Page 24 of The Virgin Duchess (Unwanted Brides #2)
Chapter Twenty-One
C ordelia and Kitty will be so happy to see me. It has been so wonderful getting to see them so much more. And with far less pressure surrounding the visits.
Charlotte readied herself in the mirror, going over her hair and making sure she hadn’t knocked free any of the strands as she packed up the box for Kitty.
The sweet gift would be so appreciated by her, and Charlotte did already possess a lovely set that she’d been given as a wedding present by Ethel before she left. By offering it to Kitty, Charlotte hoped that she would encourage the girl to practice her reading and writing since she didn’t have a proper tutor coming to visit her.
Inspecting the package, Charlotte nodded, happy with her work, and picked it up delicately before heading for her door. She was going so much earlier in the day than she was used to, but with Frederick aware of what she was doing, it wasn’t to be relegated to only nighttime visits.
Her steps created a short rhythm as she practically jogged down the stairs, and when she passed the breakfast room, she saw Frederick sitting there with this morning’s newspaper.
Hmm…I shall let him know that I’ll be out.
Charlotte flitted into the room, walking up to where Frederick sat and greeting him with a smile as he looked up from the center fold.
“Good morning. I wished to inform you that I’ll be visiting Cordelia and Kitty. I’d like to give her this delightful gift from last evening. I know Kitty will adore it.”
He smiled up at her, tilting his head. “This is the first time you’ve ever said anything about going to visit them.”
There was no hiding the surprise in his voice, and Charlotte ducked her chin, feeling her cheeks heat slightly.
“Oh, yes. Well, we are being more open with each other, are we not?”
Setting the paper down, Frederick nodded. As he leaned back in his chair, he slipped his fingers through the loop in his cup, bringing it to his lips to sit at the dark coffee inside.
“We are. Still,” he took his drink, allowing his words to hang there because he knew it set her on edge, “it sounds as if you are asking my permission to go? Is that what you’re doing, dear Charlotte?”
“Why would I need?—”
But her words were silenced as Frederick’s other hand found her, sliding up over her wrist and slipping beneath the fabric of her sleeve. His touch was warm, reminding her of how much warmer it could be. Before she knew it, he was on his feet, standing breaths away from her, with his dark eyes set on her with ultimate focus.
“Sweet Charlotte,” his fingers danced up her arm, making the fabric covering her arm snap back into place as he wound them up, up, up, “you know I do delight in hearing you ask for what you want.”
Her stomach clenched, Frederick’s words going straight to her primitive mind. She felt her cheeks flame, no doubt turning a bright pink, and she cursed herself for enjoying his torment so thoroughly. As it was, Frederick appeared to relish the way her skin darkened, the look of embarrassment painted across her.
“Look at the lovely flush of your skin, precious.” He leaned down toward her, placing his lips gently on her cheek right near Charlotte’s ear. “And how beautiful it must be as it colors all your flesh.”
He’d seen so much of her, and his reminding her of the fact sent Charlotte into a spin. Frederick’s caress of her arm moved higher still, his fingers wrapping around the back of her neck as he held her closer. His kisses went to the side of her neck, his warm breath on her sensitive skin making goosebumps flitter over her.
“Frederick,” Charlotte pleaded, “if I am to be leaving, I cannot very well get into the carriage looking like this. The entire staff will think that you’ve… entertained me right at the breakfast table.”
“And?” He nipped at her ear lobe before doing it again right over her quickened pulse. “I can think of far worse things to be seated on my table than your fine rear.”
Giving her backside a firm pinch, Frederick hummed in her ear, and Charlotte was inches from losing her composure and any desire to leave the house. She could allow herself to be delayed, but God, she did wish to visit Cordelia. The trip was not a short one. If she dallied much longer…
Frederick’s other hand was now pressing between her legs, and Charlotte’s eyes shot wide. There was no one in the room, no one to see them, but he was being incredibly daring. Still, she could hardly complain when the heel of his hand found her slit through the layers of fabric and pushed into her hard.
