Turning her head, a tender smile turned to a gasp as her brown eyes locked with his. Though he wanted to smile for having found his prey, there was no laughter in his throat. Only the deepestdespair choking his voice into silence. A hunger coming to life that had been suppressed for so long, he had no idea it even lingered there.
Covering her mouth with her hand, Lottie’s eyes widened with shock.
A sheen of tears gathered in his eyes as his mind battled between needing to kiss her and wanting to shake her. “I’ve caught you.”
The ghost would not escape him now.
Chapter Fifteen
Charlotte pressed her lips together. “Oh, dear.” The flustered words popped out of her mouth as she gazed upon Perry. Her sudden pallor left him satisfied that she was sufficiently disturbed by his discovery.
Good.
He wasn’t the only one suffering under the burden of this new development.
Perry had evened the stakes. The secret was out.
Swaying lightly on his feet, he braced himself on the back of the settee. His body was reminding him of the extent of his exertions searching for Charlotte.
He had no regrets.
“You shouldn’t be here. You are unwell, my lord,” Charlotte said, reaching to steady him and guide him to rest on the settee. It was a relief to stop standing.
Her eyes locked on his, the air charged with a heaviness, throbbing with the pain of the betrayal each had endured. At least, betrayal slashed across his heart at the discovery. How could she hide from him?
What could be her explanation?
Giving her head a shake, she turned her back to him, pacing toward the window. “You weren’t supposed to know.”
The break in eye contact damaged him. He never wanted to have her out of his sight again. He devoured her presence hungrily, his eyes hardly believing that she was standing before him. She was more beautiful than he remembered; more captivating than the woman in his dream.
“And yet, here we are,” Perry retorted, his tone sharp. “You must understand my surprise to find you among the living. The last I heard of you—you were dead.”
Lifting a hand to her mouth, she took a few fast breaths as she searched for the words—the answers—he demanded. With a shake of her head, she stopped at the French doors.
Should he tell her the answers wouldn’t be found beyond the damask curtains hanging before her as she stared out the window?
No. He would sit back and wait for her explanations. There was plenty of time for all her secrets to come out. Perry leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms, a twinge in his arm reminding him of his injury. His muffled grunt caught her attention, and she turned back to rake her gaze over his body. He flushed at the perusal, feeling like less of a man in his injured state. His shoulders straightened as he tried to appear less feeble.
She sucked in a small breath, as though beginning to speak, but hesitated.
Sweeping across the room, she came to sit next to him, her teeth worrying her bottom lip as she fiddled with her hands in her lap.
“You see, it is a long and complicated story. I wouldn’t know where to start.” Her fingers drifted to stroke her temple.
“Why did you leave? I came for you. I asked for your hand and was told you were near death. It killed me not to be able to reach you.” A shuddered breath racked his chest as he gazed into her eyes. The eyes he had dreamed about for so long.
Charlotte cleared her throat, blinking back tears. His wordsseemed to hit her like a physical attack. “I fell ill after our time together,” she began. “My family judged it best that I retire from public life, to not give the impression that something was amiss. I intended to marry the Viscount Dewberry once my health improved. A marriage between you and me was never a possibility.”
“Why didn’t you communicate with me? I came for you.” His brows drew together as tears threatened. He reached for anger to steady him, but all he found was a well of sadness.
Rocking in her seat, Charlotte squeezed her eyes shut. “It was too late. You were engaged to be married, as was I. Our relationship seemed best to come to an end. As I began to feel better, news of your nuptials became known. The deed had been done by the time Viscount Dewberry broke our engagement. It happened so quickly.”
Anger that had been simmering within him came to the surface with her cryptic response. Didn’t she realize that it would have been an honor to care for her? He would have gladly seen her through her illness. If only he had known she needed him. The pain of betrayal squeezed his heart once more. She had never given him the chance to prove himself.
Yet, there was no denying his marriage to Eliza had come soon after he realized he would have no chance at being with Charlotte. Some of his anger ebbed.
They had both been hurt by the separation.
