Page 50 of Charlotte's Kisses

“You seem to have me at a disadvantage because I do not understand why you are so angry with me.”

“You are at a disadvantage?Pfft. You think you can bed whomever you want, and then dictate who I marry.”

His thick lashes fluttered. Why were the dashed things so pretty? “I thought you did not wish to marry him.”

This was going atrociously. She could not think with Hugh Fletcher standing there looking devilishly alluring and making her nipples do that blasted tingly thing. She would not cry.

Pulling her shoulders back, she faked strength she did not possess. “I do not wish to marry him, and I do not want to care for a man who thinks nothing of deceiving me, so I will ask you again, please leave.”

Hugh lunged forward, grasped her around the waist, and pulled her to him. At first, his damp shirt chilled her skin, but within seconds, his embrace warmed her.

“I will leave, but you must know I do not want secrets between us. The truth is, I am trying to be loyal to your father, and he has asked me not to discuss his business. The only reason I continue to abide by his absurd contract is to be near you.”

Stay strong, Charlotte,she told herself.

His nose grazed her cheek, and his whispers tickled her ear. “I dare say, I am falling in love with you.”

She gasped. If he was truly falling in love with her, was all of this heartache the result of a misunderstanding?

“Of course, I am a bloody fool. I know that you must marry someone of your class,” he said.

He wished to marry her? More than anything, she wanted to tell him that she loved him. But she had to know the entire truth before she let down her guard.

“I could care less that we are not of the same class,” she said with as much indignation as she could muster, which was not much, so her voice quivered. “But, if you mean to be loyal to my father, why would you engage in an assignation with his wife?”

“Bloody hell,” he bellowed as he pulled away from her.

“Meow,” screeched an upset Snowball as she raced from her hiding spot behind the wardrobe to shelter beneath the bed.

Hugh lowered his voice. “I assure you, I never had an affair with Lady Chesterhill. That woman makes my skin crawl.”

There was only one thing left to do—confront him with her evidence. “I have something of yours,” she confessed.

His brow furrowed. “What?”

Filled with shame over pilfering his note, Charlotte retrieved the slip of paper from the box she had concealed it in. She struggled to hold her chin up as she handed it to him.

He unfolded it and frowned as he scanned the paper. “I wondered where this went.”

The silence between them hung like a festering wound. She had stolen from him. This was the end of everything.

“Why would you take this?” he asked.

“I am so sorry. I should not have, but I found it under your bed. At first, I did not believe the rumors about you and Lady Chesterhill, but even my trusted lady’s maid heard them. And then I found this and jumped to conclusions. I was so heartbroken I could not think clearly.”

Henodded.

She waited.

At long last, he folded the paper and tucked it into the waistband of his trousers. Clasping her hand, he shepherded her to the bed. “Let us talk,” he said. “Openly and honestly.”

As much as the truth might hurt, she needed it. Desperately. They sat side by side, his thumbs caressing her palms.

“I am sorry I am getting your bedding wet.” He inclined his chin to her torso. “You are shivering.”

She did not care about her damp clothing or counterpane. Her only concern was repairing the damage she had done to their relationship.

“So,” he said with an excruciatingly long exhale. “I am investigating those women for a client. They are his mistresses, not mine. I will not lie to you. I have had my share of bed partners in the past, some of them have even been married women. But I have never, ever tupped Lady Chesterhill. For some nefarious reason, she has perpetuated a rumor that we were lovers and that I made unwanted advances toward her. On my honor, I have not.”