Chapter Thirty-Four
Mr. Merryville bowed, and his wife curtseyed. Charlotte took a seat on the opposite sofa, Con sat next to her, and her brother sat on a chair.
“May we ask how our daughter is doing?” Mrs. Merryville asked. She clutched the handkerchief with which she had dabbed her red-rimmed eyes.
“Let me assure you that Susan is safe and unharmed.” Charlotte gave the woman a reassuring smile. “She was quite forthcoming regarding her behavior.”
Mrs. Merryville let out a breath. “I am afraid she is a bit of a chatterbox.” She twisted the handkerchief in her hands. “I—we had no idea she would do anything like this.”
“It is beyond the pale,” Merryville said. Of the two he was clearly the angrier.
“It will probably not make you feel better,” Con said, focusing on the girl’s father, “but Sir Reginald is an accomplished rake. I do not believe any young girl would have the experience to counter him.”
“It did not help matters that her grandmother accepted him at first, then rejected him without giving Susan a reason,” Charlotte added. “She is at that age, after all.”
“He can be very charming,” Con said. “However, he is deeply in debt, as you most likely already know, and not received by Polite Society.”
Charlotte watched the girl’s father as his lips thinned and his countenance hardened. That did not bode well for poor Susan. “You cannot blame her. While in Bath, she was given freedom to go off on errands for her grandmother, alone or with only a young maid. Although the town is not London, it is still not safe for a young girl to walk around alone. It would not surprise me at all if Sir Reginald saw her and made inquiries about her. I understand he is quite desperate.”
“He’d have to be if he went to Bath,” Constantine said under his breath. Charlotte resisted the urge to cast her eyes to the ceiling.
“We only sent her there because my mother begged for one of her granddaughters to visit,” Mr. Merryville said. “I had no idea she’d be so lax. Then again, we keep more of a watch over our children than was kept over us.”
“It is unfortunate that she did not take better care of Susan.” Charlotte sympathized with the couple.
“She is not even fifteen!” Mrs. Merryville cried and broke in to tears. Her husband put his arm around her shoulders. “How could he do what he did?”
For a moment Charlotte was distracted by the woman saying Susan was not yet fifteen, then she understood what actually concerned Mrs. Merryville. “Excuse me, ma’am, but when I said she was well, I meant that she had not been touched.”
The woman lowered her handkerchief from her eyes. Mr. Merryville stared at Charlotte. “Are you certain, my lady?”
“I am quite certain. She also understands what a horrible mistake she made in trusting him.” She softened her tone. “I think you will find that she very much wishes to be forgiven.”
“If I may make a suggestion,” Matt said. “I do not allow my sisters out of the house without at least one experienced, older footman with them.”
“I have found them more useful than my maid,” Charlotte added. “Particularly, when I am shopping.”
“Have you received any correspondence from Sir Reginald?” Constantine asked.
“Nothing at all.” Mrs. Merryville frowned. “We had no idea where she might be or who would have taken her until we received the note from his lordship.”
Her husband’s jaw had developed a tick. “You are not surprised by that.”
Constantine’s gaze focused on the other man. “How great of an heiress is Susan?”
“My father started the business. I have built upon it and we are well off. However, I have four daughters. The eldest will come out next year. Not, of course, in Polite Society, but the expenses are significant. Their dowries are sufficient. And, although I do not aim to marry any of them into the aristocracy, I wish them to marry well.” Mr. Merryville stood. “Thank you for your assistance. I know where the fault lies, and it will not happen again.” He looked at Matt. “I will take your advice regarding the footmen. We would like to take our daughter home.”
“Naturally.” Charlotte rose. “She is across the street at Stanwood House.”
The Merryvilles decided to remain in the hall while Susan was sent for. She glanced at her parents and began to weep. Her parents immediately hugged her and spoke in reassuring tones.
Constantine slid Charlotte an amused look. “That is probably the best thing she could have done.”
“It appears so.”
She took his hand and they were about to slip away when Mr. Merryville approached them. “I cannot thank you enough for finding and protecting Susan. If there is anything I can do to repay you, please let me know.”
“Her safety was our main concern,” Charlotte said. “We are glad she is back with you.”
He bowed and ushered his wife and daughter out the door. When it shut, Matt turned a horrified look at Grace, who had entered the hall. “Have I told you how much I appreciate the fact that you do not enact me Cheltenham tragedies? The weeping would drive me to distraction.”
