Page 58 of A Perfect Engagement
She spent the early morning hours in the conservatory pruning and tending to her beloved plants. The calm of the conservatory always soothed her soul. She’d found her good sense, and firmly decided to pack away her feelings for Daniel. Surely they would fade over time. This was her issue to bear. Daniel might have been drawn to her this week, but his attraction was simply because of their proximity. Once the week was over, she would hardly ever see him, perhaps only over the holidays.
Yesterday had been full of turmoil. Her maid informed her Lord and Lady Thornton had left in the early evening hours with their awful daughter in tow. The footman had been sacked. He and his brother, a local lad who had helped him shoot the arrows, had been turned over to the magistrate.
She walked over and slid onto the bench next to Daniel. Using her left hand, she began to play, filling in the bass notes. Daniel glanced over at her in surprise, and the music died. She didn’t know what to say, so instead, Charlotte picked out a simple tune on the keys with one hand. It was an old children’s song, one about a gingerbread man. She slid him a look. Would he accept her challenge?
He sent her a smile, and he added the melody, using his right hand. Slowly they increased the pace of the lively piece. Charlotte used her right hand to improvise a few additional notes. As they improvised, the piece ceased being a simple ditty. Instead, the music moved them along at a breathless tempo. Whatever they did together always turned into so much fun. She turned to grin up at Daniel.
Daniel’s hands paused, his fingers poised over the keys. He stared at her for a long moment. Charlotte ceased playing as well. She tilted her head in question.
“Charlotte, I am in love with you. Madly, unquestionably in love with you.”
What!Charlotte’s heart thundered in her chest.
“I know I should not confess such things. But whenever I am beside you, my heart shouts, Tell her! Make her yours!” He turned to face her, grasping her hands in his. “Charlotte, do you feel the same? I know you worry about what everyone will think if you change your mind about marrying Miles. But give me a chance to replace those worries with a new future filled with love and a family of our own making. I don’t care that my brother met you first. You are meant for me, and I am meant for you.”
Tears gathered unheeded in the corners of her eyes. She gulped down the lump forming in her throat. He loved her. This man understood all the secret corners of her heart. She shook her head in disbelief. What he offered…could she accept?
Daniel must have thought her disbelieving head shake meant she disagreed, because his hands moved to cup her face. “Don’t say no right away.” He studied her, his brown eyes soft with emotion. “Charlotte, do you love me?”
Staring into his eyes, she could do nothing but respond with honesty. She slowly nodded her head. His lips brushed against hers softly, reverently. Then their mouths melded together. His lips demanded she think only of him. Every other thought flew away, and she let herself be swept away by the heat and the passion between them. His tongue teased at her lips, and one of his arms slid around her waist, pulling her closer. She grabbed hold of his cravat to anchor them together. She wanted him to envelop her in his embrace, to let herself drown under the wave of his desire for her. Charlotte had never felt so cherished as she did in this moment, as Daniel’s lips caressed hers. She hoped they never came for air.
“What in God’s name is happening here!” her father’s voice thundered.
She and Daniel broke apart abruptly. They turned to the open doorway where her father stood, along with Hawksridge and Lucius, and dear God, her mother. The ramifications of her actions rained down on her like anvils falling from the sky.
Daniel stood, coming out from behind the pianoforte bench to stand in front of her as if shielding her from view would somehow make her disappear from the scene. He ran a hand roughly through his hair. “Miles, I’m sorry. I want to explain.”
Hawksridge marched toward them, his face a thundercloud of fury. Daniel moved forward to meet him in the middle of the room. “Miles, let me explain—”
Hawksridge pulled back an arm and punched Daniel square in the jaw. Daniel’s head snapped back, and he stumbled but kept his feet.
“Daniel!” Charlotte scrambled up. She whirled to reproach Hawksridge for using violence, but the hurt stamped across his face robbed her of the words.
Daniel rubbed at his jaw. “I deserved that. Miles, I planned to talk to you. I never wanted you to find out this way.”
“Find out what? That you’re a rogue. That you’ve spent the week seducing my fiancée?” Miles shouted. He advanced on Daniel again.
“It’s not like that.” Daniel looked over his shoulder and met her gaze. His look said volumes about how sorry he was that this was happening. Then he faced his brother. “Miles, I’m in love with her.”
A loud gasp came from the doorway where her family stood, each with a varying degree of shock on their faces. She’d almost forgotten they were there. Charlotte closed her eyes.Dear God.
Miles froze midstride. “You’re joking. It’s impossible; you have only known her for a matter of days.” He narrowed his eyes. “She is promised to be my wife. I trusted you.”
Daniel’s expression grew darker, and he stepped forward. “And do you know Charlotte any better for the time you have spent with her? Do you know she loves flowers, and she has extensive knowledge of horticulture? Do you know she loves dessert? That she makes this little hum of pleasure when she enjoys a bite of her favorite cake. Do you know she worries all the time about everything? That she needs someone to make her laugh? That she secretly loves bawdy poetry?” Miles and Daniel stood toe to toe. “You want a wife for show. To round out your image as the perfect peer. You don’t deserve her.”
Charlotte reached out a hand to brace herself against the pianoforte. The things Daniel said…far more than those three little words he professed earlier, these things he said showed how much he loved her, how clearly he saw her.
“Dear God! Charlotte, what is going on here?” Her mother’s high-pitched shout echoed through the room, shattering the tension, and catapulting her father into action.
He slammed the door shut. Then he strode over to the two brothers. “You and you, sit down immediately.” Both Daniel and Miles obediently walked to the sofa and sat down. They stared daggers at each other. Her father stood in front of them, his hands on his hips. “Someone better tell me what the hell is going on here!”
Miles spoke first. “Sir, I had to attend to some business at my mill in Derbyshire, and I didn’t want to disappoint Charlotte by missing the party, and well…I asked my brother to come in my stead and pretend to be me.” Miles wore a grim expression but did not break eye contact with her father.
“So, let me get this straight.” He pointed to Daniel. “You have been masquerading as your brother all week.” Daniel nodded. Her father whirled around to face her. “Did you know this?”
Charlotte nodded as well. She could not meet her father’s eyes. Her stomach churned. She had never done anything to disappoint him before. Lucius came to stand next to her. He took her hand, giving it a sympathetic squeeze.
Her mother staggered to one of the stuffed chairs and lowered herself onto its striped cushions with a wail. Her hand clutched at her pearls. “She’s ruined! My baby is ruined.”
