Chapter 22

CHAPTER

a

22

C harlotte and Polly had been working in the garden behind the manor, weeding a flowerbed, but they'd dropped their spades and were headed inside.

There had been some sort of brouhaha out on the lane, as if a large group of people had arrived, but the residence had blocked their view, so they hadn't been able to see who it was. Shortly after, the male servants had herded a dozen cows into a nearby pasture, so they'd hurried off to discover what was happening.

They'd been discussing the future, but also the prior few weeks, where Polly had been contracted into marriage by the Dowager. If Lord Dartmouth hadn't investigated her situation, how badly might it have resolved? His rather heroic intervention left Charlotte feeling grateful and indebted, which was very annoying. She didn't want any positive reactions to bubble up when she considered him.

"I'm glad Lord Dartmouth is my father," Polly said.

"I'm glad too."

Charlotte wasn't serious. Who could predict how Polly's relationship with the exalted aristocrat would unfold? He was pompous and imperious. If he ever paid an ounce of attention to her, it would be a miracle. Charlotte simply prayed that Polly wouldn't wind up being too disillusioned.

"Are you still mad at him?" Polly asked.

"Yes. Sorry. I realize you're fond of him, but I don't share your admiration."

"Why can't you explain what he did?"

"It's an adult quarrel and we can't move beyond it."

"In my opinion, he's wonderful, like a knight in a storybook."

"I thought that once too," Charlotte cautiously stated, not keen to denigrate him to her.

"At Fog Bay," Polly said, "I could have sworn you were sweet on him. And that he was sweet on you."

"We enjoyed a minor flirtation there. I won't deny it."

"Can I tell you a secret?" Polly said.

"You'd better."

"I was sure you'd wed him. I started to believe you'd become my parents."

Charlotte sighed with regret. "I hate to hear that we've disappointed you."

"I like him so much and I think, deep down, you like him too. If he asked you to marry him, would you?"

"No, and he won't ever propose."

Polly grinned as if she knew things Charlotte didn't know, as if she was privy to information Charlotte didn't possess, and it was so discouraging. When Polly finally figured out that an amour would never occur, would she be crushed?

They went in a rear entrance, pausing to shed their muddy boots. Then they proceeded to the front of the house to inquire about the commotion that, apparently, involved cattle being delivered. They reached the foyer and it was organized chaos. The doors were open and footmen were carting in trunks and boxes, as if someone important was planning an extended stay. A fancy vehicle was parked in the driveway and it was an ornate coach with a huge crest on the side.

"Isn't that Lord Dartmouth's coach?" Polly asked. "I'm certain it is."

Jackson and Theo marched toward her and Theo said, "Charlotte, there you are. You have a visitor."

" I have a visitor? You must be mistaken," but even as she uttered the remark, she could guess who it would be.

Her temper flared and, anymore, it seemed to be her constant condition. How dare he return to Thornhill? How dare he pester her? Didn't he understand that it was pure torture for her to be in his presence?

Jackson clasped her arm and led her down the hall. She was so stunned that she didn't try to wriggle away. She simply said, "Where are we going?"

"Lord Dartmouth is here and I've agreed that he can speak with you."

"On what topic?"

"You'll find out in a minute."

They walked into the library, with Polly and Theo strutting in after her. They furnished the distinct impression that they were barricading the exit, so she couldn't run out and escape.

Lord Dartmouth was waiting for her over by the hearth. He was dressed impeccably, like the rich nobleman he was: blue coat, tan trousers, his black boots polished to a shine. As usual, his clothes were expensive and perfectly tailored, his fingers covered with rings, as if he was eager to remind her of how wealthy he was.

In comparison, her hair was down and tied with a ribbon. She was wearing a faded gown. Her skirt was stained from kneeling in the dirt and her cheeks and palms were smudged with grime. She might have been a poverty-stricken peasant, so she was already at a disadvantage.

She ignored him, but said to her brother-in-law, "I don't wish to converse with him. I don't mean to embarrass you, but I'm not interested in whatever he has to tell me."

Jackson wasn't irked by her comment. He replied with, "You need to sit through this meeting. He and I have conferred about you, so this is just a formality."

"A formality for what?"

"He'll apprise you, but you should be aware that he's received my permission—and your sister's."

Charlotte peered over her shoulder at Theo and demanded, "What permission have you granted without talking to me first?"

Theo tsked with irritation. "Just listen to the man, Charlotte. For once in your life, don't be an idiot."

Polly added, "Do it for me, Charlotte. It would make me so happy."

With that, the three of them scooted out, as Jackson told her, "I'm locking you in. I won't release you until Lord Dartmouth advises me that you've come to the right decision."

