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“Your Grace,” Rose ducked her head, “is there something I can help you with?”

To say that there was tension was putting it mildly. Charlotte had been in spats like this with only Magnus. Still, he was excellent at keeping up his sour mood unless Charlotte moved to rectify things quickly. She had to assume that Rose was no different, considering the irritated countenance she wore.

“Rose, I’ve come to apologize once more. I am truly sorry that I spoke out of turn regarding your brother. I let my frazzled mood get the best of me, and I shouldn’t have said such things.”

There was a pregnant pause before Rose’s posture relaxed a hair, and she blinked slowly as she let out a long breath.

“Thank you for saying that.” She nodded and then met Charlotte’s eyes. “I love my brother, and his happiness matters a great deal to me.”

Charlotte mirrored Rose’s deep breath, allowing her shoulders to unclench. With a soft smile, she put her hand over her heart to ask Rose to join her for the day—an idea she’d only come up with moments ago on the stairs.

“Would you like to join Selina and me in the shops today? The Season is almost upon us, and we would love for you to join us in finding new items for the coming gatherings and parties.”

Rose’s eyebrows rose as she regarded Charlotte. She didn’t answer immediately, and Charlotte aimed to sweeten the offer with something that might appeal to a young woman like Rose.

“And I should mention that Selina is usually the one with the best gossip. I am not usually so invested in it, but I’ll admit that hearing her stories is unavoidably entertaining.”

Laughing lightly, Frederick’s sister nodded. “My goodness. As it stands, I am free this afternoon.”

They both chuckled lightly at that one. Rose hardly ever left the house, and they were both well aware that she did not have plans that day.

“So?” Charlotte asked encouragingly.

“I would love to join. It will give us a much-needed opportunity to get to know each other.”

Grinning wider, Charlotte clapped her hands together softly. “Precisely! Oh, wonderful. This will be a delightful afternoon. And I can distract Selina from going on about the Duchy of Soulden with your presence, which is all but guaranteed.”

There was another hearty round of laughter after that, and then Rose excused herself to make ready for the day at the shops. It wasn’t long before she joined Charlotte downstairs to set off in the carriage into London proper.

As they stood near the door, readying themselves for the sun and streets, Frederick came in from the front door, nearly running Charlotte over in the process as she gripped the knob.

“Oh!” Charlotte exclaimed, and Frederick stepped backward abruptly, countering his wife’s imbalance with a firm grip on her elbow.

“Apologies,” he offered, meeting Charlotte’s eyes and then quickly sweeping them to Rose. “And where are you two off to?”

Before his sister could respond, Charlotte retrieved her arm from Frederick’s hold and stepped in front of him, holding her spine straight as a pin and her eyes training confidently on his despite the cool breeze that wafted inside.

“Out.”

It was all she said, eyeing him with a teasing smirk. Should he not wish to discuss wherehewas going, she wouldn’t either.Go on, husband. Refuse your wife what you’ve promised.

He narrowed his stare on her, the corner of his mouth lifting in a smirk that should not have been as attractive as it was. Charlotte swallowed, doing her best to conceal the sudden rush to her pulse, the heat that crawled up her neck to her cheeks.

“A fantastic idea. Rose had needed an afternoon out and about for some time. I do hope you both thoroughly enjoy yourselves.”

Rose stepped forward, greeting her brother with a brief embrace as she thanked him. As he held her close for just a moment, Frederick’s eyes remained locked on Charlotte, and she felt the intensity of his stare on her skin. Had it been any other day,Charlotte might not have given it another thought. But as it was, she was confident that for scarcely a second, Frederick’s gaze flicked to her lips.

Confound you.

She rolled them between her teeth, darting her stare to the side in a vain attempt to distract herself. The curtains in the sitting room to her left wafted in the wind from the door, and she cleared her throat before turning back to Rose and her brother, especially ready for a breath of fresh air.

“Shall we, Lady Rose?”

The young woman smiled at Charlotte, nodding as she extended her arm so that they might walk arm in arm to the carriage. From behind her, Charlotte could hear Frederick call out lightly.

“Have a wonderful time. And I wonder,” Charlotte dared to cast a glance over her shoulder at Frederick, “shall see you this evening?”

She grinned, knowing precisely what her husband meant. “Perhaps.”