Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Charlotte was stalling. She only had a tiny piece of cheesecake left on her plate, but she had yet to put it in her mouth. Sipping on some sweet wine, she subtly moved to the side as though to inspect the prettily molded jelly with fruit pieces, but she was looking at William. He had said nothing about retiring to the drawing room, which was strange because she was fairly confident that he had had his fill of dessert.

"Mallery," she said, calling the male servant waiting on them. "I am done with dinner. Would you please inform His Grace that I'm retiring to the drawing room?"

The servant bowed and moved to the head of the table, bending slightly to speak to his master. She watched William nod his head, say a few words, and send Mallery back to her.

"His Grace thanks you for informing him," said Mallery.

Charlotte frowned. "Is that it?"

"Erm, yes, Your Grace," the servant replied, sounding uncertain of himself. "Was there something more I should have said to him?"

Charlotte inwardly sighed. She had already decided to do the bare minimum of what he wanted and continue living her life, but she couldn't seem to stop expecting a little more from him. It seemed her dream of being a happily married wife and mother wouldn't die.

"No, nothing else," she replied, forcing a smile. "I'll just retire to the drawing room. Perhaps he will follow me when he's ready."

"Yes, Your Grace," Mallery agreed.

She nodded, and he helped her pull out her chair. She thanked him and walked away, glancing at William to see if he would look at her. He didn't. His syllabub was apparently more intriguing. Inwardly sighing, she left the room, finding Templeton dozing off on her stool.

Her lady's maid could sleep anywhere and everywhere, which Charlotte found rather amusing. Once, they had been kneeling in church, and Templeton let out a loud snore, startling everyone. They had managed to explain away the snore, but Charlotte had teased her about it for months to come.

"Templeton," she said, gently shaking her.

Her lady's maid grunted and jerked away, looking around the room mildly disoriented. "Your Grace," she said, finally focusing on her. "I beg your pardon. I seem to have fallen asleep."

Charlotte smiled. "I see that. Sit on the settee and rest. There's no reason to remain on the stool."

"Oh, I'm fine here, Your Grace," Templeton insisted. "Did dinner go well?"

"Settee first, and then I'll tell you about dinner," said Charlotte, her voice brooking no argument.

Templeton obeyed without argument this time, rising from her stool and settling on the settee. Charlotte took the armchair beside her, kicking her shoes off and tucking them to the side.

"Did you finish your sewing?" she asked.

"Yes, Your Grace," Templeton replied. "I thought about doing a little embroidery, but I fell asleep before I could fetch it from my room."

"It's the piece for my ball gown, isn't it? You wanted to add silver leaves to the bodice."

Charlotte's mother had created an elaborate trousseau with everything she could possibly need for her life as a duchess. A dozen gowns, twice as many day dresses, stockings, chemises— everything. Templeton enjoyed taking Charlotte's attire a step further by adding embroidery to her gowns and making them unique.

"Yes, Your Grace," Templeton said. "Silver leaves and little red flowers. Shall I have a tea tray sent here? Or perhaps hot chocolate?"

"I'm still too full of wine to stomach anything else," said Charlotte. "I cannot recall when I last had that much wine during a meal."

"How was dinner?" Templeton pressed. "I hope all was to your liking. I told the kitchen about your preferred foods and what you'd rather not have as part of the meal."

"Dinner was fine, Templeton," said Charlotte. "I have no complaints about the food."

But she certainly had complaints about her company.

"I am glad to hear that, Your Grace," said Templeton. "I was not certain what you would wish to do after dinner, so in addition to the Ancient Greek text, I brought another book for a spot of light reading. Translating might seem too strenuous at this time of the night."

"I couldn't agree more," said Charlotte. "I'll continue translating the text tomorrow. The reverend hopes to have it in his hands by the end of the month."

Templeton nodded. "Very good, Your Grace. Will His Grace be joining you?"

"Judging from last evening, I think he normally retires to the drawing room after dinner like most people," she said. "He is likely taking his time with dessert."

Templeton nodded and fell quiet. She appeared contemplative, her hands folded on her lap as she stared at the painting across the room. Charlotte let her be, taking the book on the side table and paging through it. She had started the story before the wedding but could barely read it because she was excited about her upcoming nuptials. Inwardly scoffing, Charlotte shook her head.

She had been a fool to think anything good could come of marrying a man she had never met. Her parents had been wrong about their choice, and they might make the wrong decision for Louise. Charlotte couldn't have that. She needed to tell her parents about William's shortcomings, but she couldn't be obvious because they would blame her for his flaws.