A whimper left her, and Frederick just chuckled, that lilting sound that always had Charlotte melting a bit.
“Frederick, I…”
But the words were not there. All Charlotte could think about what the growing need in her blood and the way it felt to have Frederick use such pressure on the very tip of her seam, right where that bundle of nerves sang loudest.
And then he pulled back, leaving Charlotte to nearly pitch forward and land on the spread of food before her.
“I should not keep you.” Grinning like the devil, Frederick held her cheek, sweeping over her bottom lip with his thumb. “Go see your family. I am certain you are right. Kitty will love the writing supplies.”
Charlotte just nodded, walking away with a breathless smile and a nod. She went straight for the door and the phaeton that was waiting for her outside. It took everything she possessed to keep her mind from dwelling on the slick that now coated her thighs.
“This is gorgeous!” Kitty’s eyes were as wide as saucers, her excitement plain as day as she opened the box.
Charlotte grinned happily, watching her sister enjoy the gift as much as she knew she would. It was a true delight to see the young girl so happy, and even more so to see both of them doing so much better for the visits from the physician.
“Charlotte,” Cordelia gasped, “how did you come by this?”
She turned to the woman, remembering fondly the previous evening. “I won it at a friend’s house after playing a game of charades. It was truly a lovely night. Even Frederick was there, and he was an incredible partner for the game. He secured our victory by correctly guessing on the last turn.”
Having lost herself a bit to the memory, Charlotte blinked and refocused on Cordelia. When she did, she found the woman staring at her with a knowing smirk, and her heartbeat hurried in her chest.
“What?”
“You have been all smiles since you got her, Charlotte. And the light in your eyes as you mention your husband cannot go without notice.” Cordelia eyed her, her brows up as she leaned closer across the small table. “What has been going on?”
Charlotte blanched, her stomach clenching as it digested nothing since she’d forgotten to eat breakfast thanks to said husband’s distraction.
“It’s nothing. I am happy that you are both well. My husband has been useful in that. Can I not simply be grateful for all that he has done?”
“That is not the look of gratitude, love. Be honest with me—and yourself for that matter.”
“Cordelia!”
She just laughed, and Kitty looked up from examining her new writing supplies with a confused expression.
“What’s going on?” the young girl asked.
“Nothing,” Charlotte cut in quickly before her mother could supply a different answer. “Your mother is teasing me.”
“I am, but it doesn’t change the fact that I’m also right. I take it that things with the Duke are going well then?”
Kitty was the only one in the room who did not pick up on Cordelia’s less than subtle innuendo. Charlotte narrowed her eyes at the woman, clenching her jaw before she let out a long sigh.
“Yes, all right. They are going well. Can we please leave it at that?”
Cordelia shook her head. “Absolutely not. I must hear all about how the Duke has changed your heart.”
“That is taking it a bit too far, I think.” Charlotte fought desperately to turn the conversation away from her love life. “I am grateful to him, and he has shown that he can be entertaining at social gatherings. I’m allowed to be happy that he is not a toad without there being more to it.”
Studying her, Cordelia squinted and then shook her head. “You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”
“What?!” Charlotte gaped like a fish out of water, her mouth hanging open before she righted herself. “How did you come to that conclusion? I have just said that I don’t dislike him. That is all.”
From the side of the room where Kitty had been entertaining herself with the writing supplies on the floor, she perked up and then walked over to the table where her mother and Charlotte sat. Her little brow was pinched in confusion, and she sat down with obvious trepidation.
“I’m confusion, Lotte.” Kitty and Magus were the only two people on the planet that she permitted to call her that. “If you’re married to him, don’t you have to be in love?”
The room fell silent, and Charlotte turned to Cordelia, hoping that she would step in to help educate her child. It wasn’t as simple as love for most in the nobility and loftier ranks, and while that certainly didn’t make living as Cordelia had been a better situation as a result, it did offer a bit of insight into the very different ways the rich and the poor existed.
