Page 79 of Tempted By an Unconventional Lady
Mulligan shook his head as if to clear it. “I suspected it as soon as you told me your story, but hearing Lucille confirm it has made me certain. My aunt has been up to something. I don’t know why she would want to do such a thing, but I know she has a cold enough heart to want to do it.”
“I know why,” Lucille said.
The atmosphere in the room weighed heavily on Alexander’s heart. He wanted to know more than anything, and yet he was terrified to hear the truth. But he would do anything to have even a chance at winning Charlotte back.
“Tell us,” he said. “Or risk the consequences.”
She looked up at him and smiled sadly. He could see it in her eyes, the regret and the hurt. Though he would never forgive her for what she had done nor understand it, he could perhaps find it in his heart to pity her. After all, love makes fools of everyone.
“She knew how much I wanted you back,” she said. She stared into the fire as if looking at Alexander was too much to bear. “And she played on that. She never wanted you to marry Charlotte.”
“But why?” Alexander’s brow was furrowed. “Is it merely because I am in debt? The same reason you betrayed me?”
Lucille slowly raised her eyes to meet his, as if they were heavy and difficult to open. “That was part of it, I’m certain. She knew how important Lady Charlotte’s wealth was to you.”
“Her money means nothing to me,” he snapped, though even as he spoke, something inside him curled with shame. After all, hadn’t her wealth been the reason he had approached her in the first place? But he had come to love her regardless of her wealth. “I would love Charlotte just as much if she were a penniless maid!”
Lucille rolled her eyes but continued all the same. “Yes, I realize that now, but Lady Charlotte’s wealth had a lot to do with Lady Fairchild’s motivations. After all, as her guardian, she has access to it. She wanted Charlotte to either remain unmarried or marry someone who was close enough to her that she could still get to the money. Someone she had some measure of control over.”
“Like whom?” Alexander asked.
Lucille glanced at Mulligan and winced. “Someone like Arthur Mulligan.”
Chapter 32
Two Weeks Later
“Arthur will be arriving soon,” Aunt Lydia said as they took breakfast that morning. It was their usual feast. Far too much food for the pair of them, but Aunt Lydia had a penchant for the lavish. “Don’t you think you ought to put on a prettier gown? Especially if you mean to marry him.”
Charlotte threw her aunt a polite smile as she buttered her toast. “I shall change for his arrival if you wish, yes, but I am not sure about marrying him. I appreciate the thought, but do you really think we’re well suited? I mean, we are barely more than acquaintances and—”
“You will be perfect for one another! I have thought it often, though I have always hidden my thoughts on the matter.”
Not very well,Charlotte thought.
“Don’t you trust my judgement?” Aunt Lydia asked, a hint of hurt in her words. “After all, I was the one who discovered the truth about the Duke of Ashbourne.”
Charlotte winced as she crunched into the corner of her toast. Forget Arthur Mulligan. The duke was on her mind constantly, no matter how much she tried to push him away. He was there while she ate, while she walked, while she read, while she bathed.
He was with her in every word she said and every dream she dreamed. He hovered in the background, waiting for his moment to step forward, but she held him back, refused him entry. He had hurt her beyond measure, and she would not allow him to penetrate her newly built walls again.
She purposely avoided conversation about him because every time she heard his name, it was as if someone squeezed her heart, draining it of yet more love and passion. It was raw and rough, and it made her sadder than she had ever been before. She knew her aunt meant well, but the constant reminders were painful.
“It’s true, you did discover the truth about him,” Charlotte replied diplomatically.
They’d had a stream of guests since their arrival—locals greeting them to the area once more, old friends come to see if they could help and no doubt go home with some gossip, even Chelsea though her visit had been brief. But the truth was, Charlotte was in no mood for socializing. Wasn’t that part of the reason they had escaped London in the first place?
She was overcome with tiredness, embarrassed by her own foolishness, and lost in a sea of sadness over Alexander. Dinner parties and picnics were the last things on her mind, and she was certain Arthur’s presence would do nothing to improve that.
“Well, it’s probably too late now regardless,” Aunt Lydia said.
“Too late for what?”
“Tochangedear. Haven’t you been listening to a word I’ve said?”
“Oh.” Charlotte stirred sugar into her tea. She wished Uncle Elliot was there. Her aunt was trying her best, but she’d always been closer to Uncle Elliot. She’d always been able to talk to him more easily. He apparently had to stay in London for business, but Charlotte suspected Lydia had warned him to stay away, thinking this was more of a delicate, feminine matter.
“It’s a shame you didn’t think of it before,” Aunt Lydia continued. “You knew he was coming.”