Narrowing her eyes, she recalled overhearing a conversation between a group of women talking about a couple who did not consummate their wedding and had their marriage annulled a few days later due to impotence. Charlotte wasn't entirely certain what consummation entailed, but she hadn't done a thing with William.

He hadn't touched her other than escorting her or helping her into and from a carriage. Also, there was the matter of impotence. William appeared to be a virile man, but his lack of interest could prove to be impotence.

"Templeton," she called. "What does a consummation entail?"

Her lady's maid immediately started choking on her own spittle, alarming Charlotte. She jolted to her feet to pat Templeton on the back.

"What on earth happened?" she asked. "Shall I send for something to drink?"

"No, no, I'm fine," Templeton assured, rubbing her chest. "I was merely taken aback by your question. Did your mother not speak of it to you?"

"Mama was very vague about it," Charlotte revealed. "She said I would understand on my wedding night, but nothing happened. The duke and I slept in separate rooms."

"Why do you ask about this topic, Your Grace?" Templeton inquired.

"To be frank, I wish to know if I can annul this marriage," said Charlotte. "It is not at all what I expected, and I do not think I could stand to be with a man who doesn't acknowledge my existence unless it's impossible to avoid me."

"This is only your first full day, Your Grace," Templeton pointed out gently. "Surely you can wait a little longer before you make such a decision?"

"It feels like I've been here for weeks, if not months," said Charlotte, pouting slightly.

"Please give this marriage a few weeks before you make such a decision, Your Grace," Templeton begged. "Just a few weeks. In the meantime, we can redecorate your parlor. You were excited about that."

Templeton had a point there. "Very well," said Charlotte. "A few weeks, but if nothing changes, I will return to my plan to annul this wedding. I do not mind living as a spinster. However, I'm only nineteen. I should be able to find another husband."

Returning to her seat, she sank into its softness and picked up her book, trying her best to concentrate on the story. However, she found her eyes looking everywhere else but at the page. Charlotte's mind wouldn't rest. It couldn't. She was unhappy, and it was William's doing. Well, William and her parents, but they couldn't have known how he would treat her.

Tapping her fingers on the armrest, she looked around the room. She hadn't given it much attention during the previous evening, but upon closer inspection, she found it much the same as the rest of the house. It was clean, well-organized and decorated without a thing out of place. She could probably run her finger under a painting and come away without a speck of dust.

While the servants might not like her, they did an excellent job maintaining the house. The grandfather clock was the only thing that appeared out of place. The wood and finishes didn't match anything in the room, leading her to believe it was likely something of sentimental value. The same clock told her it had been an hour since she left the dining room, yet William had not entered it yet.

"What is wrong with him?" she snapped, jumping to her feet.

A dozing Templeton jerked awake, wiping a little spittle on the side of her mouth. "Has something happened, Your Grace?" she asked.

"His Grace hasn't bothered to spend his evening with me," she said. "Why did I expect more? I already told myself to not worry about the matter, but I cannot seem to help it."

Pacing up and down the room, she considered what she should do. He could simply go to bed and forget about the evening, or she could see if William was still in the dining room. He could have retired to his room or study, but the least he could have done was tell her. He knew she was in the drawing room.

"I need to see what he is up to," she decided. "I will return in a moment, Templeton."

Charlotte left the room, marching to the dining room, where she found William smoking a pipe and drinking brandy. Her anger flared white-hot, annoyed that he had ignored her simply to smoke and drink in the dining room. He could have done that in the drawing room!

William looked up, his eyes widening as he took in her form. Charlotte could tell her nose was flaring, and her hair was disheveled from picking at it as she had foolishly waited for him.

"Are you avoiding me?" she asked.

"I beg your pardon?" he said.

"Do you wish to make a fool of me before the whole of England?" she demanded, placing her hands on her hips.

"What on earth are you talking about, Charlotte?"

"What am I talking about?" she said. "What am I talking about? Well, here you are, having your pipe and brandy—something you did not do yesterday and likely never do. However, you chose to remain here this evening while I waited for you in the drawing room. Why?"

"I was unaware you were waiting for me," he began. "Even if I was, this is not the way to address a matter. You are overexaggerating, and I do not care for it."

Charlotte laughed bitterly. "You do not care for it!" she cried. "Well, I do not care for how you have treated me since I met you yesterday. You have been nothing but rude, arrogant, and hurtful, and I cannot take it anymore. You should have never married me if you did not want a wife!"

Charlotte was aware that she was making a scene, but she couldn't stop. However, now that she had said what she wanted to say, she decided the next best thing would be to leave the room before things escalated any further. William seemed too shocked to respond, so she used that opportunity to spin on her heel and march out of the room. She could deal with the consequences tomorrow.