Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

PACKING AND SURPRISES

" Y ou cannot possibly mean to take that dress with you." Lady Bellmore pulled a simple indigo dress from the pile and frowned at Charlotte.

They were in Charlotte's room, preparing for her upcoming trip to Caverton Estate. Predictably, her stepmother had insisted on ‘helping' Charlotte pack which was really her way of saying she would pack for her.

"I can, and I will." She took the dress back from her stepmother and placed it back on the pile.

"But what about this one? It is so much prettier, and it will bring out your eyes." Her stepmother held up an elaborate looking dress in deep emerald green.

Charlotte frowned. "It is rather showy for my liking. Where on Earth did you find it? I thought I got rid of the thing years ago."

"I saved it. I have kept many of your dresses in the event that you need something more exciting than your typical dowdy wardrobe."

"My wardrobe is not dowdy. It is just rather plain. Understated." Charlotte removed several other dresses that her mother had slipped in while she was distracted, each so extravagant they practically hurt her eyes.

"It is dull, Charlotte, and you must stand out. The Dowager Duchess of Caverton is not renowned as a woman of simple tastes. You need to impress her." Lady Bellmore was now rummaging around in Charlotte's cupboard, making the odd tutting noise.

Deciding to take advantage of her stepmother facing away from her, Charlotte hastily removed two of the dresses her mother had slipped in and hid them beneath the mattress of her bed.

She then said, "Is it not impressive enough that I have managed to win the heart of her grandson?"

"No. Impressive though that may be, you must look the part." Lady Bellmore turned around, two more dresses in her arms, and frowned at the pile of clothes in Charlotte's case.

"I will look the part because I will look like myself." Charlotte took the dresses from her mother, put them back in the wardrobe, and procured another set of night clothes.

"Can ‘yourself' not be a little more… interesting?" Lady Bellmore was rifling through the clothes.

"I suppose I could pack my archery bracers. Do you think that will be interesting enough?" She grinned impishly at her stepmother, procuring the bracers from behind her and moving to pack them.

"You cannot be serious." The Countess removed the bracers from the case.

Charlotte put them back in. "Well, you yourself said the Dowager Duchess is rather eccentric. Perhaps one of the events will involve archery."

"And if it does, I am sure you will leave such endeavours to the men." The bracers were removed once more.

"What if I am expected to participate?" The bracers went back in the case.

"I doubt you will be." Lady Bellmore wrapped the bracers in a dress, removed both, and put them in the cupboard.

"Have you seen my riding habit?" Charlotte asked as she rifled through the rest of her clothes.

"Yes, it is in the cupboard," Lady Bellmore replied.

"Why on Earth is it there?" She pushed past her stepmother, grabbed the habit, hid her bracers within it, and carefully put it back in the case.

"Because I put it there." Lady Bellmore moved to take the riding habit back, but Charlotte refused to let her.

"Are you expecting me to ride in a ball gown? There are nearly ten of them in here; surely, I will not need that many." She began handing her stepmother dresses, mostly so she could hide the clothes she wanted to take deeper within the case.

"You never know." Her stepmother handed her back the dresses.

Charlotte allowed them to drop to the floor. "I know that this is a ridiculous amount to pack. I shall hardly be able to fit anything else in my suitcase."

"Do not be ridiculous; there is plenty of room. Besides, I can have one of the servants bring up another case should we require."

"We already have three cases. A fourth seems excessive."

"What harm will a fourth do?"

"They will think I am coming to live there for the rest of my life!" Charlotte exclaimed.

Her stepmother opened her mouth to reply, but at that moment, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," both Charlotte and her stepmother called at the same time.

Evelyn opened the door and peered through. "The Duke is waiting in the drawing room and asked that you meet with him."

"He… What?" Lady Bellmore looked shocked. "Were you expecting him?"

"No." Charlotte replied truthfully. I never thought I would be grateful for his sudden appearance.

"I believe he has brought you gifts." Evelyn smiled.

"Well, let us not keep him waiting." Lady Bellmore headed towards the door, and Charlotte followed her.

She tried to catch Evelyn's eye, but her stepmother and sister were practically running to the drawing room. Evelyn, at least, knows that this is a farce. Why on Earth is she so excited?

As Charlotte entered the drawing room, she saw the Duke standing there, his arms behind his back and several large packages before him. When he saw her, he smiled and bowed low.

"My dearest Lady Charlotte, I have brought you gifts."

"I can see that," Charlotte said, not trying to hide her surprise. "You have brought rather a lot of gifts."

"Is it not a man's right to spoil the woman he loves a little?" Charlotte noticed the Duke's eyes twinkling as he said this.

