
It wasn’t as if Charlotte hadn’t already known this. She did. She knew perfectly well. She was a grown woman who could make up her own mind. That didn’t make it any easier because there was still a persistent war between her heart and her head. She knew what she should do, and she knew what she wished to do. Neither was perfect because the truth of it was, after three weeks away, she missed him desperately. Just as when he had first left.
However, this time she wasn’t angry.
How could she be when he gave her what she wished for?
She had asked him to leave, and he had. She had asked him to release her, and he had. She was waiting for an announcement to be made, for a letter, any day. She had no doubt that he had been earnest when he had declared that if she wished for a divorce, he would give it to her. That’s not what she wanted. She wanted her husband back. Somehow, he had become a part of her, and with him gone, she was missing that piece that made the world a little quieter, a little calmer, and far less scary to face alone.
She missed the way he lit up when she walked into a room, the way he played with her hair as they read together in bed. She missed the way he’d pluck her hand from her hip as they walked in the hallway and suddenly dance with her, as if an orchestra had struck up and they were in the middle of a ballroom. He had returned and put her in the center of his world. And suddenly, that was gone.
It had been cold in his shadow once. And now she craved his nearness.
“Oh, my darling, Lottie. Do you remember what you told me once?”
Charlotte glanced up. “I am an infinite source of wisdom, dear. I can’t recall exactly.”
“Oh, see…” Lily pointed at her, smiling. “Humor, that’s good. Once, when I was very sad and refused to leave my bed, you told me ‘tomorrow, you will try again, and I will be by your side.’”
“That is what friends do.”
