Page 16 of The Virgin Duchess (Unwanted Brides #2)
Chapter Thirteen
“ F rederick?” Charlotte called out into the quiet estate, climbing the stairs in hopes that she would find him in his bedroom.
As the wood creaked beneath her steps, the door to Frederick’s room opened, and he joined her in the hall. Approaching him, Charlotte noted how his brows were raised in surprise, and she sucked in a breath to secure her nerves.
“Charlotte, do you require assistance with something or?—”
“I would like to begin our third night together if you are amenable to it.” She spoke as evenly as she could, holding his dark stare as her heart fluttered like a hummingbird.
Shock played over Frederick’s features, but he nodded as a slow smile spread over his lips. Lips that Charlotte had a difficult time peeling her stare away from.
“Of course.” He stepped back, gesturing inside his room. “Would you care to join me inside?”
Charlotte forced herself to swallow down the sudden panic that gripped her. She’d been so confident on the trip back to their estate. She had even gone through what she would say to him in the carriage. All that preparation flew out of her the moment she laid eyes on her husband, however.
“Thank you,” she replied, ducking her head in a little bow and slipping past Frederick and into his room.
Following after her, Frederick shut them in together, not locking the door but closing it securely. Charlotte’s pulse was overly loud in her ears, and she could feel it dance in her neck.
As the Duke went to the small table in his room, pulling out a chair for her, the room hung in silence. Charlotte took a seat, allowing Frederick to help tuck her into the table, and then waited for him to sit down across from her.
Several moments passed before she could speak again, and Charlotte had a feeling that Frederick would wait for her to do so as long as it took.
“I’ve just come Cordelia’s home.” Frederick’s brows rose at the words, a grin ticking up the corner of his mouth. “It is immensely improved over the state in which I last saw it. Cordelia and Kitty, too. They are in much better health, and apparently, I have you to thank for it.”
“Ah,” Frederick nodded as his stare rolled to the side, a slight chuckle leaving him, “I see. Well, I should have liked to remain anonymous, as I told Ms. Wood, but yes. I was able to assist them. I am glad to hear that Cordelia’s health has improved with the aid of the physician.”
Charlotte waited a moment to see if he might say more. She nearly expected him to put forth a brag or joke, but there was nothing. Frederick only smiled gently at her, a growing expectation on his face as the silence persisted.
“Why did you help them?” Charlotte immediately regretted the flat tone of her voice, but she couldn’t stop the question from bursting from her.
“They are people you care about,” Frederick supplied. “And I hold the means to aid them without taking on any strain myself. The estate is quite well-off, and I’m unlikely to spend everything I’ve been able to make in several lifetimes. Why not help those in need?”
Throat tightening, Charlotte shifted in her chair, her eyes burning. “I am incredibly grateful, Frederick. Not everyone would be so kind.”
“Think nothing of it, Charlotte. I am happy to have helped.”
The man sitting in front of her, the one she’d danced with into the early hours of the morning, was not the one she’d heard about through the ton. He was not this wild, outlandish rake, and in Frederick’s eyes, Charlotte only saw genuine comfort in having been helpful.
Her heart fluttered against her ribs, the pound of it so firm against them that she wondered if the muscle might crack one of her ribs. How was it possible that Frederick could make her feel like this? So wound up and off-balance while providing a grounding that made her intimately aware of her body.
How did he indeed work a strange magic that shot straight to the core of her like an arrow shot from Eros’s golden bow?
“You surprise me,” was all that she could think to say, and the lift to Frederick’s cheek as he smirked at her did nothing to relieve that buzzing sensation in her chest.
“Oh, do I now? Well, I must admit it is a delight to hear that I possess such a skill. Between my jokes and my apparent ability to astound you, I should have quite the illustrious career as a clown.”
Charlotte laughed, rolling her eyes at the man and shaking her head until she met his stare again. When she did, Charlotte leaned forward across the table, squinting at Frederick and cocking her head.
“Hmm, you shall need a bit of white cream for your face then.”
Frederick laughed, and Lord above, the sound was simply fantastic. She’d heard it rarely, and on each occasion, she found herself enjoying it, Charlotte felt that much dizzier in his presence. No man should possess that lilting of a laugh, that dazzling of a smile. It was an unfair act forced on her by the Creator, and she feared she would not survive it.
Leaning up from his seat, Frederick met her in the middle of the table, their faces hovering inches apart. He grinned, flicking his stare to her lips and then back to her lidded gaze.
“And still, you tease me. Shall I never manage to gain the entirety of your respect?”
Heart pattering against her ribs, breath lodged in her throat, Charlotte rolled her lips between her teeth, fighting a smile.
“Perhaps. The night is not over yet.”
What am I saying? Your promise to yourself…Oh, Charlotte, what will you do?
“Hmm…” Frederick hummed, his breath tickling over her face. “I suppose it is not. And how now shall I gain that praise, hmm?”
She was frozen there, hovering over the table as it bit into her ribs. The position was hardly comfortable, and she didn’t dare move or pull back. Every fiber of her being longed to be right there, right next to this bewildering man.
“Certainly, you can come up with your own idea. Or shall I have to provide you with them for the whole of our marriage?”
A glimmer in Frederick’s eyes sparkled in the firelight. Then his lips were upon hers, crashing them together in a kiss that stole her breath in seconds.
Charlotte’s head spun, and she hardly noticed as Frederick got up from his seat and circled the table to better reach her. Their lips scarcely parted during the entire movement, and as her husband stood over her, he lifted her face toward him, holding it with both hands as he devoured her lips.
Fire danced through her blood, and Charlotte perched on the edge of the chair, her hands finding the flat plain of Frederick’s chest as she reached up for him.
Stars above, I should burst into flames at any moment.
“Frederick!”
The both of them jumped back as Rose threw herself through the door and rushed up to her brother. A crumpled letter was squeezed in her grip, and her cheeks were stained with fresh tears. Even more, the young girl shook from head to foot, and when she reached Frederick, she crumpled to the ground as he wrapped his arms around her.
“Rose? What’s happened? Talk to me, sister.”
She didn’t answer, only holding her hand up to deposit the letter in Frederick’s hands. He took it, keeping one of his hands on her shoulder as she sobbed into his chest. As his eyes scanned the words, Charlotte watched a downpour of fury rain over him. Whatever moment they’d had just seconds ago was utterly forgotten by the upsetting words on that paper.
“Rose, are you all right? What’s happening?” Charlotte kept her voice low, stepping closer to the girl and laying a hand on her shoulder.
She didn’t provide a response, and the brother and sister shared a look. Rose appeared to be silently pleading with Frederick, but he shook his head. The room remained quiet aside from the persistent cries coming from Rose, and Frederick would not look at her, keeping his eyes pinned to the floor as he stroked his sister’s head.
“Of course, apologies. That was silly of me.” Charlotte’s chest ached, the sensation like she’d been struck by a cannon blast directly to her heart. “I am intruding. Excuse me.”
Charlotte didn’t understand what she’d expected. Of course, they weren’t going to divulge anything to her. She wasn’t an actual member of their family. This marriage was one of convenience, and she’d allowed herself to forget that.
She hurried to the door, Frederick calling out after her. “Charlotte!”
But she didn’t stop. It was clear that she had no place in that conversation, and Charlotte wouldn’t permit herself to be used only to satiate Frederick’s desires. She was better than that. And even if the man had been exceptionally kind, they were still not a true partnership. They were hardly friends.
And it appeared to Charlotte that it would remain that way indefinitely.