by Leah Conolly
“Yes,” she said, biting her lip.
Duncan stared at her, unsure if he had heard her correctly.
“Yes?” he echoed.
Christine bit her lip and nodded.
“Yes,” she repeated. “But I have one condition.”
Duncan laughed with relief and joy. If it meant that she said yes, he would do anything she asked.
“Of course,” he said. “Just name it.”
Christine took a deep breath, seeming to brace herself.
“There are some things that you must know about me first,” she said. “And I must discuss those things with you before we begin a courtship.”
Duncan nodded emphatically.
“Of course,” he said. “I am more than willing to hear anything you have to say.”
Christine smiled gratefully.
“Thank you,” she said.
Duncan kissed her hand, his heart full of joy.
“How about we talk tomorrow evening over dinner at my home?” he asked.
Christine smiled and nodded.
“That sounds perfect,” she said.
Chapter 19
“Oh, my,” Charlotte said, when she and Ruth got back to their room at the inn. “What on earth have I gotten myself into?”
Ruth put her hands on her shoulders.
“You have agreed to a courtship with a duke,” she said, her eyes shining. “And you have finally decided to tell him the truth about everything, so that the two of you can be happy together.”
Charlotte sighed, her emotions a flurry of confusion. She was thrilled that Duncan wished to court her, and she loved him every bit as much as he loved her, but she was also terrified. He had gladly agreed to hear what she had to say, but that did not mean that he would still want her when she told him the truth.
“Oh, Ruth,” she said. “I do want to tell him everything, but I could not bear it if he felt so betrayed that he did not want to see me again.”
Ruth guided her to the bed and sat down on the edge of it with her.
“You are fretting too much,” she said. “And once again, you are underestimating Lord Willeton.”
Charlotte shook her head.
“No,” she said. “I am imagining how I would feel if someone deceived me as I have deceived him. I would be horrified and devastated. I certainly would never want to set eyes on them ever again.”
Ruth nodded.
“I understand why you are thinking this way,” she said, “but you must have faith. He has fallen in love with you, not your name. If a name is of that much importance to him, then perhaps it is best if the two of you don’t begin courting.”
Charlotte looked at Ruth with wide, fearful eyes.
“I do not think I can go through with this,” she said.
Ruth took her hands and gave her a serious look.
“You must,” she said. “You will never have a better opportunity than this, and he deserves to know the truth.”
Charlotte lowered her head. She knew that Ruth was right. She had allowed the deceit to go on long enough. It weighed on her more with each passing day, and Helena was not making the problem any better. Charlotte was still unsure of whether the woman knew anything definitive or if she was bluffing, but she did know that she must tell Duncan everything first. It must be she who told Duncan, not his mother.
Charlotte took a deep breath and nodded.
“You are right, of course,” she said, looking at her maid. “I will tell him everything at dinner tomorrow night.”
Ruth clapped her hands and embraced Charlotte.
“I am so proud of you,” she said. “Everything will be alright. You’ll see.”
* * *
The following day, Duncan had meetings that kept him in town all day. Charlotte used the time to think of exactly how she would tell Duncan her real identity. She rehearsed her words repeatedly in her head, trying to make herself feel confident enough to say what needed to be said. In truth, however, she was still very nervous. Duncan’s reaction to her words would dramatically change her life, no matter which way he felt about them. If he were hurt and angry, he would terminate her employment, and perhaps even have her put in jail. If Ruth were right, and he was understanding and accepting, and still wished to court her, she would likely spend the rest of her life with him. Both possibilities were equally nerve-racking.
Before she knew it, the workday was over, and it was time for Charlotte and Ruth to return to the inn and dress for dinner. They had opted to walk to work, and Charlotte was now grateful for their decision. She would have the opportunity to seek strength and support from Ruth before she had to face Duncan.
“Are you ready?” Ruth asked, as they walked from the manor.
Charlotte shook her head slowly.
“No,” she said. “But I’ve been preparing myself all day.”
Ruth patted her arm.
“Everything will be fine,” she said, echoing her sentiments from the previous evening. “After today there will be no more guilt.”
Charlotte nodded.
“Yes,” she said, allowing herself to feel a shred of relief at that prospect. “And there will be nothing more Helena can say to make me miserable.”
Ruth clapped.
“Exactly,” she said excitedly. “If you feel yourself having doubts about speaking, recall these thoughts. I will sit right beside you at the table, in case, you need my support.”
Charlotte smiled gratefully and hugged her friend.
“Thank you, Ruth,” she said.
Before the women could begin walking again, a blur of movement caught Charlotte’s attention. She looked over her shoulder and saw a man staring at them. He was standing some distance away, so that Charlotte could not see his face clearly, but a feeling of great unease settled in her stomach.
Ruth saw her concerned expression and touched her shoulder.
“What is it?” she asked, trying to follow Charlotte’s gaze.
Charlotte shook her head.
“We should walk more quickly,” she said, striding briskly ahead.
Ruth followed behind her, still trying to see what had caused Charlotte to react. Charlotte took her arm and pulled her closer as they walked.
“I cannot be sure,” she said, speaking quietly since they were entering an area where other people were walking and milling about. “But I believe that someone is following us.”
Ruth sighed heavily.
“Are you sure you are not being paranoid?” she asked.
Charlotte glanced at her friend but did not stop walking.
“No,” she said. “I am not sure at all, but I have a terrible feeling.”
Ruth shook her head in exasperation and glanced behind them again.