He shut the door and, as he'd mentioned, he spun the key. Charlotte was so incensed that she nearly went over to check if she was really trapped, but she didn't. She merely glared at Lord Dartmouth, her gaze lethal and furious.

A fraught silence festered, where she fumed and stewed, but he was grinning, as if he held all the cards, as if the game had ended and she'd lost without even playing.

"Are you still angry with me?" he said. "It sounds as if you are."

"I'd have to care about you to be angry. What do you want? Obviously, you have several issues you're dying to discuss. Please get on with it. It doesn't matter what my crazed relatives have planned; I'm not in the mood for any of your nonsense."

"You were fond of me previously. Has it all vanished? If you claim that it has, I will accuse you of being fickle and toying with my affections."

Her ire boiled at an even hotter temperature. "Ooh, you are such a vain beast! I won't dignify that pathetic statement with a response, for it would require me to recall the night we spent together, and I try to never reflect on that hideous event."

"You never ponder it? That surprises me. I ponder it all the time."

Her cheeks heated, memories of that glorious, ridiculous tryst pummeling her. "Would you hurry and speak your piece? Each moment I tarry with you is a slow torment. Have mercy on me!"

For some reason, Theo had arranged the room for a party. There were wine bottles and goblets on the desk, a decanter opened. A food tray was piled high with cake and biscuits. He strolled over to it, showing her his back, and poured himself some wine, as she bristled with impatience.

Finally, when he whirled to face her, he was preening like a demented fool as he announced, "I've cried off from my betrothal to Jasmine."

"Bully for you."

"I'm a bachelor again and free to wed someone else instead."

"Which is a condition I'm certain every debutante in the kingdom will celebrate with great glee."

"Jasmine was very astonished that I would toss her over. Had you heard that she paid the dowry to Mr. Ludlow? She colluded with my mother, so she never had to act as Polly's stepmother."

"Well, she's a vicious shrew, so what did you expect?"

He wrinkled his nose. "I never should have engaged myself to her. I don't particularly like debutantes. They're so young and so silly."

"It's the plight of noblemen everywhere to wed a frivolous girl."

"I think life is hard," he said. "I think, even for a man of my elevated status, there are tragedies and problems that arise, and they can seem insurmountable. It's occurred to me that I need a strong, mature woman by my side, one who's suffered disaster, but who's thrived in spite of it."

"Good luck with your search. If you can find that stellar candidate, I'm sure you'll quickly determine that she's too far below your exalted self to bother." She kept voicing insults, but they were bouncing off him like dull arrows.

"I sent Mother away from Dartmouth," he said, "and she'll never be permitted to return."

"That's quite shocking. What pushed you to it?"

"Polly is residing at Thornhill for now, but I'd like her to move to Dartmouth to live with me. Once she arrives, I can't have Agatha there too. Polly wouldn't be safe around her."

"I agree." Though it galled her to be courteous, she said, "Thank you for your concern over her welfare, but where is your mother? I will be nasty and ungracious and say that I hope you delivered her to an awful destination."

"She will waste away at Fog Bay forever, with a minimal staff and an allowance that will be much too small for her to be comfortable. She hates that rustic property, so she'll be very miserable."

"That's so vindictive. I can't believe you had it in you to be so malicious."

He snorted with amusement. "I can be malicious when I'm riled. It just takes some intense provoking to goad me to my limit."

"I don't feel sorry for your mother. She deserved any penalty you inflicted."

"Yes, she did. Boggs left too. On his own. He was complicit with Agatha in hiding Polly's birth from me. After his duplicity was revealed, he quit and vanished, so I didn't have to contemplate any consequences for him."

She shrugged. "I have no opinion about Boggs. I recognize he was your trusted aide, but I doubt he ever had your best interests at heart."

"He was an ally in some situations, but for the most part, he was my mother's servant. He always did her bidding, even if it was to my detriment."

Apparently, he was eager to engage in a lengthy conversation, but she was anxious to end it. "So ... you jilted your fiancée, punished your mother, and waved goodbye to Boggs. I appreciate your wanting to share the news with me, but I don't care about what's happening at Dartmouth. I truly don't understand why you'd suppose I should be apprised. Is that it?"

His gaze narrowed a bit. "No, that's not it. I'm just getting started."

He downed his wine and set the glass on the desk, then he sauntered over to her. He didn't stop until they were toe to toe and her skirt swirled around his legs. She yearned to leap away, to put some space between them, but she refused to let him see how much he flustered her. She stayed right where she was.

"You are an unwed maiden," he said, "and I have recently learned that you are also an heiress."

It was an odd comment and it changed the subject so abruptly that she was dizzy. She could have uttered any retort, but when she opened her mouth, the one that emerged was, "I'm not an heiress yet. Jackson and Attorney Coswell insist I will be someday, but I'm not holding my breath. I've learned not to count on anything."

