Chapter 33

Chapter Thirty-Three

THE PERFECT TIME

" Y ou are here to see my daughter, I take it?" Lady Bellmore had said when she had found him at the front door.

Dominic had wanted to arrive at the estate the previous day, but he had needed to finalise things with the Marquess of Fife and take care of a few other urgent errands. He twirled his top hat in his fingers, inclining his head towards Lady Bellmore.

"Yes, I am. Is she available?" he asked, peering around Lady Bellmore, half-hoping to see Charlotte.

"That depends." Lady Bellmore folded her arms across her chest, surveying him suspiciously.

"On what?" Dominic asked, taken aback by the frosty reception.

"On whether your intentions are honourable." Charlotte's stepmother gave him a neutral look.

"As honourable as they can be," Dominic replied as solemnly as he could manage.

Charlotte's stepmother appeared to consider this, pursing her lips thoughtfully as she said, "And what if she does not wish to speak to you?"

"I will wait here until she does. For as long as it takes, I will stand here." Dominic gestured to the spot he was standing in.

"You are rather determined." Lady Bellmore raised an eyebrow at him.

"I am. I will not leave until I speak to Charlotte," he insisted, hoping that he sounded determined rather than impudent.

"Very well. You may wait in the drawing room." Lady Bellmore gestured to an oak door on his left and turned from him.

As Dominic made his way into the drawing room, she called over her shoulder, "Oh, and Duke Verimore?"

"Yes?" he stopped, a hand on the door handle.

"If you break her heart, I will make sure you suffer." And without another word, she turned on her heel and left Dominic to wait in the drawing room.

Time seemed to move impossibly slowly, and Dominic was almost certain that he would have to make good on his promise and refuse to move unless Charlotte appeared when there were footsteps outside the door.

His heart sped up, and he hastily turned to face the window, hoping to catch sight of his reflection and make sure he still looked presentable after all of his pacing.

The door opened, and Charlotte's lavender and violet perfume washed over him. He breathed deeply as she said, "What are you doing here?"

"It is good to see you too, Charlotte," he replied, intending the words to sound tongue in cheek but faltering at the icy expression on her face. "I see your stepmother did not tell you it was me who was waiting for you."

"She did not. I suspect because she knew I would not want to see you." Charlotte folded her arms across her chest, and Dominic was struck by the tightness of her muscles. "You have not answered my question; why are you here?"

"I came to speak to you," Dominic said, taken aback by Charlotte's cool hostility.

"I suppose you are expecting some kind of a thank you."

"For what?"

"For what you did for my sister. She told me that you have agreed to some kind of business venture with the Marquess of Fife. I trust you are able to follow through on whatever arrangement you have made with him."

Charlotte's suspicion irked him, and Dominic could not keep the hurt from his voice as he said, "Of course, I can. I would not risk your sister's happiness with some kind of false promise."

"Would you not?" Charlotte's icy voice was suspicious, but her fingers were tightly locked together as if to keep them from trembling. Dominic sensed that beneath her cool exterior, there was something more vulnerable hiding.

I have hurt her, but I do not understand how. Her suspicion and accusations stung. He had thought they had moved past that sort of thinking. Have I been a fool in coming here?

"You cannot truly think that I would," he said, his voice earnest and confused.

"I do not know what to think. Before yesterday, I would have insisted you would not do such a thing and now…" Charlotte trailed off, took a deep breath and then asked, "How did you make him such an offer?"

"I spoke to my grandmother, explained the situation, and she agreed." Dominic smiled ruefully thinking of how delighted the woman had been to facilitate yet another match. "She does love playing the matchmaker. That was part of the reason she arranged the entire games."

"I thought she was dying?" Charlotte frowned at him.

Dominic let out a wry laugh. "Apparently not. I really should have realised sooner."

"It is hard to think that one would be capable of lying about one's own death." Charlotte shook her head, but Dominic could hear fondness in her voice as she continued, "Though she is a rather unusual woman. She was very kind to me when we spoke."

"She may behave like a dragon in public, but it hides a rather tender heart," he agreed, studying Charlotte's face for a reaction.

"So it would appear," Charlotte murmured. "I am glad that whatever hope you have given my sister is true. Thank you."

"It was my pleasure. I know how important a match for your sisters is to you. After all, it was the main reason you agreed to our arrangement in the first place. And on that note —" Dominic prepared to say what he had come there to ask, but before he could, Charlotte interrupted him.

"Wait!" Charlotte cut him off.

"But —" Dominic began again, but Charlotte was shaking her head, a desperate, pained, pleading look in her eyes.

She moved towards him and grabbed his hand. The warmth of her touch spread through him, stealing his breath away. His eyes found her familiar pale green ones, and the pain he saw there stopped words forming.

Charlotte's voice shook as she said, "If you ever cared for me at all, I would beg you stop. Please, before you say whatever you are about to say, I would have you hear me out."

Dominic nodded, unable to say think of anything to say.

Charlotte breathed a sigh of relief, and Dominic watched as she straightened her skirts. She looks as though she is readying herself for battle.

"When we made our initial agreement, we agreed that we would stay together for the games and then continue the engagement until my sisters were both married," Charlotte said, pacing as she did so.

"Yes, I know but —" Dominic began but she cut him off again.

"Please, just let me finish. I do not know that I have the strength to say what I need with continued interruptions." Charlotte's voice sounded small and brittle.

Dominic nodded, confused at the agitation he saw. "Very well. I swear not to interrupt again."

"Thank you." Charlotte ran a hand through her hair, resulting in a few strands that fell across her face. "What was I saying? Ah yes. We agreed that we would win the games together and remain in our arrangement so that my sisters might marry.

"It is clear that with us being ousted from the games, the terms of the agreement are… somewhat less clear. And I know that you no longer want to be with me now that I am of no use to you, but I implore you to think of my sisters."

So that is why she is being so cold. She thinks I do not want to be with her, that I have come here to end things with her. Dominic felt his heart break and wished he had not promised not to interrupt her. All he wanted to do was tell her just how wrong she was.

"You have already helped Evelyn marry, and for that I am grateful. So grateful. And I know you have only done so to expedite an end to our arrangement, and I have no wish to force myself upon you when it is clear you do not want to be with me. Yet Philippa is still unmarried, and there is still some time left in the season so she may yet find a suitable prospect."

"What exactly are you asking?" Dominic canted his head towards Charlotte.

Even in her agitated state, she was beautiful. It baffled him just how wrong she was, and it irritated him in an endearing sort of way that she was so willing to believe that he would not want to be with her.

"I am asking that you keep up the appearance of us being engaged. We could try and minimise the contact we would need to have; after all, I am sure you are very busy with your responsibilities, and Evelyn has asked me to be her maid of honour which will fill up much of my time."

Dominic was still trying to wrap his head around her proposal. "And how long do you propose we behave like this?"

"At least until the end of the season, if not until Philippa is married," Charlotte said quickly.

Dominic paused a moment, considering Charlotte. He saw the cool resolve on her face and said, "And that is as long as you would wish us to keep us this appearance?"

Something flitted across her face, and Dominic recognised the lie in her voice as she said, "Yes."

He drummed a finger thoughtfully on the window sill. "No. I do not think that would work."