Page 80 of Why Do Earls Fall in Love?
Margie bustled off, smiling, and Charlotte went back to her dressing table. She sat a moment, examining her reflection, but not really seeing it. Whiddon had opened up to her today. He’d let her catch a glimpse of the real man inside the frivolous shell he used to distract the rest of the world. That was the man his friends knew. Honorable. Fearless. Fair. Willing to make real sacrifices in the name of justice.
Hope sprouted inside of her and she longed to feed it, to let it grow wide and tall and lush. It was possible. A true marriage of minds and bodies, of purpose and true, honest emotion.
Of love.
They could find their way to it. Staring at herself in the mirror, she knew it. Because she’d spoken true this morning, when he’d given her a studio and hope and despair all at once. When Whiddon looked at her, he saw her like no one else.
To her uncle, she’d only been a nuisance.
To her siblings, she always been a comfort, provider, protector.
To her aunt, at first, she’d been an obligation. But that had softened and changed until they were friends and companions at arms in the struggle to survive and thrive.
But Whiddon? Only he looked closely and sawher. All the myriad pieces of her. Sometimes sarcastic and occasionally still innocent of worldly concerns. A bit bossy. Not afraid to want good things for herself and those she loved. Artistic. Observant. Always fascinated by people and inordinately interested in what lay beneath their facades. Whiddon had mined all of those qualities in her and not only did he see them, but he seemed to actually like them, too.
It felt . . . miraculous.
But she knew what he was going to do. She’d put him off for now, but he was going to try to push her away. Keep her out of this business with Hurley and the French refugees, from the smugglers and the jewels.
But that was not what she wanted.
She wanted to do the same for him. She knew his funny and generous sides. She knew that he was also observant. She knew the part that was never hesitant to rush in to rescue the underdog. She loved all of that about him. How could she not? But she wanted more. She wanted to share their lives. She longed for the chance to love all of him, in the way it seemed no one else ever had.
He was going to use their agreement against her. She knew it. Well, she wasn’t going to go along with it. In fact, she was more than willing to turn it all up and over, for a chance at happiness.
With grim determination, she reached for her sketch pad and her pastel sticks. She went to work, sketching furiously until the door opened behind her and a maid came in with hot water. She set aside her work then and stood to fetch her scented soap.
Strategy.
Her plan was entering a new phase and she wanted to use every weapon at her disposal.