“Kitty, I told you. People can get married for different reasons.” Cordelia smoothed her hand down the girl’s hair. “Love, yes, but also to unite families or keep someone safe from the poorhouses. Dukes and Barons and Viscounts, they also look to create families. They want to carry on their name. Have someone there to keep their line going.”
It was odd to hear it all reduced down to something that simple. It was true—every word of it. The rich wed to carry on names, continue traditions and family lines. It hardly had to do with love. In fact, that was a rare blessing in most arrangements. Because that’s what they were, for the most part, a business negotiation.
“So then…” Kitty turned to Charlotte again, eyeing her with suspicion and growing worry. “…you don’t love Frederick? Is he bad? I didn’t think so with everything he’s done for us.”
Every knot in Charlotte’s stomach that had wound itself into being at the beginning of this conversation doubled down, tangling all the further until she was forced to say something, if only to ease the strain she saw in Kitty’s eyes.
“I…I like him well enough, of course. Frederick is not bad. As you’ve said, he helped you a great deal and in doing has been kind to me. I respect him as a gentleman and as my husband. Does—does that make sense?”
It took a moment for Kitty to nod, after which she returned to her writing tools and busied herself with practicing the letter K. Charlotte turned back to Cordelia and glared. It took less than a second for the woman to break out into another fit of giggles, and Charlotte was ready to throw the hunk of bread on the table at her.
“Would you stop it?” she moaned. “It’s not as simple as all that. I hardly know the man well enough to be in love with him.”
Charlotte felt the heat in her cheeks doing nothing to help her prove her point. No doubt the bright pink color undermined her terribly, and she dropped her face into her hands with a groan.
“Oh, Lord. I haven’t laughed like that in a while.” She looked up to see Cordelia wiping the tears from under her eyes. “And if you hardly know your own husband, that is entirely a fault that you claim. You’ve lived with the man each day for a time now. What have you two been doing if not getting to know each other?”
Charlotte’s stomach clamped down. She recalled the time she’d spent with said husband this morning and just how much their past few encounters had been about “getting to know each other” in a rather intimate fashion. It sent further flames into her cheeks, and Charlotte ducked away.
Unfortunately, Cordelia noticed at once, yanking on her arm and forcing Charlotte to make eye contact again.
“Oh, I see what you’ve been up to!” She laughed again. “So then, has our innocent Charlotte at last tasted the fruits of marriage?”
“Cordelia!” Kitty looked over at them for a moment, and both women played it off with easy smiles until she went back to what she was doing. “You can’t say such things. Especially with your daughter seated not ten feet from us.”
“Dear Charlotte, how exactly do you think I came by Kitty? Immaculate conception? You’re well aware that I was lured into the arms of your own father. If we cannot speak about such things with each other, who then will we have to talk to?”
She had a point, and Charlotte sank down in her seat, releasing a heavy breath. “Understood.”
Bobbing her head, Charlotte took a moment to gather her words. In truth, she’d wanted to talk to someone about all this. Still, Amelia was so busy with her own marriage, and Selina was never an option. The woman was such a massive flirt that Charlotte had an idea she knew precisely what Selina might say about all this.
Just have sex with Frederick already.
“I have not. I…I find myself rather nervous about the prospect of carrying a child. I do want them, of course, but… Before now, I had believed every slight against Frederick was founded in truth. I had denied him, asserting that I would not be carrying the child of a rake. Now, however, well, I know that so much of that has been exaggerated, and I am…”
“Conflicted?”
She looked up at Cordelia, smiling at the insight into her situation that the kind woman possessed.
“Yes.”
“I find it best when I am reluctant to make a decision,” Cordelia supplied, and Charlotte hung on her every word, “that it is best to choose with your heart. Life’s practical and financial woes can be mended, but you will always regret not following your passions.”
“But my father left you. He was horrid to you.”
She looked over at Kitty, a soft smile stretching over her face. “He was. But I have her. And I would not trade my daughter for every pound in this great country.”
Charlotte didn’t speak. If anything, she was more conflicted now than before. And still, watching the love exude from Cordelia for her child, a deep, hidden part of Charlotte’s heart beat harder.