Page 42 of A Lady’s Dangerous Secret (Scandalous Secrets #1)

Her father gave an insouciant shrug. In the light, Charlotte noticed the wrinkles on her father’s face and the thinning of his hair.

He looked years older than his true age.

Her eldest brother Henry resembled him and also lived an indulgent life.

The last she had heard, Henry was out in the country at one of the earldom’s estates with his latest mistress.

He was eating and drinking to his heart’s content with several other bachelors who did not want to be bothered by the Season.

If Henry did not change his lifestyle, this was the future that awaited him.

Aunt Frances shifted her attention to Charlotte and assessed her appearance once more. “You look perfect.” With that declaration, her aunt slipped into the narthex, leaving Charlotte with her father and brother.

“I’ll be right back.” Arthur followed his aunt and then returned shortly after.

“I don’t see your betrothed, but Carrington was near the altar. Let me check if we can get this wedding started. Wait here.”

Her father quickly found a bench in the atrium on which to sit. He rested his clasped hands on his protruding abdomen and leaned back against the wall. He was already fatigued, despite the short walk from the town coach to the church.

“Will you be all right?” Charlotte looked at her feckless father.

“Quite,” he responded. He closed his eyes to rest before the arduous task of walking his only daughter down the aisle.

Charlotte could not sit down and wait. She paced in nervous anticipation, her bouquet hanging from her hand.

She simply arrived before James. After a few moments, she could not lie to herself.

Charlotte was worried. She had become too accustomed to expecting the unexpected and now feared the worst. Did le Diable attack James?

Was he in some horrible carriage accident?

Was he crying off their wedding? Her pacing quickened as she ran through all the possibilities.

Return to reason.

Charlotte was in the midst of ranking her worries by probability of occurring when a snort broke her train of thought. She turned toward the source of the sound and found her father snoring with his mouth gaping open. He really was an impossible man.

Before she could dwell on his failings further, the door between the atrium and narthex flew open. Arthur strode toward her with his brow furrowed.

Charlotte knew something was wrong. “What is it?”

“James is missing.”

Charlotte‘s heart sank. She tossed out all the hypothetical reasons James was not at the church and focused on the most likely. He had cried off the wedding. She was destined to always be the forgotten fifth . “I can’t believe it!”

Arthur was taken aback. “I’m worried something has happened to him.”

“What?” It was as if someone had dumped a bucket of cold water on her head. “You really think so? He didn’t finally realize he’d be better off without me?”

Now Arthur appeared upset, which was a rare occurrence.

“Charlotte Tipton, I have seen the way James looks at you. The devil himself could not keep that man from this wedding.” He stood over her with his hands on his hips just like when she had gotten into scrapes as a child.

“All I know is that James left a brief missive for Carrington that he would meet him at the church instead of riding over with him from the town house.”

Arthur’s eyes quickly glazed over while his inquisitive mind turned over possibilities. Charlotte did the same. Per the note, James had not forgotten about the wedding but had been called off for some reason.

But what? Was it a trick by le Diable to get James alone?

Charlotte’s heart raced as genuine fear took hold of her body.

“What if something happened to him? We must find him.”

Arthur responded calmly, “We need to think about his absence methodically. I’ll send one of the footmen back to Carrington’s house to determine if any of the servants know where James headed, or at least in what direction.”

Arthur’s logic made perfect sense, but it would take time. Charlotte felt helpless. “We must do something now.”

“Let me check with Carrington once more and ensure there’s no critical information he forgot to mention.”

Arthur exited the atrium, leaving the door open, and Charlotte paced again.

It must be le Diable, Charlotte reasoned.

James had told her Jack was going to take care of this particular threat to her life, but he never said if the protection encompassed James as well. She could not lose him…she just could not.

Although there were only a small number of wedding guests, Charlotte could hear the din of their voices from the main part of the church. The sound grew louder and louder until suddenly…was that a cheer?

Arthur rushed inside the atrium. “He’s here!”

Relief flooded over Charlotte, but that was short-lasting. “I’m going to kill him for scaring me like that!”

A lopsided grin spread on Arthur’s face. “Charlie, don’t let marriage change you too much. Your combination of pragmatism and impulsiveness is incomparable. Just remember, in order to get married, your groom has to be alive,” he jested.

Charlotte could not help but smile. “Let’s get married then!”

Arthur forcefully nudged their father’s foot, and their father awoke with a confused look on his face. “Father, you need to walk Charlie down the aisle, remember?” he asked sternly.

After a few moments collecting his thoughts and a couple of glances around his surroundings, their father hoisted himself into a standing position. “Yes,” he muttered.

Her father walked toward Charlotte, his breathing labored. He stopped before her and seemed to see his daughter for the first time that day. “It’s your wedding day, Daughter.”

“How kind of you to remember.”