"I have much more faith in them than you do, so you're about to have a very large dowry to flaunt in London, that being your half-portion of HH Imports. I'm told it will be bestowed on your husband."

"Yes, but as I just mentioned, I'm not counting on it."

"You will have suitors circling like locusts and trying to entice you to matrimony."

She laughed sarcastically. "There isn't a man in the world who could persuade me to wed."

"Isn't there?"

"No. I think you're all fools."

"Your swains will dote on you, so you'll be pressured to accept one of them, but you have no parent to guide you in your choice."

Actually, she still had her mother, but she didn't admit it. She hadn't seen the woman since she was five, and in light of her mother's negligent conduct, Charlotte wouldn't seek her opinion on any topic.

"I won't ever marry," she said, "so it's pointless to discuss it."

"It's not pointless to me."

As he'd talked, he'd gradually sidled nearer, so his body was touching hers. Her own body reacted in a shocking way, and she was so thrilled to be close to him that she could barely keep from rubbing herself against him like a contented cat. She pushed him away and stomped over to pour her own glass of wine, being desperate to calm down.

He was so pompous and he wasn't about to leave her alone. He followed her and balanced his hips on the desk, so he could study her meticulously. She feigned nonchalance, as if his proximity didn't affect her in the slightest.

"I have spoken to your brother-in-law," he said.

"About what?"

She was confused by what he was telling her, and he was smirking, looking as if he'd just played a great trick. "Can't you guess? I've asked for your hand and he's agreed that I may propose."

Her jaw dropped in astonishment. She hardly knew Jackson and he had no authority over her. He certainly had no right to contract a marriage she didn't want and she scoffed with disgust. "Jackson may be my brother-in-law, but he and I are practically strangers. If he assumes he has any power over me, he's deranged."

"I beg to differ. In my view—his too—he's the patriarch of your family. He and I have determined that he has every right."

A muscle ticked in her cheek. "You two dickered over me as if I'm a sow off to the slaughterhouse. Do you, or do you not, remember how you deceived me?"

"Yes, and I behaved very badly too. I presumed I could abuse you without consequence, but I'm possessed of a very robust conscience. It's been haranguing at me and I feel very guilty."

"I'm delighted to hear it, but so what? Your conscience is irrelevant to me."

He chuckled, but with exasperation. "Would you please focus? Jackson and I recognized that you'd be obstinate about this, so we couldn't let you make your own decision. We made it for you."

"You shouldn't have."

Out of the blue, he said, "I've paid a significant bride price for you."

"To whom? To Jackson?"

"Yes. I gave him a dozen cattle, three hogs, a wagon of lumber and paint, enough chickens to start a coop, and five-hundred pounds to spend on whatever he needs the most."

It was a splendid gesture, a magnanimous gesture. Jackson was such a decent man, and he was eager to devote his life to Theo, to supply her with the sort of posh existence she'd lost after their father died. The pile of gifts would speed up the process, so Jackson's many chores would be easier to accomplish.

She was exceedingly moved by his generosity, and she was afraid she was about to gush like an imbecile. So far in their exhausting conversation, she'd pretended to be tough and adamant, but suddenly, tears flooded her eyes. Her emotions were perched on a steep ledge and she couldn't keep acting as if she was fine.

"Are those tears, Charlotte?" he asked. "I can't have made you cry."

"I'm just overwhelmed by how kind you've been to Jackson. You're so arrogant. I'm stunned that you noticed he could use some help."

"I like him very much, and if I'm to have a brother-in-law, he's a marvelous option."

"He doesn't have perfect bloodlines or an ancient ancestry. Why would you like him?"

He shrugged. "I'm changing my ways, so I'm not such an insufferable snob."

"You're good at talking, but there has to be some action behind your words before people will deem you to be sincere."

"I realize that, so I have one more gift to bestow. I'm hoping it will prove the seriousness of my intentions."

"What is it?"

He reached into his coat, withdrew a key, and dangled it at her. "Would you like to know what door this unlocks?"

He appeared so sly that she was almost scared to ask. "Yes. Tell me."

"The front door at Peachtree Haven. I bought the property."

Her spirits sank. "Yes. For Lady Jasmine."

"No, for you , silly. You can have it, but it comes with strings attached."

"What strings?"

"You have to marry me. It can be yours forevermore, but only if you say yes ."

He extended the key like a dare, like the most precious object she'd ever witnessed, and she began to shake. Quickly, her quaking grew until she was trembling from head to toe.

"You'd give me Peachtree?" she inquired, sounding dubious.

"Yes—if you'll be my wife. You've been so angry with me that I figured I would have to offer a bribe hefty enough to persuade you. Has it worked?"

