Charlotte took a step back and inhaled sharply. “If we had been going faster, we could have been killed. Who would do this?”
With a frown, Perry’s shoulders drooped as he handed her the paper to examine.
“Whoever did this might have been trying to hurt me, endangering you and Aurelia as well. We suspect the man who shot me, the missing Mr. Jeffries, may have had something to do with it. The man has not been apprehended yet,” he explained.
Reading over the letter quickly, Charlotte brought a hand to her mouth, shocked that someone would even conceive an attack so cruel upon her family.
“You must not blame yourself. This is the work of someone truly evil. We are simply lucky our injuries were limited, and Winston was able to get his arm set. It is a relief to know he will make a full recovery.”
“What if Mr. Jeffries tries to come after me again? I worry that you and Aurelia will no longer be safe with me,” Perry said, his words laced with emotion. “I will have more men hired to protect you and our daughter. There is nothing to be done for it until this man is caught.”
Folding the letter, Charlotte sat in her chair, pressing a hand to her chest. “I will alert Ann to be more aware of her surroundings. We’ll ensure a footman is always with them if they are outside.”
Perry gave a silent nod and strode from the room, seeming reassured. She hoped it would be enough. It would be a tragedy if anything happened to her husband, for they had only just found each other again. Turning to face the mirror, Charlotte searched her eyes for signs of her former confidence and saw none. She was afraid.
With their rapid courtship, many things between them had been left unsaid, and unresolved. Charlotte regretted their wedding night the more she thought about it.
If something happened to Perry, would she feel like she had been honest about everything? Charlotte huffed, pressing her palms to her cheeks, still damp from Perry’s careful washing, knowing the answer to her own question.
There were more secrets to reveal to her husband.
Hopefully, she could find the courage to divulge them before it was too late.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Perry wasn’t quite sure how to deal with the problem of his wife.
His body cried out with the injustice when he left her alone on their wedding night. It had been hard to think of much else since then, save her comfort and well-being.
After receiving the news of someone having tampered with the carriage, he did everything in his power to ensure the safety of his family. The butler had assisted him in securing extra protection, including several footmen to accompany Aurelia and her nurse throughout their day, and someone to follow his wife once she decided to venture out of the home. The had much to discuss in terms of their relationship and their marriage.
Their wedding night had been a disaster. Their journey to their new life treacherous, and now, settling into their London existence was riddled with dangers lurking around every corner. They were much more exposed here than in their isolation in the country. Danger had found them and chased them on their journey of escape.
With a heavy sigh, he stood from his chair and walked over tothe window, admiring the front gardens of Wildwood. Every aspect of them was perfectly manicured and pristine, a sharp contrast to the mess at Bodmin. When he had lived in the home with Eliza, the silence encroached upon him every single day. Suffocating. The emptiness of the space between them, the distance even when they were in the same room, was stifling. It was impossible to build a connection when neither of them was desirous of it.
Now that Charlotte and Aurelia graced his home with their presence, there was a new warmth to the halls, a soft laugh coming from one room, the delicate sound of the pianoforte from another. The emptiness seemed somehow filled, and it spurred Perry on to protect their fragile happiness with everything he had. Though his relationship with Charlotte was still somewhat strained, he was eager to resolve things. Perhaps he had been too harsh on their wedding night. Too quick to refuse and too easily injured by her submission to him. Her kisses told him she was more than receptive to his attentions. She wasn’t simply capitulating under his husbandly authority. His wife desired him, at least a little.
He had been a fool to expect so much from Charlotte. The tender love of their youth had changed, molded, and hardened from years of pain and loneliness. Whatever hearts they had easily shared before seemed locked up behind walls of protection. Even though he had been previously married, it didn’t mean he knew how to properly show affection to another. He knew the expectations of a husband, but never had to attend to the emotional side of a marriage. Feelings between him and Eliza were cool and distant. Easy to manage and compartmentalize.
He had never burned for his wife the way he ached for Charlotte the moment he found her. Dreamed of her. Fantasized about her. Though he had once believed those feelings were laid to rest with her in the grave, they were brought back to life the moment they were reunited with a ferocity he could barely contain. Wouldhe be able to stay away from her eternally because of his dratted convictions? Perhaps he would have to bend. See if tenderness could eventually be developed between them once more.
He raked his hand through his hair, watching as the gardeners tended to the perfectly trimmed boxwood hedges.
Later, he mused. He would go to Charlotte and clear the air between them, perhaps begin to build a bridge they could both traverse to find…something more.
The sound of a throat clearing behind him startled him from his reverie. Perry turned to see the butler standing there, waiting patiently with his hands clasped before him.
“Yes, Bentley?”
“My lord, your wife asked me to inform you that she has invited your sister to dinner and requests your presence tonight.”
Pursing his lips, Perry considered his currently empty social calendar. “Of course, yes. I will be there.” He hadn’t had time to visit with his sister since they had returned from the country. Louisa would do wonders to help him with the newest developments in his life.
Married many years to a man thirty years her senior, the Marquess of Lingham, Louisa Mandchin lived a less-than-typical life among the upper set. She was at once revered and pitied for the match she had made. Or rather, their father—the duke—had made.
While her husband preferred life in the country, Perry’s sister traveled to London to enjoy the season for a few months every year and took advantage of all the pleasures at her disposal as a married, unencumbered woman. Louisa’s ability to captivate the attention of any man was noted among the members of theton. This caused rumors to abound.
Perry was well-versed in how lonely a marriage could be and encouraged his sister to take joy where she might. The marriage was yet more proof that their father cared little for his children’s happiness and more for their increased wealth and status. A goalachieved in terms of society norms, but a very empty existence when one was left to abide by a spouse who cared little for them.
