He turned swiftly, leaving the little rose garden by another way so as to avoid the Norwells, and made his way back to the ballroom as swiftly as he could.
Lady Wentworth had intrigued him. She did not have the veneer of polished society, and for that, she was all the more pleasant to know. She seemed unguarded, like freshly hewn stone, and he had enjoyed their meeting more than he had enjoyed anything in a very long time.
***
“And what did you mean by speaking to him in such a way?” Sarah asked. It was not quite the scolding tone that Charlotte was used to from her school days, but it was not far off.
“I have spent three hours speaking to simpletons,” Charlotte protested. “I have decided that any man I meet now will be tested, and if he is found wanting, I shall ignore him.”
“Charlotte, you and I both know you do not have that luxury. I would lay down every principle I have to see you happy, butthat was the Duke of Lindenbrook; he is not someone who will take kindly to a loss of decorum.”
“I do not believe I was guilty of that. I simply spoke my mind. Or is that the equivalent for a woman these days?”
“You know it is. I do not wish for you to tarnish your reputation before it has even been established; that is all I mean.”
Charlotte sighed. “I know. I did not mean to embarrass you. I have simply reached the end of my tolerance for this charade everyone is playing.”
“We knew tonight would be trying, and you have done very well,” Sarah conceded as they walked back up the steps of the terrace and re-entered the stifling heat of the room.
Charlotte’s eyes sought out the duke without conscious thought. He was standing talking to another man in quiet, measured tones. She had seen him a little that night and had thought him very pompous from a distance. He held himself in a way that appeared arrogant, but the man she had met in the gardens was almost playful—as though they were two different people entirely.
She examined his face now that she could see it more clearly. The duke was not conventionally handsome with a brooding, rather stern exterior, and very dark hair swept back from his face, a long nose, and dark eyebrows above piercing green eyes. But his features were aristocratic, arch, and inviting—it was a face she very much enjoyed looking at.
Sarah tugged on her arm gently. “There is your father. We should join him before we are missed.”
Charlotte swallowed, dragging her gaze back to the crowd around her.
The Duke of Lindenbrook might look severe, but he is by far the most interesting man I met tonight.
CHAPTER FIVE
The following morning, Charlotte sat at her writing desk, quill in hand, hand poised over her journal. Her mind kept going back to her exchange in the gardens with the duke. When she awoke that morning, a few lines of poetry had appeared in her mind unbidden, and she had attempted to put pen to paper as a result.
It was decidedly difficult to capture. The softness and teasing spirit of the duke’s character seemed to escape her in words. It invoked a feeling more than anything else. She had enjoyed the dynamic between them, the give and take of it.
She reread the lines on the page.
The rose sits idle in the storm
where raindrops mar its perfect form
the sunlight’s glow has long since fled
and here I wait for you instead.
She frowned at it.Have I truly written in such romantic tones this morning?She scratched it out, embarrassed by her wayward thoughts, especially for a man she barely knew and had exchanged but a few sentences with.
There was a welcome knock at the door, throwing her out of her musings, and she bid them to enter eagerly. Sarah came into the room, smiling at her as she advanced, leaving the door open behind her.
“Good morning, Charlotte. Have you forgotten our appointment?”
Charlotte rose, raising her eyebrows. “Was I required somewhere? Oh heavens, I was caught up with my writing. I am not used to the rigours of town life.”
Sarah was all amusement as she hunched a shoulder and gave a telling sigh. “I had a feeling you were not listening to me in the carriage ride home.”
“Nonsense! I always listen to everything you say.”
Sarah chuckled. “Very well. What did I say in the carriage last evening?”