The question hung in the air between them and her resolve was melting. The pathetic fact was that she loved him, that she'd always loved him. The reason she was so incensed was because his duplicitous conduct had cut her so deeply. She'd built up sturdy walls to protect herself, so no one would see how terribly she'd been wounded. Yet now, here he was proposing. Again!

He'd taken so many steps to woo her, to win her forgiveness. When he was prepared to do so much, how could she do so little? Could she refuse him?

He was ready to be a father to Polly. He'd severed his engagement to his fussy debutante. He'd punished his mother for her crimes. He'd showered Jackson with numerous boons that would swiftly smooth his road to success.

And he'd bought Peachtree Haven for Charlotte.

What more could he do to earn a pardon? He was obviously contrite, so how could she remain furious? She wasn't petty and she didn't hold a grudge when the other person was sorry. She'd experienced plenty of tragedy in her life. She didn't need to compound it by being obstinate or unyielding.

What if she declined to wed him and he left? What if she never saw him again? Is that what she wanted? She'd never stumble on another man like him. There were no other men like him. Would she stagger on as a spinster? Or would she ultimately break down and select a poorer, lesser candidate? If she could have Winston Wainwright, why would she settle for anyone else?

He dropped to one knee and, on realizing what it indicated, her initial impulse was to stop him, to claim she didn't trust him to follow through, but that would be insane behavior. It would be idiotic behavior and hadn't Theo just warned her not to be an idiot?

"My dearest Charlotte," he said, "over the summer, you stole my heart."

"I couldn't have. Don't be ridiculous."

"I've fretted miserably for weeks and I couldn't deduce the root of my ailment. Guess what occurred to me?"

"What?"

"I love you," he bluntly declared. "I love you so much I'm dying with it."

"Oh, Win ... " She sighed with joy, but with relief too. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Please tell me you feel the same. Tell me you love me too. If you don't, if I have to leave Thornhill and abandon this chance to have you as my bride, I can't imagine what will become of me."

She inhaled slowly, exhaled slowly, then said, "I love you too. I think I've loved you since the moment we met."

"Will you be mine then? I understand that I hurt and deceived you, that I—"

She laid a palm over his mouth to silence him. "Let's not talk about it now. Let's just move forward."

"In the beginning, I doubted it was possible for me to wed you. I knew you'd make me happy, but I convinced myself that it couldn't happen."

"I will make you happy, Win. I swear I will."

"I'm certain of it. It's why I'm here. With one kiss, I was smitten. Will you marry me, Charlotte?"

She gazed down at him and she paused to absorb every detail: the quiet room, the poignant discussion, and Winton Wainwright on bended knee and begging her to have him.

"Yes, Win, I will marry you," she said. "With one kiss, I was ensnared too. I will be yours forever."

"Do you mean it?"

"Yes, I mean it."

He rose and clasped her hand, so he could slip a ring onto her finger. It wasn't the one he'd given her at Dartmouth, the one she'd thrown at him in a rage. It was a silver band, with a pretty sapphire stone that matched the color of her eyes. The stone was encircled with tiny diamonds. It was beautiful and it fit perfectly.

She chuckled with satisfaction. "This is a magnificent piece of jewelry. You must have been incredibly positive that I wouldn't refuse you."

"I'm Winston Wainwright, Earl of Dartmouth," he pompously pronounced. "How could you resist?"

"How could I indeed?"

He dipped in and kissed her. It started sweetly, but it rapidly grew raucous and animated. Eventually, he picked her up and swung her in a circle, and they were so giddy that they knocked over a lamp and it crashed to the floor.

Behind them, the door opened, and Jackson peeked in and asked, "What's going on? You're not fighting, are you?"

"We're not fighting," Win said. "We're celebrating."

Jackson stepped inside. Polly, Theo, and Cedric too.

Polly said to Win, "Will there be a wedding?"

Win nodded and smiled. "Yes, we're having a wedding."

Polly beamed with delight. "Did you tell her you brought a Special License?"

"I haven't had time," Win said.

Charlotte gasped with surprise. "You rat! I recognize that you're a confident beast, but what if I'd rejected you? What then?"

He grinned. "Then I'd have had Jackson yank you to your senses."

Jackson grinned too. "Sorry, Charlotte, but we weren't about to let him slither away without you attaching a leg-shackle."

Theo added, "We all conspired against you, so you never stood a chance."

"I can see that," Charlotte said. "Aren't I lucky?"

Everyone froze, then Polly and Theo dashed over and hugged her. Win, Cedric, and Jackson dawdled off in the corner, watching their females blubber and cry happy tears.

Charlotte and her sister had been reunited. Polly had a father who would dote on her. Peachtree Haven would be theirs again, and Charlotte finally had a family, one where the members would cherish each other. And she had Winston Wainwright for her very own.

How could she ever want more than that?