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The moment they were out of sight, the atmosphere changed. Though she remained polite to Herrington, Charlotte no longer played the simpering coquette.
“What is the matter with Miss Charlotte today?” Alessandro whispered to Mélisande while Charlotte and Herrington took their turn. “Did she and Pelham have a disagreement?”
“No, there is something else afoot here,” she answered, her face full of worry. Then she could say no more, for it was their turn to play.
Upon completing the last end and claiming the win for his team, Herrington parted company. “It was an honor to share in your game, my lady,” he said to Charlotte, bowing over her hand. “I shall look forward to seeing you again.”
“Thank goodness that bit of strangeness is over,” Mélisande muttered as they left him behind. “I’ll explain later,” she added, nodding at Charlotte’s back.
They rejoined Stanton and Lady Angelica, as well as Miss Doulton, who’d also returned. The three appeared to be in a celebratory mood. Alessandro noted that Pelham was not present.
Miss Doulton immediately moved to sit beside Mélisande. “It isn’t official yet, but I wanted you to be among the first to know that I am now engaged to be married.”
“Olivia, how exciting!” exclaimed Mélisande.
Looking to Charlotte, Alessandro marked her sudden pallor. She looked as though she was about to be violently ill.
“Mr. Kesselman asked me to marry him not half an hour ago, and I accepted,” Miss Doulton continued, eyes sparkling.
Charlotte blinked in confusion. “Mr. Kesselman?”
“Yes, Charlotte,” said Mélisande, openly amused. “You remember the young man from Germany you met at our engagement party?” She didn’t wait for her to answer, but turned back to Miss Doulton. “But where is he now?”
The young woman blushed happily and ducked her head. “He has gone with Lord Pelham to find my grandfather. He’s such a wonderful gentleman, Melly. So patient and kind-spirited. I cannot thank you enough for introducing us.”
Herrington watched the little celebration from beneath the deep shade across the green, his gaze resting not on Mélisande but on her friend, Miss Stanton.
Whitehurst had not communicated with him in over a month now. The last he’d heard, the man was having difficulty gaining e
ntry into the French king’s inner court. He needed another plan.
By trying to incite Pelham to jealousy, Miss Stanton had unknowingly handed him the key to bending Mélisande to his will. She cared for the girl and would wish to protect her.
Archimedes said, “Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.” Jealousy was such a useful tool. With it, emotions could be manipulated, friends turned into enemies, and enemies subdued.
THE BEST-LAID PLANS
MÉLISANDE HAD BEEN reluctant to ask Alessandro for help, but given the disastrous afternoon at Lady Skelton’s, it seemed wise. “I want to ask for your assistance in handling a rather delicate matter,” she said, scooting closer. “Charlotte has developed a tendre for someone she oughtn’t, and I’d like your help correcting the situation.”
“You mean Pelham, of course.” He chuckled. “It is a harmless infatuation, nothing more.”
“It is far from harmless,” Mélisande replied, feeling beleaguered. “She has an unrealistic, romantic view of him. As long as she maintains it, she’ll refuse to consider anyone else. It is my hope that once she’s stripped of it, she’ll accept the suit of a decent young man.”
His smile faded. “Ah, I see.”
“It’s not because he’s a rake,” she said, realizing now how it had sounded. “Alessandro, I know him as she does not. Even if she somehow managed to force him to marry her, she would not be happy as his wife.”
“You cannot know that.”
“I can and I do,” she insisted.
“You once told me he was a brother to you. You cannot know what he would be like with someone else. He might be very different as a husband.”
But Mélisande knew better. He could not know how David had suffered as a child, the things he’d witnessed in his father’s house. But she did. She’d witnessed some of them with him. “I cannot reveal the reasons why, Alessandro, but you must trust me when I tell you that he will never let anyone into his heart,” she said, looking him straight in the eye. “And Charlotte deserves someone who can love her back.” She continued to stare at him. “Will you help?”
A long moment passed before he answered. “I will.”
A tension she hadn’t known was even present suddenly eased. “Thank you.”