“As opposed to merely fainting,” his wife replied. Before they had married, Grace would faint whenever she was surprised. Fortunately, that did not include the times Charlotte and her brothers and sisters acquired frequent cuts, scrapes, and broken bones.
“Swooning is much better. Once I learned it is not unusual.” He slid an arm around Grace’s waist. “Have you noticed that you have not fainted once since we wed?”
She appeared to consider the matter for a moment. “I do believe you are correct. Then again, I am not now living in fear the children will be taken away from me.”
“There is a story behind that exchange,” Constantine whispered in Charlotte’s ear, causing pleasurable shivers to flit around her neck.
She found she was still holding his hand as they headed to the drawing room. “One day I shall tell you all I know. Yet, I have a feeling even that is not the whole story.”
* * *
Waking early the next morning, Con decided to surprise Charlotte. He might not be able to wake up next to her, but he could break his fast with her. Not to mention that he had an appointment to discuss the settlement agreements with her brother.
Afterward they could take a ride in his phaeton, where he would find some little-used paths in the Park where they could be alone.
He yanked the bell pull, and a few moments later his valet appeared.
“Good morning, is everything in order, my lord?”
“Couldn’t be better. I shall be joining Lady Charlotte’s family for breakfast.”
Hot water appeared as if by magic, and in less time than he would have imagined, he was dressed and on his way down to the hall. How had he never noticed how efficient his staff was?
“My lord,” his butler, Webster, said when Con reached the hall. “Mrs. Henley would like to know if Lady Charlotte will be inspecting the house soon.”
That stopped him in his tracks. Naturally, Charlotte would wish to inspect the house. Whatever that entailed. He did not know what, exactly, the protocol was for a change in mistresses. Should his mother be in charge of her visit? Clearly, he would have to ask for advice. The problem was determining who should advise him. “I am sure she will wish to do so at some point.” If he had his way, it would be after their wedding. “I shall have to find out when she wishes to meet with Mrs. Henley.”
“Very good, my lord.” His butler opened the door. “Will you return for luncheon? Cook wishes to be informed.”
Con stopped and speared Webster with a look. “I do not recall ever being asked by my cook when I shall be here to dine.”
“No, my lord. However, you never spent much time at home before.”
That took Con aback. Still, his butler was right. Since moving out of his rooms into the house, he had had a series of mistresses and had spent most of his time with them, or at his club, or elsewhere. Come to think of it, he had spent more time here since he’d met Charlotte, than in the past four years together. “I shall have luncheon here, and tell her ladyship I would like her to join me.”
“Thank you, my lord.”
Luncheon would be the perfect time to tell his mother that his wedding had been moved from sometime in the summer, or the autumn, or never—to next week. He could also ask Mama when it would be appropriate for Charlotte to meet with his housekeeper.
He walked down the steps and lengthened his stride, entering Stanwood House about ten minutes later. His arrival barely caused a moment of silent surprise in the din he’d heard from the hall.
“Good morning.” He entered the breakfast room and strolled to Charlotte. “I thought we could at least have breakfast together.”
“I am glad you are here.” She gave him one of her sunny smiles, and he basked in the warmth.
Worthington nodded, and his wife grinned.
Phillip jumped up from his seat. “Good morning, you may have my chair. I’m finished.”
A footman cleared the remains of the boy’s breakfast, and reset the place. After Con filled his plate at the sideboard, he sat next to Charlotte. “What are your plans for today?”
“Do you mean after we meet with Matt about the settlement agreements?”
We? Con had assumed her brother would handle everything. “Yes. Before we left, I’d sent my information to him.” He was about to go through all the details with her, but stopped. He had not received the contract from his solicitor, and he and Charlotte would have enough time for that later.
“He mentioned it to me.” She handed him a cup of tea, and he spread jam on her toast. “I understand it is the same agreement that was used for Dotty and Louisa. Albeit with my information.” Charlotte munched on her toast. He even liked the sound she made when she ate. “You might as well know that there will be a provision for my property to be held in trust for my use only.”
He froze. His cup halfway to his mouth. “Did Merton and Rothwell agree to that stipulation?”
Her eyes began to dance. “Merton was not at all happy, but he wanted to marry Dotty, and that was the only way Matt would agree to the wedding. You must understand that he was not well liked at the time. Rothwell was having some financial difficulties, most of which have been resolved, and insisted Louisa not only retain her property but not use it to benefit the dukedom.”
