Page 77 of Tempted By an Unconventional Lady
In reply to her aunt, she merely sighed.
“When we get to Cornwall,” Aunt Lydia went on, “you will feel a lot better. Fresh air and new faces will do you the world of good. I believe Lord and Lady Leming are planning on visiting in the next few weeks. Won’t that be nice?”
Charlotte muttered her agreement, but she didn’t particularly want to see Chelsea either. She had been so excited to tell her friend of her great romance. Chelsea was surely laughing at her.
“And of course dear Arthur will be visiting in only a few weeks.”
Charlotte’s head shot around to face her. “Arthur’s going to be there?”
“Why yes of course, dear. It is the family’s country seat. He has every right to be there. And he is such a lovely man, isn’t he? I thought it might nice if you and he met up again. I noticed how well the pair of you got on.”
“He is very kind, yes,” Charlotte replied, though it wasn’t with much feeling. She didn’t have much feeling about anything left, except an overwhelming numbness.
“Perhaps you can marry him if you wish. It’s sure to make you feel better, and Arthur is such a darling.”
Charlotte turned and smiled at her aunt. She could not imagine ever being so devastated that she would agree to marry Arthur Mulligan, but her aunt was being so kind. She meant only to cheer her up, and that warmed her heart.
There had been a moment, admittedly, when she had suspected Aunt Lydia of somehow ruining her chances of marrying Alexander, but the woman had been so kind and caring ever since—she had even made a show of kicking Lucille out of the house—that she had come to trust her again.
“Perhaps,” she said. “Perhaps.”
Chapter 31
“Please,” Alexander said, pleading with the butler. “I know this is tremendously undignified for a man in my position, but I beg of you. Five minutes with Lady Charlotte is all I ask. One minute, if that is all you’ll give me.”
The butler sighed, pulling the door closed behind him as he stepped out of the house. “I am very sorry, Your Grace, but that won’t be possible.”
“Can’t you ask her, just once, for me, please?”
The butler shook his head. “It’s not that, Your Grace. Lady Charlotte is no longer in residence here.”
Alexander sucked in his breath and straightened. “You mean she has left? How long will she be away?”
The butler shrugged. “I’m afraid I am not privy to that information, Your Grace, but I believe it will be quite some time.”
“Where have—never mind. You can’t tell me, and it would be unfair of me to expect you to.”
Alexander turned and meandered away, feeling more lost than he ever had. He supposed he had to accept it was over. What other choice did he have? He slumped away from the house, ignoring the butler, ignoring even his own idling carriage. He couldn’t face going home. Instead, he wandered into town.
Perhaps he’d find a little tavern somewhere or find his way to the club. He ought to work, he knew that. He ought to work on his investments or find a way of bringing in more wealth, but he didn’t have the heart for it any longer. Without Charlotte, what was the point in anything? Financial ruin mattered so little when one had a broken heart.
He wasn’t truly looking where he was going, nor did he really care. He pushed his way through the people as he reached the busy streets, and soon enough, he walked straight into another man. He jumped back and muttered an apology before trying to make his way past.
“Your Grace? Is that you?”
Alexander raised his head to find himself face to face with Arthur Mulligan, the nephew of Lady Fairchild. He would remember him anywhere, for he had been insanely jealous that evening over dinner, when Charlotte giggled at his wit and seemed entirely engrossed in their conversation.
“Oh, Mr. Mulligan,” he replied and again, tried to push past.
“Are you quite all right?” Mulligan asked. “Forgive my saying so, but you look a little peaky.”
Alexander sighed. “It’s Lady Charlotte,” he said. “She’s gone.”
“Oh dear,” Mulligan replied, though it was evident that he didn’t fully understand the connotations. “I had heard they’d gone to the countryside for a little rest and recuperation. Were you hoping to see them for some reason?”
He wasn’t sure why he did it, but in that moment, on the street and to this near stranger, Alexander bared his soul. He poured it all out—his love, his hurt, his desperation to get her back. The betrayal he had faced at the hands of Lucille on two counts.
“Goodness,” was all Mulligan could say, and Alexander wondered if he’d made a mistake. It was foolish for any man to reveal himself so fully, especially to one he hardly knew, but something inside him told him that Mulligan was trustworthy, even if he had the ability to make Charlotte smile.
