Page 17 of To Seduce a Stranger

“Good morning,” he said drily, stretching out one hand to help her up. “Mrs. Cary.”

* * *

“I am not an opportunist.”

Edward looked up from the chipped washbasin, mildly surprised by the outburst. Once on her feet, Charlotte had waited quietly while he persuaded Mari to return to the manor. She had accompanied him wordlessly into the Rookery, even watched without comment while he turned a battered chair upright and made certain it was sound before inviting her to sit down.

But what had seemed like cooperative silence had actually been stewing, it would seem.

“Nor are you a lady’s maid,” he countered as he handed her a square of damp linen. She was once more coated head-to-toe with mud, and her coil of braided hair had escaped its pins and was slowly unraveling, giving her the appearance of a down-at-the-heels Medusa.

“No,” she agreed after she had wiped the dirt from her hands. “I was really more of a lady’s companion.”

“Mm, yes. So you said last night.” Not trusting any of the other furniture in the room with his own weight, he leaned one arm against the dusty mantel. “To an elderly widow with property in Antigua.”

Her gaze darted guiltily to the floor. “The lady by whom I was employed is a widow, although the family’s holdings do not extend to the West Indies, so far as I know. And I did handle her correspondence for a time. Every word.”

“Including letters to the gentleman with whom you eloped, I suppose?” He nodded toward the ring on her hand.

That question sent her eyes to the grimy window, as if she hoped to spy a suitable answer somewhere beyond it. “One or two,” she whispered, her voice as far away as her gaze.

Would Charlotte Blake—or whoever she was—never cease to surprise him? He had expected a hot denial, some other explanation for the gold band she wore. “You are married, then?”

“I was.” A pause, then she turned and fixed those fathomless dark eyes on his face. “He died.”

Truth. Or such an excellent performance of it that he could never hope to know the difference. It sounded as if an ill-founded and ill-fated marriage had led to her employer’s disapproval and dismissal, leaving Charlotte stranded in more ways than one.

And though it ought not, the revelation came as something of a relief. Society gave widows some latitude in their behavior. He had not ruined the reputation of an innocent young woman with his clumsy attempt to help. So long as he did nothing more foolish than he had already done, he would not have to offer her the questionable protection of his name to make up for his mistakes.

“Is there nowhere you can go?” Even if her marriage had caused a rift, surely her aunt or her late husband’s family could be made to see reason and do their duty by her.

She weighed the question before replying. “Even if there were, what does it matter if I lack the means to travel?”

“I offered you coach fare,” he pointed out.

“You seem eager to be rid of everyone. Even Miss Harper.”

“I believe she would be better off in London.” He did not need the added responsibility of ensuring her safety. Or Charlotte’s.

“With Mrs. Corrvan.”

Must her name be on everyone’s lips? Refusing to speak it himself, he simply said, “Mari is, among other things, an excellent cook. Any household would be lucky to employ her.”

Charlotte stood and surveyed the room. The cottage was in an obvious state of disrepair, although nothing like the manor house. For one thing, it hadn’t as far to fall. Garrick had spoken honestly about the roof, however. Numerous leaks had left the upstairs bedrooms with rotting floors and mildewed walls. Uninhabitable. Edward had spent last night in this very room, in front of the empty fireplace, hoping the ceiling stayed put.

“Why not this one, then?” she asked.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Or were you depending upon your wife’s skills in the kitchen, Mr. Cary?”

“My—? Oh.” He dropped his gaze to the floor. “I should never have said—”

“No,” she agreed. “You should not. One rescue was quite enough.” Then she continued in a slightly softer voice that pulled his eyes upward again. “Nor should I have encouraged it. But what’s done is done, and now we must decide what the next step will be. Is Miss Harper right? Will rumors have flown so fast?”

“Well, Garrick believes we are married,” he admitted reluctantly. “I certainly wouldn’t put it past him to have spent last night at the Rose and Raven, regaling the locals with tales of our arrival.”

“So, if I leave now, it could cause a minor scandal.”