“And now there is me.” He took a sip of his tea, wishing it was something stronger.
Charlotte’s sky-blue gaze was steady. “And now there is you.”
His family had always gained wealth through marriage. Con had given no consideration to Charlotte’s portion. It simply did not matter to him. But if he had, based on the number of brothers and sisters she possessed on the Carpenter side of her family, he would have thought her dowry was no more than respectable. Still, a little voice suggested that might not be the case. It was entirely possible that Worthington, clever man that he was, was more devious than Con had previously thought. Her friend and sister had got married within a matter of weeks of meeting their betrotheds. That was quick even by the standards of the ton.
Ergo, by the time the agreements were presented, a man in love would never oppose them. To do so would be to risk losing the only woman he needed. “I shall not disagree to that provision.”
Con thought he heard her let out a breath, but he could not be sure. He knew in his bones that if he did not agree, Charlotte would never be his, and her presence in his life was more important than increasing his family’s wealth.
As the children left, the breakfast room gradually quieted. Soon they were alone with Matt and Grace, who were seated at the other end of the table, their heads together, speaking quietly.
A clock struck the quarter hour and Worthington pushed back his chair and rose. “I shall see you in fifteen minutes.”
Con leaned closer to Charlotte. “I did not know he was such a stickler for timeliness.”
“He is very busy at the moment.” Her tone was airy, yet her answer struck him as somewhat evasive, and he didn’t know why. “There is a great deal to do before this house is closed and the construction schedule on the other house is finalized, and the journey to the country is made.”
That sounded right, but the niggling feeling that he was missing something returned. Con just wished he knew what it was.
The meeting across the square at Worthington House was brief. The settlement agreement was presented to him fait accompli. Considering Charlotte’s portion was much larger than Con had thought, the contract might have bothered him if it had not been so fair. The primary part dealt with her well-being in the event anything happened to him before an heir had been born.
“This came about,” Worthington explained, “because I did not trust my putative heir to take care of my wife in the manner I wished her to be cared for. I have heard of too many widows who have been left impoverished.”
Con had heard the same stories. Some of the women had taken protectors, and that was not what he wanted for Charlotte. Not that her family would allow it in any event. And he barely knew the cousin who would inherit his title if he should die without issue. He took the pen in Worthington’s hand and signed the documents.
* * *
As soon as Constantine left, Grace called the town coach. “Madam Lisette is ready to attend us as soon as we arrive. I cannot tell you how glad I am that you already ordered your bride clothes.”
What had been an exercise in shopping to convince Polite Society Charlotte was betrothed, had turned out to have been a wonderful decision. “Do you think Louisa will be able to travel here in time?”
“I hope she will.” Grace shrugged. “We shall have to see.”
Charlotte and Grace spent the next three hours at Madam Lisette’s shop making final fittings. They left with a list of other items Charlotte would need.
When she and her sister entered the morning room for tea, they found not only Matt and the children, but Constantine, his mother, and another lady who shared the same green eyes, conversing with the twins and Madeline.
“Charlotte.” In three long steps he was with her. “My sister Annis arrived, and my mother wanted you to meet her.” He looked as if he had lost control of his life, and she was hard pressed not to laugh. “I did not know how to stop them from coming.”
Charlotte was certain he’d had no hope of achieving that goal. “Your sister seems to be making friends.” She took his hand. “Please introduce us.”
Shortly after meeting Annis, Lady Kendrick, Charlotte was happy the lady would be her new sister.
“If you have things to which you must attend,” Charlotte said to Constantine, “your mother and sister may return home in our coach.”
“Yes, my dear,” Lady Kenilworth agreed. “Please go about your business.”
As soon as the door closed behind him and his steps could be heard going down the corridor, Annis said, “Mama told me you have planned a surprise wedding. What a charming idea. Other than keep it a secret, you must tell me what I can do to help.”
“I have enlisted my cousin Merton’s help in keeping Constantine busy, but if you could also keep him occupied enough that he does not guess what is going on, that would be wonderful.” Charlotte wrinkled her nose. “I sometimes have the feeling that he is suspicious.”
“Hmm, let me give that some thought.” The lady’s lips quirked up. “I am much better at keeping my mother engaged. All I need do is mention shopping. However, I am positive I can think of something.”
Charlotte hoped so. Although she loved spending time with her betrothed, she had a wedding to plan and very little time in which to do it.