Page 33 of The Seduction of Lord Sin
Charlotte nodded and let out an enormous sigh as Travis took his leave. “Thank you, well rescued.”
Just then Bella arrived and shook, covering his trousers in sand and sea water.
A giggle erupted. “I offer an apology. Bella seems determined to ruin all your wardrobe.” Charlotte didn’t seem to mind that her clothes were getting just as dirty. She took the stick Bella offered and once again threw it into the water. Bella took off after it as if it was worth all the gold in the world. “I know I spoil her, but she had such a terrible start in life that I think she deserves a bit of spoiling.”
Sin rather thought Charlotte had had a terrible start to married life and also deserved a bit of spoiling. “Where did you come by her?”
“I was out riding along the river Kenwyn when I spied a sack hanging off a tree over the river. When I saw it move slightly, I was still about to ride on, but then I heard a cry. I slid off my horse, climbed the tree, inched out on the brough and pulled the sack in. I found a tiny puppy inside. She was so thin and desperate for food and water. I really didn’t think she’d make it.”
“She was lucky you came along. Starving to death is not how any animal should die.”
“I know we kill for food, but there should be no suffering. Someone had obviously thrown her in the river, but had not bothered to ensure she actually drowned. I nursed her for many days and nights and she grew strong. Bella was clearly determined.”
This woman was a natural nurturer. No wonder she craved children.
“Bella helped me through the terrible first few years of my marriage. We were both rejects, but we had each other.” Bella arrived back and, heedless of the sand and water, Charlotte bent and hugged her dog. “Good girl.” She stood and threw the stick again.
Charlotte was just as wounded as him. Is that why he had this affinity for her? “Do you think it’s fair to let these desperate men think you’ll wed them when you will wait for Devlin? Or indeed hide the fact you are still a virgin?”
Her face flushed with color. “Allow me to keep some pride.” She bent to take the stick from Bella’s mouth and threw it into the water again. “You and I both know that my only actual option is Toobury, and I shall tell him everything. He can afford to wait until Christmas for my decision, and he will have no problem finding an alternative should I cry off and marry Devlin.”
He looked up the beach. “There are going to be some very unhappy men in a few hours. You will tell them tonight?”
She shrugged. “All is fair in love and war, isn’t it?”
“But this is not love. It’s something much worse, a financial transaction. Men have fought wars over power and money. Did you consider this when you started? Or did you do it to force Devlin’s hand? To remind him you have other options.”
“Of course not. I did it because I knew Devlin didn’t want to marry me. If he had, he’d have asked months ago.”
That could be true. “So what has changed? What has made this decision so hard?”
He watched as she swiped an angry tear from her cheek. “It sounded so easy. To marry for money, my first marriage was for my family’s financial improvement. My sisters all made fabulous matches because I married an Earl. But now,” she kicked the sand. “I don’t know if I can face another marriage like my last—emotionless, virtual strangers. If I didn’t want a child so badly, I’d stay a widow.”
He came over and stood beside her. “What a pair we are. You had a terrible marriage because it was based on a financial transaction to a man who couldn’t love you. I married for love and it almost destroyed me and my family. So who is to say what is the best way to make a marriage? But I too have to risk matrimony again, as I need a son.”
“Risk?” She eyed him with a frankness he’d not seen from anyone but his mother. “You could be brave and look for love again. For a man like you, finding love should be easy.”
His whole body trembled at the idea, the remembered pain ricocheting through every limb, exactly as if he stood over his wife’s bloodied body again. “I’ll overlook that statement because you have never been in love, and at this rate, you’re unlikely to be.”
She swished her skirts and began walking off down the beach, her back ramrod straight. After a slight hesitation, Sin quickly fell in beside her. Charlotte frowned haughtily and flashed a concerned glance towards him. “I understand you find this—my situation ridiculous. So perhaps it would be best if you left this afternoon.”
He halted beside her. “My apologies. That came out wrong.”
She swung to face him. “No, it didn’t.” She pointed along the beach. “You are just like them. None of them sees me. They see a barren woman with a fat purse. None of them care enough to want to know me. They don’t care about my hopes and dreams. None of them care why I’m doing this. They think I’m barren and they are willing to forgo children for money. They just want my purse. At least they are honest in their desire.”
“That’s not true. I care. I have repeatedly suggested this is not the way to find what it is you want.”
“And what exactly do you think it is I want?”
He pushed a wind-blown curl off her face. He could swim in the depth of her blue eyes. “You want a child, but you want a marriage that involves feelings. You don’t want another cold-blooded business arrangement. Just admit it.”
“Look at me? Really look. I don’t know what you see, but I see a woman closer to thirty who has little else to recommend her to any man looking for a wife—other than financial gain. We both know how our world works. How am I, a widow stuck in Cornwall, going to meet a man, let alone make him fall in love with me?”
* * *
Head rising, Charlotte pretended to study the sea, blinking back pitiful tears. His Grace could never understand. The world fell at his feet. Anger, despair, humiliation pounded her shoulders, and she almost sagged under the weight. Instead, she watched the waves as they tumbled chaotically and thought how ironic, because her stomach was tumbling, too. She stepped out, intending to sweep past him, but she did not see the half buried log.
“Oh!” She tripped, and the sand rushed towards her.
