Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

ISN'T THIS WHAT ALL WOMEN WANT?

D ominic had expected Charlotte to look more pleased as he revealed his surprise, but instead, she had looked taken aback. An unreadable expression had crossed her face before she had replaced it with a smile.

"Why are we here?" Charlotte asked.

"To get you an engagement ring, of course," Dominic replied, trying not to think about how far this would stretch his purse. The winnings will more than cover this.

"What?" Charlotte looked confused, and Dominic remembered that for most people, engagement rings were not the done thing.

"I know that they are not particularly common, but they are something of a tradition in my family," Dominic explained. "It is an old superstition, I think, started by my grandfather, and it has sort of stuck and spread. So we all buy our intendeds engagement rings or pass on a family heirloom to serve as one."

"Oh." Charlotte appeared to be mulling this over as she said, "And you have opted to buy me such a ring?"

"Well, yes, it seemed like the most sensible thing to do." Dominic shrugged. "You can, of course, keep the ring after we go our separate ways. I will not need it back."

"That is very generous. But you do not need to do that." Her cheeks flushed.

"Think of it as an investment. Even if we do not win, at least you will have something to show for it." It seems the most fair thing to do, and she can always sell it and help look after her sisters.

"I suppose." Charlotte looked uncertain. "But why are we doing this now?"

"Because thus far it has not been a problem as you have mostly been in gloves, but the weather is getting warmer, and the others will notice a lack of a ring." Dominic gestured to her hand.

"And can we not tell them we are getting it resized or something?" Charlotte frowned.

"I suspect with the way this competition is shaping up that they would check the surrounding jewellers for such a ring," Dominic replied, trying to understand her hesitation. "And if they find no evidence of a ring, they will almost certainly tell Grandmother, and then this entire thing will be undone."

Charlotte was chewing on her lip. "And will it not look odd that we have waited so long?"

"I shall simply explain that this has been the first chance we have had to go shopping. Besides, getting our rings from Smythe's is also something of a tradition." Dominic dismounted from his horse and led it over to one of the nearby resting posts and handed the reins to one of the grooms.

"Unless you have some kind of family heirloom." Charlotte frowned down at him from her horse.

"Exactly." Dominic raised his hands to catch her and help her dismount.

Her hands rested gently on his shoulders, and for a moment, he felt the weight of her in his arms as he carefully placed her upon the ground. The smell of lavender and violets washed over him, and he breathed deep.

"Thank you," Charlotte murmured as she tied her own horse to the post.

"My pleasure." Dominic replied, still feeling the warmth of her hands on his shoulders.

Before either of them could say another word, Lady Bellmore arrived. Dominic helped her down from her steed, and then moved to stand beside Charlotte.

"Shall we go in?" he asked.

Charlotte nodded, the same odd smile on her face. Behind her, her stepmother seemed to practically radiate with excitement. That was the reaction I was expecting. He shook his head and held the door open for the two women, and together, they entered the shop.

"Ah, Duke Verimore. I wondered when I would see you in here."

"Mr. Mosely, I see word travels fast." Dominic grinned wryly, wondering which of his family had told the jeweller of his impending nuptials.

"You know what Banbury is like, Your Grace." Mr. Mosely beamed at him. "I take it this lovely young lady is your intended."

"She is indeed." Dominic gestured to Charlotte. "She is my darling fiancée, Lady Charlotte Nettle, Daughter of Earl Bellmore. This is her stepmother, the Countess Bellmore."

"Your Ladyships." Mr. Mosely bowed low to them.

"A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Mosely," Charlotte said. "Thank you for having us in today."

"Of course, My Lady, it is not often one gets to make an engagement ring! Although, the Duke's extended family is certainly trying to make them the fashion." Mr. Mosely laughed. "Have you thought about what kind of cut you would like? The metal?"

Dominic saw Lady Bellmore open her mouth but before she could say anything Charlotte said, "Nothing too extravagant. Something small and simple will suit me best."

"Not diamonds?" Mr. Mosely asked.

Charlotte shook her head. "No, to be honest, I do not really like diamonds."

"How very unusual," Mr. Mosely nodded to himself, and Dominic recognised the man's rising excitement.

He had been coming to the jeweller for years with various members of his family, and the man loved nothing more than finding a piece to suit a lady perfectly. He loved when they had unusual tastes even more.

Dominic smiled. He will make her feel like royalty before we are done. The thought of Charlotte being spoiled was immensely appealing. The softness in her green eyes when she was surprised tugged at something within him. As delightful as their verbal sparring was, the way her entire body softened when her defences were lowered seemed to steal his breath away.

