The Captivating Lady Charlotte (Regency Brides: A Legacy of Grace #2)(31)

She left the drawing room and forced herself to walk slowly up the stairs to her room.

Footsteps hurried behind her. “You’re taking things awfully well, Lottie.”

“I am not quite the child everyone thinks me, Henry.”

“Decided not to go, eh?”

“My decisions count for naught anyway,” she said, plastering on a smile.

She paused. Except … her decision on how to respond to disappointment really was a choice. She did not need to react in the heat of the moment. What was that verse Lavinia had spoken of? Something suggesting that as far as it depended on her, she would live at peace with others. Surely this applied to forgiving her brother, too?

“What is it? Lottie”—Henry cocked his head, smiling, as if to pacify his use of the old name—“you’re not planning anything underhand, are you?”

“I don’t know what you mean. The only decision I’ve made is to trust that Mama will see reason.”

“That’s it?”

“Well, I might even pray about it.”

“How very devious! I gather this is our cousin’s doing?”

“Perhaps. I know this may surprise you, Henry, but I’ve no wish to be thought a child all my days.”

He laughed, and the sound caught her heart.

Yes, she might not have many choices open to her, but she could make choices about what lived in her heart. And just as she’d tried to protect Lavinia from the excessive concern of Mrs. Florrick, perhaps Charlotte needed to make choices to protect her own heart from those emotions that begged to hold sway. Her choices could lead to bitterness or shared laughter.

Her smile grew genuine. Today, at least, in forgiving her brother, she’d made a better choice.


TWO DAYS LATER, Charlotte was requested to attend Mama in her bedchamber. After making her wait for what seemed an eternity while Ellen fussed with her hair, Mama finally pronounced herself satisfied and eyed Charlotte in the looking glass.

“I have decided, due to your good behavior, you shall attend the parade after all.”

“Oh, Mama! Truly?”

“Truly.” Her mother smiled. “I am not coldhearted after all, and I still recall my first season.” She sighed. “I remember what it was to find a young man appealing. In fact …”

Charlotte clamped her lips as her mother continued her reminisces, espousing the merits of some army officer she’d found quite attractive, until her own mother had put an end to it.

Mama sighed. “After Grace, you know …”

She nodded. Lavinia’s mother, eldest daughter of a duke, who’d chosen love over a title, a quiet country life over the one to which she’d been born.

“Mother insisted I marry befitting my rank, and George was all I could ever ask.” She sighed, smiling. “I tell you this because I want you to marry appropriately, and not throw yourself away on someone unworthy.”

Was she suggesting Grace had thrown herself away on Lavinia’s father? Yet wasn’t Lavinia one of the kindest, loveliest people she knew? How could such a thing be a mistake?

“Your father has arranged for a room along the parade route. We shall invite a few of our more intimate friends and make quite a merry party. After all, it’s not every year we shall have opportunity to celebrate the peace. That little man will not run riot over Europe again.”

“True.” She fought a smile at such an idea.

“So it will behoove you to look your best, and to ensure these next few weeks are ones where not the smallest whisper of scandal can be heard. I hope I’ve made myself clear?”

“Clear as crystal, Mama.”

“Good.” Mama turned back to the looking glass. “Not too many young ladies are fortunate enough to receive such opportunities, let alone a second chance with such a man.”

Her spirits dropped. “With what man?”

“Why, with the duke, of course!”


THE DAY OF the twentieth dawned clear and sunny, excitement at the forthcoming parade lending wings to everyone, as regular morning preparations requiring hours seemed to take only minutes. Even Mama was dressed and at the breakfast table before her usual time, submitting to Father and his constant demands to hurry.

Their meal finished, they left Grosvenor Square and joined the stream of carriages headed to the Strand. In addition to the vehicles, pedestrian numbers were increasing. The air of excitement that so filled the streets had Charlotte abuzz, too.

Finally, she would once more be part of the season. If today went well, Mama might even see fit to let her attend the dress party at Carlton House on the twenty-first of next month. Seeing the Queen again held less anticipation than the opportunity to dress up most magnificently. And if she could capture the heart of someone less stuffy than the old duke, then so much the better. For the sooner Mama put away all this nonsense about him, the happier everyone could be.

By the time they reached the rooms hired for their use, the streets were pressed tightly with sightseers. Anyone setting out now would no doubt be sorely disappointed.

“I hope Fanshawe makes it in time,” Henry grumbled. “It would be just like him to arrive late and leave me stuck talking with ol’ Hartington.”

Hartington. Her spirits drooped. She would have to look like she was making something of an effort with him, otherwise Mama would surely suspend further excitements and attractions.