Evelyn asked, “Will you marry by special license? Or a more traditional route?”
“Does he have any siblings or perhaps handsome cousins?” Philippa waggled her eyebrows suggestively, and Charlotte suspected that she was only half joking.
If she hadn’t been in such a state of panic, she would have teased her sister.
She was continuing to back away from her sisters.Is this what the poor fox feels like when the hounds are at its heels?
“Is he good company?” Philippa asked, and at the same time Evelyn asked, “When did you know you were in love?”
“Love?” Charlotte repeated, her heart racing as she continued her retreat.
“You are in love, are you not?” Evelyn raised an eyebrow questioningly.
“Charlotte, please, you cannot possibly be marrying him for anything other than love.” Philippa grabbed her hand.
Charlotte’s back brushed against the wall behind her. Her sisters’ panicked expression only fuelled the tumult of emotion. She wanted to run, to hide. To be anywhere but here.
The sound of roaring filled her ears. Her sisters kept pressing her.
“Charlotte, you are in love?”
“Charlotte, you are marrying for love, please tell me it is so!”
Something within her snapped, and the words poured out of her mouth before she could stop them “I am not marrying him at all. We are not engaged!”
There was a moment of stunned silence as each of her sisters took a step away from her, confusion evident on their faces. Charlotte’s heart was racing; she wiped a bead of sweat from her brow.
“What do you mean you are not engaged?” Philippa sounded scandalised. “You… He is not… You are not.”
“No, nothing like that.” Charlotte shuddered. “The furthest thing from it actually.”
Charlotte glanced towards the door, straining her ears for the tell-tale sound of her stepmother’s shoes. There was nothing. Sighing, she beckoned her sisters closer.
“You must swear to tell no one,” Charlotte whispered.
Evelyn gave her a frank look. “Of course, we would never tell a soul.”
“It is us three against the world, remember? We are the three musketeers.” Philippa held Charlotte’s hand, smiling kindly at her.
“Except we are women,” Charlotte pointed out, smiling back at her.
“And we do not fence,” Evelyn added helpfully.
“Yes, excepting those things.” Philippa shook her head in exasperation and amusement. “Now, explain everything you have just said, and be quick.”
Charlotte took a steadying breath and launched into the entire mad affair. Her sisters listened in a kind of awestruck silence, each shushing the other when it looked like they might interrupt.
“And you would have enough money to marry Lord Belton. And Philippa, you could have your pick of any man in the land. You would have a dowry that would make you a worthy prospect for a prince, let alone a duke!” Charlotte gestured around them excitedly, still taking pains to keep her voice low.
Evelyn’s eyes widened. “Michael’s father would not be able to stop us marrying then.”
“Indeed not. And as the games will be at the Caverton estate, no doubt Lady Bellmore will wish to accompany me for the sake of propriety. So, you would have the rest of the season with Aunty Lydia, and she would no doubt find you a much better match than our stepmother ever could.” Charlotte beamed at her sisters.
“You could lose,” Evelyn pointed out.
Charlotte shrugged. “We could, but even if that is the case, mother would at least be out of your hair for however long these Dabbles last.”
“But what about you?” Philippa asked, exchanging a look with her twin. “You would be married to a man you did not love.”