"Do not worry about the price. Pick anything your heart desires." Dominic gestured around them.

Charlotte's eyes widened, and Dominic realised she was looking at his hand. Or specifically, she was looking at the faint white marks upon them where his rings used to be.

For a moment, he thought that Charlotte would say something; her lips parted, and she glanced at Mr. Mosely who was beaming at them.

"The Duke is a generous man," Mr. Mosely said. "Let us start in this section — no, do not worry, dear lady, there are no diamonds in any of these."

Dominic watched as Charlotte followed Mr. Mosely around the store. He noticed that Charlotte tended to skip over anything large or gaudy which did not surprise him. She seemed a much more understated woman.

But the rings that she would try on were always the cheapest of the lot. They were beautiful, of course — Mr. Mosely did not make ugly things — but they were plain, and many of them only had small stones.

"Are you sure?" he asked when she showed him the ring she had picked, shame at his mingled relief and embarrassment flowing through him.

"Yes, quite sure. This is the one," Charlotte insisted, her smile not quite reaching her eyes.

"You can choose any you desire," he repeated, feeling his cheeks redden. Does she pity me?

Charlotte met his gaze, a gentleness in her expression as she said, "This is the ring for me. I do not think I could justify anything more."

"Charlotte I —" Dominic murmured.

"You have done me a great kindness. Consider this me doing the same for you. It is beautiful and simple. Much more practical than anything else. Especially once we…" Charlotte's voice was so soft Dominic could barely hear her.

Once we part ways. He felt a hollow stab in his chest. It was probably just embarrassment. He smiled at her, feeling that it was shaky at best.

"Thank you."

Dominic looked down at the ring on her finger. "It will need to be resized. It is too big for you."

Charlotte nodded. "Yes, I am sure Mr. Mosely will be able to resize it for us."

"Of course, he will," Lady Bellmore agreed.

"Well, let me see about settling up with him." Dominic walked towards the counter, but out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Charlotte lingering near one of the display cases.

For a moment, her entire face lit up, and she reached towards one of the rings. Dominic waited a moment and then turned around. He walked towards her, the other ring she had chosen in his hand.

"Are you really sure you want this one?" he asked again. You can tell me the truth.

Charlotte nodded. "Yes. That is the one I want."

But Dominic saw her eyes dart to the display case and back again. He forced his face into a neutral expression. "Very well. Let us talk to Mr. Mosely about resizing it."

As Charlotte and Mr. Mosely took measurements to get the ring resized, Dominic wandered over to the display case Charlotte had been standing at moments before. There were three rings in the case.

One was a beautiful ring of rose gold with a ruby at the centre. It was stunning. The other was a silver ring with a large diamond at the centre. Not that one. And the third was a beautiful white gold ring with a pale blue sapphire.

Dominic looked between the sapphire and the ruby, wondering which it was that caught Charlotte's eye. Not that it matters, she has already made her choice. Yet he could not help but remember how her face had lit up when she had looked at the rings. His chest constricted.

"Do not tell me you want a ring for yourself?" Charlotte's voice said behind him though there was a brittleness to her teasing.

Dominic turned and smiled at her. "I think I would look rather fetching in an engagement ring, don't you?"

"You are ridiculous." Charlotte shook her head and to his surprise, looped an arm through his as they left the shop.

Dominic found he quite liked the feel of walking arm in arm with Charlotte. And as he helped her back onto her horse, he found that he missed the feeling. What is wrong with me?

The ride back was decidedly more quiet then their ride to the shop. Dominic kept catching Charlotte with a far off look in her eyes. Eventually he asked, "Is everything well? I thought you would enjoy that."

"It… It is silly." Charlotte avoided his gaze.

"I quite like silly things," he said.

"I mean, engagement rings are such a rarity in these times, and yet here I am, and of course it would be just my luck that the only bit of jewellery I will ever be given by a man is a — a ploy." She laughed, but there was little mirth in it.

"Well, the ring itself is not a ploy. Merely the occasion behind it."

"Still. It seems… well, ironic I suppose," Charlotte said sadly.

"At least, you will get to keep the ring," Dominic teased. "A lovely memento of our time together."

Charlotte smiled. "I suppose I will at that. Though it seems unfair that you will have no such memento."

"Perhaps you can give me a lock of your hair. That is a rather traditional gift is it not?"

"It is." Charlotte shook her head. "If you win the next challenge, you can have a lock of my hair."

"I will hold you to that."

"I am a woman of my word."

"I know you are," Dominic murmured, and suddenly he found himself quite excited for the next challenge.