He winced and nodded, and Charlotte knew he had understood her unspoken words. “I take your point.”
Lady Andrea looked between them and continued, “Even if I did want to be married — which I do not — it would be an entirely different matter if I had found my own match rather than be forced to marry someone of my father’s choosing.”
“Your father has found you a match then?” Charlotte’s head whipped towards the other woman. “Do you know who?”
“He wishes to marry me to Viscount Periwinkle.” Lady Andrea’s nose wrinkled in distaste. “A man old enough to be my father, who seems to think that a woman’s eyes are located in her chest.”
Charlotte shook her head in disbelief. She knew of the man’s reputation, and she could not imagine anything worse than being married to him.
Dominic’s eyes were wide as he exclaimed, “Surely not! The man is utterly dishonourable and has a violent temper. I would not give him a dog, let alone a daughter.”
“That is the man my father has chosen. He does not particularly care for the temperament, more the business opportunity our marriage would present.” Lady Andrea sighed. “Our estate is not what it once was, and he feels I am nothing but a financial burden to him.”
“That is why you need to win. The fortune would give you the freedom to live as you choose.” Charlotte put the pieces together in her head.
She thought of her sisters, of her own future and her chance at freedom. She understood Lady Andrea’s desperation, understood it to her bones. She glanced at Dominic, who looked as wretched as she felt.
“Indeed. My father agreed that he would not force me to marry if I could win the games.” Lady Andrea shrugged. “I would give him a portion of the winnings, and then we would go our separate ways.”
There was a beat of silence, and Lady Andrea added, “This is not personal, you must understand that. I bear neither of you any ill will. I am simply trying to do what I must to keep myself safe. You have my offer: withdraw from the competition, and I will keep your secret. Remain, and I will ruin you both.”
Lady Andrea inclined her head towards Dominic and Charlotte and swept from the room without another word. Charlotte looked after the woman, an odd numbness spreading through her.
“What do we do now?” Charlotte asked Dominic.
“I do not know.” Dominic replied, and Charlotte felt as though the world around her had shattered.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
TO BE FORCED APART
“Ishould have burned those dratted letters.” Dominic smacked his fist into the open palm of his other hand. “I have been a complete fool and ruined everything for us both.”
“You are hardly to blame. By her own admission, she contrived to find them. She lied to you, tricked you.” Charlotte’s hand brushed against her skirts, and Dominic suspected she had his letter tucked away.
“I would have thought you would be angry with me.” Dominic looked at her, wondering why she was not cursing his foolishness.
“Why? You cannot help being tricked. She is a very convincing actress.” Charlotte shrugged.
“Be that as it may, I blame my carelessness for the situation in which we now find ourselves,” Dominic replied.
“Blame will do little good.”
Her green eyes met his hazel ones, and he almost took a step towards her but stopped himself. He wanted to pull her close to him, to hold her, and tell her that everything would be well, but he did not want to lie to her.
“I am sorry,” Dominic said.
“For what?” Charlotte asked.
“For all of this. That you have had to go through so much and now…” He trailed off, his frustration ebbing through. “I have been a fool. I should have been more careful.”
He wanted her to ask him again about the letter, to demand if he had meant it. The silence seemed to stretch between them, thickening into something unpleasant and cloying. He opened his mouth to say something, to explain about the letter, but before he could say anything, Charlotte turned from him and spoke.
“It cannot be helped now. She knows our secret, and she has more than enough evidence to reveal it to everyone else.” Charlotte gestured around them, moving further away from him as she did. “She could very easily have told the truth during that game and outed us then.”
Dominic shuddered, thinking of how close they had come to that disaster. “I am glad she did not. I would not have wanted your reputation to be tarnished by this.”
“I am not particularly concerned with my own reputation. I am more concerned with my sisters and their happiness. Though it seems they will both miss their chance.” Charlotte looked utterly wretched, and it broke his heart.