"This is hardly a little, my dear Duke. I would say this is rather a lot." She gestured to the piles of boxes around them.

"A lot is in the eye of the beholder, and I say it is just right." Dominic winked at her, grinning as he did so.

"It is a wonder you did not need several packhorses for these." Charlotte shook her head.

"My daughter has a tendency to be somewhat dramatic. What I am sure she means to say is thank you for your kind and thoughtful gifts," Lady Bellmore added, her smile tight as she gripped Charlotte's arm somewhat harder than necessary.

Charlotte extracted herself from her stepmother's grip. It would not do to fight, at least not openly. Besides, to her immense annoyance, Lady Bellmore was not wrong.

"Yes, thank you," Charlotte said and then added, "But it is still too much."

"Perhaps you should reserve judgement until you have opened them. After all, you do not even know what is inside." Dominic's smile was mischievous, and he looked more than a little pleased with himself.

There was something else too though Charlotte could not say what. Something about his quick, light step or the way his eyes never lingered anywhere for long. If he had been anyone else, she would have thought him nervous, but that seemed unbelievable to her. What would he be nervous about?

"Are you going to open them?" Dominic asked.

"I —" Charlotte began, trying to think of a reason not to, but before she could, Philippa chimed in.

"Of course, she is! It would be rude not to!" Philippa grinned at Charlotte who glowered back.

She opened the first box, and gasped when she saw the contents. It was a beautiful gown, made of a deep emerald silk that would bring out Charlotte's eyes perfectly. It was by no means a simple dress but nor was it overly showy like many of the gowns favoured by the ton.

"It is stunning." Charlotte's voice was full of awe as she held the magnificent gown up to see it better. "The embroidery! It is so detailed and fine, it seems almost ethereal. I do not think I have ever seen such a beautiful thing before."

"And it looks like it is just your size." Lady Bellmore glanced at the dress. "However did you manage that?"

"I have always had an eye for such things. If anything needs altering, simply see Mrs. Thomas, and she will fix everything for you."

Charlotte opened the other boxes wordlessly. In total there were five dresses.. They were stunning and somehow, so completely perfect for her.

She felt a well of emotion within her, and a tear trickled down her face which she hastily wiped away. The dresses were varied. Some were made of silk, others of a fine muslin. They were shades of deep blue, indigo, and green — some of her favourite colours.

And of course, there were accessories to match. Gloves and shoes and even a hat. To her great satisfaction, she saw that Dominic had even had a riding habit and outfit commissioned for her with boots, gloves, and hat to match.

She smiled to herself and caught Dominic watching her face with keen interest. "Thank you, Dominic. These are… They are stunning."

"I am glad you like them." Dominic smiled, and to Charlotte, it seemed genuine and earnest, far more pleasant than his usual impish grin. "And as you are to accompany me to my grandmother's gathering, it is rather important that you look the part."

Her stepmother gave her a look that clearly said, "I told you so."

Charlotte resisted the urge to stick her tongue out, deciding that she did not need the Duke — no Dominic — to think of her as childish. As her stepmother and sisters began to gush over the dresses, Charlotte moved closer to Dominic, wanting to take advantage of their distraction.

"This is far too much, far far too much," Charlotte murmured, gripping the Duke's arm without thinking.

As soon as she realised what she was doing, she jerked her hand away, her colour deepening.

"Do you not like the dresses?" he whispered back.

Charlotte gaped at him. "Like them? I love them. They are… Well, they are more perfect than I could imagine."

"Then what is the problem?" Dominic smiled at her, his voice still barely above a whisper.

"The problem is that you hardly know me. We are not even really engaged." Charlotte spoke so low, she was surprised Dominic could hear her and mouthed the end of her sentence.

"But we need to look like we are engaged. And if we were truly engaged and had been courting, I would lavish you with gifts," Dominic pointed out, his voice equally low.

"But these are… excessive." Charlotte gestured at the dresses.

"They are no more than you deserve." Dominic's expression was serious.

"What do you mean?" Charlotte asked, her heart speeding up.

"It is obvious that you have not allowed yourself a new dress so that your sisters might have them instead. That is a noble thing to do. Your stepmother may not see what a sacrifice you have made, but I do." Dominic shrugged at her, but there was no teasing in his expression, just earnestness.

Charlotte was taken aback and surveyed him. "I… I do not know what to say."

"Well, that is an unusual turn of events," Dominic teased. "I did not expect to render you speechless. Perhaps I should buy you gifts more often."

Charlotte smiled but swatted at him for his cheek. "You have already given me too much though I appreciate it dearly."

