Page 23 of A Virgin to Tame the Duke
“The benefit of being somewhat older than most young ladies in society is that I am much more my own woman,” Charlotte said, patting his arm and making to leave the room. “And I can assure you, I know what I’m doing and have every intention of seeing my decision through.”
As she left, she half expected him to forbid her from leaving the house or some such heavy-handed thing, but he did not, and she left the room in silence.Yorkshire with the Duke.The prospect both excited and terrified her. At Hexham Place, on his estate, she would see him as he truly was, and there could be no escaping each other.
Her fingertips tingled as she recalled their clandestine kisses, the second so much more passionate than the first, and the moment at their engagement ball when she thought he might kiss her again.
When she had thought, perhaps, shewantedhim to.
Yes, the prospect of spending more time with the Duke terrified her, mostly because if he wanted to kiss her again, she wasn’t sure she would stop him. Or that she would even want to. And that was a very dangerous position to be in.
ChapterNine
As Aaron had promised, he intended to leave as soon as possible, and two days after their engagement ball, he sent a carriage to the Calore residence to pick up Charlotte and her mother, Lady Lowood.
The journey to Yorkshire would take three days, he estimated, and he planned out the appropriate stops on the Great North Road. If he were going alone, he could have made it in two, but there was the extra weight to be considered and the comfort of his passengers.
“I hardly see why you’re sharing a carriage with me when you could be sharing it with your intended,” his aunt said, turning her gaze from the window to his face. “I am certain her mother would be amenable.”
“I would rather spend my time considering where Constance is,” he said.
“And brooding in a carriage with your old aunt is the key to discovering her whereabouts, is it?” She tutted under her breath. “If you ask me, you should rather allow Lady Charlotte’s charms to distract you.”
“Playing matchmaker, are we?” he asked, his voice slightly too sharp. He amended it. “You presume Lady Charlotte and I have more to say to each other than we do.”
“I have yet to see you together without being engaged in conversation,” his aunt said severely. “And consider my plight in all this if you please. If I were given a choice, I should not choose to sit opposite my brooding nephew when I could be enjoying the delights of Lady Lowood’s company.”
Aaron sighed. “Then perhaps I shall raise the idea to Lady Charlotte when we next stop.”
His aunt shuffled impatiently on the seat though he knew them to be the finest leather. “Pray, when are we next to stop?” she inquired. “I feel an urgent desire to use the restroom.”
“You are incorrigible,” he said, tapping on the roof to let his coachman know to stop at the next available inn. “I hardly see how I have failed to fall foul of your scheming before now.”
“Before now you were not in search of a wife,” Octavia said primly though there was a wave of laughter in her eyes at his exasperated look. “You may think me tiresome, but after an hour or so of Lady Charlotte’s company, you will not find yourself worrying about Constance at all.”
“And that, I suppose, is what you would prefer?”
“If you are to worry, save it for when we arrive.”
“Are you not worried?” he asked, his frown deepening. Sometimes, though he was certain his aunt loved Constance as a daughter, she seemed immune to the constant concern that Constance’s absence brought. “She has been gone for two weeks.”
“Just because you cannot see my concern, Aaron, it does not mean I am free from worry.”
“But you did not think this journey was necessary,” he pressed.
“I did not, and I still do not—for if she were at Hexham Place, we would know. But enough of this now.” She leaned forward and patted his hand as they entered the courtyard of a small, wayside inn. “We are going, and you have the help of your betrothed which I’m certain must be a great relief.”
“A relief indeed,” Aaron murmured, frowning at the thought of Charlotte sitting opposite him, her knees close enough to knock against his. And alone—something he wasn’t certain she would consent to. After all, he had behaved abominably almost every other time they had been alone.
Dratted woman. His aunt was right about one thing—she would offer a distraction. It just came at a remarkably inconvenient time. He handed his aunt from the carriage and went across to help Lady Lowood and Charlotte from theirs.
“How has your journey been?” Charlotte looked exhausted but not as bad as Lady Lowood, who was remarkably pale.
“My mother does not enjoy long journeys,” Charlotte informed him in a tone of long-suffering.
“Oh, my dear Anastasia!” Octavia descended on them with her arms outstretched. “You look positively peaky. Come inside, and we shall find you something to eat.”
“No,” Lady Lowood murmured, allowing Octavia to lead her away. “No food, I beg you.”
Left alone with Charlotte, ostlers and bellboys running about them, Aaron offered her his arm. “I take it you are not enjoying your journey so far,” he said with a wry grin.