"I am glad. Now we can both focus on winning these Dabbles, and the future will be ours to do with as we wish." Dominic moved further away from her, just out of arm's reach as he grinned impishly.

"Indeed, it will." The moment seemed to stretch out between them as Charlotte tried to puzzle out the man before her.

"Oh my goodness, Charlotte, did you see this riding habit? I do not think I have ever seen such a beautiful habit!" Evelyn exclaimed, her voice cutting through the moment.

Charlotte jumped and moved further away from Dominic. Then she saw her stepmother look up sharply at Evelyn's words and supressed a laugh.

"A riding habit?" Lady Bellmore asked, glancing at Dominic.

"Of course, my grandmother thinks all young women should be adept riders, and I know Charlotte is particularly skilled at such things." Dominic smiled.

"How do you know that?" Charlotte whispered when her stepmother turned away a moment later.

"Your father told me on the walk before dinner. I asked him about his horses, and he mentioned that the gelding was yours," Dominic whispered back.

Before they could speak further, Charlotte's family swept her into a hug, chattering excitedly about the dresses and wondering just how long it would take her to repack now that she had such beautiful garments.

"Well, I think I will be off. I am glad you like the garments, my dear Lady. And I look forward to seeing you at Caverton upon the morrow." Dominic bowed to Charlotte and then to her stepmother and sisters. "Good day, ladies."

"Good day, Your Grace," Evelyn and Philippa murmured as they curtsied together.

"And thank you for your generosity," Lady Bellmore added as she curtsied.

"Yes, thank you, Dominic." Charlotte met his gaze, her green eyes finding his hazel ones.

"It was my pleasure, Charlotte." He inclined his head towards her and without another word slipped through the door.

As Charlotte watched him go, she felt an odd warmth spread through her. It surprised her. Perhaps he is more reformed than I thought . She glanced at her sisters and her stepmother. Even if she did not win the games, she could not help but feel the endeavour would not be a total waste.

After all, she had the most sublime dresses and for an afternoon, had felt well and truly special. She could not remember the last time she had felt such a way. I must find a way to show him how grateful I am.

Charlotte pondered this as she went to bed later that night. She was determined to find a way to show Dominic just how much his gesture had meant to her.

The next day, her carriage arrived at Caverton Estate. She had spent most of the journey marvelling at just how lovely Dominic's gifts had been.

She had decided to wear one of the pale blue dresses in a fine muslin with matching shoes and a rather delightful hat.

"You look wonderful." Her stepmother beamed at her. "You are sure to make a good impression on the Dowager Duchess."

"Thank you. I certainly hope so," Charlotte responded. "Do you think the Duke will be waiting for us when we arrive?"

"I am not sure. He may be busy, but I am sure he will not be too hard to find. I will remind you, daughter, that you are not married yet! Do not think to do anything improper." Lady Bellmore gave her a stern look.

Charlotte managed not to roll her eyes at her mother. If only she knew the truth. "You need not worry on that account, Mother; Dominic and I will be perfectly behaved."

The carriage stopped, and she climbed out. She glanced around herself. There were several other carriages around them, and the stately castle before them was imposing.

She heard Dominic's voice and turned with a smile to see if she could see him, wanting a quick word while her stepmother was distracted unloading the carriage.

Charlotte followed the sound of his voice but stopped dead when he came into view.

"Oh Dominic, you are too funny." A woman with strawberry blonde hair laughed and touched Dominic's arm.

He beamed back. "Only because I love to see you smile."

"You charmer!" Another woman chimed in, this one with deep brown hair in an elaborate arrangement. "I cannot remember when I last saw you, how long has it been?"

"Not since the Viscount of Bellmonte's ball, I think," Dominic replied and bowed over her hand with a flourish.

A third woman joined the group, eyes fixed on Dominic like a baby bird hoping for food. Charlotte felt as though someone had kicked her in the stomach.

She had been a fool. Just because he bought you lovely gifts that seemed thoughtful does not mean they are. You should have learned the first time. A rake will always be a rake.

She turned and strode away, spotting her stepmother looking for her close to the entrance of the castle.

"Have you seen the Duke?" her stepmother asked.

"No, but I think it best if we go inside and unpack. Do you not agree?" Charlotte smiled at her mother, heading into the castle without waiting for an answer.

She had no desire to see Dominic. She would be pleasant enough to him, but she would not be made a fool of. If he was determined to flirt where anyone could see him while he was supposedly engaged to her, then he would learn that she would not be toyed with.

She was here to win these "Dabbles", and she would not let some impertinent rake ruin this opportunity for her. All she had to do was get through this, and then they could go their separate ways.

"That time cannot come quickly enough," Charlotte murmured as she went to find her room.