“I don’t see . . .,” she trailed off. She covered her mouth with her hand, causing Charlotte to stop again and turn around.
“Oh no,” Charlotte said. “That is Benjamin Paul. He lives not far from my father’s estate.”
Ruth nodded, stunned into silence. Of course, he would recognize them. They had lived in the same part of town for their entire lives.
Just then, Benjamin noticed that Charlotte had spotted him. He lifted his hand, continuing to approach the women. He was wearing a dock worker’s clothes. If he worked at the docks, it was by sheer luck that he did not spot them the day Duncan found them. Or had he?
“Lady Charlotte?” he called.
Charlotte grabbed Ruth’s hand, her heart threatening to pound out of her chest.
“Run,” she said.
The women ran, trying to lose themselves among the other pedestrians, so that Benjamin would lose sight of them. However, when she glanced back, she could see that he was also running, following not far behind them. Worse still, people were starting to take notice of the fleeing women, talking amongst themselves and staring at them. Charlotte struggled to contain her rising panic. The last thing they needed was to continue attracting attention, but she could not let Benjamin catch them.
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Just then, she felt a hard tug on her hand. Ruth was pulling her toward a space between two buildings. She glanced back, unable to see more than the top of Benjamin’s head. She realized that they only had fractions of a second to act before they were in his view once more. She looked at Ruth and nodded, and they squeezed into the narrow space. They walked as far back as they could manage, keeping an eye on the opening. Ruth put her hands over her mouth and gestured for Charlotte to do the same, just as Benjamin trotted in front of their hiding spot. He was looking everywhere, and Charlotte realized that he simply believed he had lost sight of them. After the longest few moments of Charlotte’s life, Benjamin turned around and began walking back the other way. However, even with him out of sight, Charlotte was not comfortable leaving their hiding space right away. Instead, she stood completely motionless for several moments. She felt dizzy and could hear the blood rushing in her ears.
Once she slowed her racing heart, she motioned for Ruth to stay where she was. She tiptoed to the narrow alleyway’s entrance and cautiously peeked around the corner, in the direction that Benjamin had gone. To her relief, he was nowhere in sight. Only then did she allow herself to relax a little.
Once the crowd of people that were approaching their hiding spot had passed, she came out. Ruth followed hesitantly. Charlotte looked at Ruth, who still looked flustered and afraid. Then, Ruth’s face paled, more so than before. Charlotte quickly realized that Ruth was looking behind her, not at her. With her heart in her throat, she slowly turned around. Standing in front of the next building over was Helena Lancaster, her gaze fixed on Charlotte and Ruth.
Ruth pulled on Charlotte’s hand again, but Charlotte was too shocked to move. All she could do was stare dumbly as Helena approached the women, wearing a rather smug smirk.
“What luck,” Helena said, her voice dripping with sugar. “I was looking for you.”
Charlotte tried to swallow, but her mouth was dry. She still had not recovered from the shock of being chased by Benjamin, and now she had to face Helena. She took a deep breath and tried to make herself look braver and more composed than she felt.
“What luck, indeed,” Charlotte said, trying to give Helena a smile. She was furious, especially since she knew that Helena had no real reason to be looking for her. But after what had just happened, and with her planning to tell Duncan everything in just a couple of hours, Charlotte knew it would serve her best to be polite. She did not know if Helena had seen her fleeing from Benjamin, but it would not do for her to upset the woman and allow her to go to Duncan first.
Helena’s smirk grew. It was clear that she took pleasure in Charlotte’s discomfort.
“I trust that you have not forgotten what we discussed the last time we met,” she said.
Charlotte strained to widen her smile.
“No, my lady, I have not,” she said.
Helena nodded. The smugness of her expression made Charlotte’s blood hot, but she resisted the urge to say anything hasty to her.
“Oh, really?” Helena asked, looking intently at Charlotte. “Then why did you agree to have a private, intimate dinner with my son?”
Charlotte clenched her teeth together. Helena Lancaster had more audacity than any person she had ever met in her life, and she found herself wishing, not for the first time, that she would disappear and never resurface.
“I would hardly call a dinner between two employees and their employer an intimate affair,” Charlotte countered.
Helena laughed.
“Then what would you call it?” she asked. “I assume that you would give it a brand-new name. A new identity if you will.”
Charlotte blanched. That statement told her with absolute certainty that Helena must know something damning, but Charlotte still refused to give her any satisfaction.
“What I call it is accepting a kind invitation from my employer, extended to both myself and my good friend,” she said.
Helena laughed once more.
“Your friend, indeed,” she said dryly.
Charlotte’s patience finally snapped.
“My lady,” she said, her voice shaky but determined. “If you have something you wish to say, or something you think you know, you are certainly free to say such things to my face.”
Helena feigned surprise, which only made Charlotte angrier.
“Why, I am sure that I have no idea what you are talking about,” she said. “I simply wanted you to know that, if you are lying to my son, you will not get away with it for long.”
Charlotte silently cursed herself for letting her emotions get the better of her. Helena’s next words came as no surprise.
“However, if you are feeling guilty of something, you would do well to come clean now,” the woman said, surveying Charlotte and Ruth with cold satisfaction.
Charlotte shook her head firmly. She was going to tell Duncan the truth soon enough. There was no reason why she needed to give Helena what she wanted.
“I can assure you, there is nothing that you need to know,” Charlotte said, some of her confidence returning.
Helena burst into laughter, and the sound chilled Charlotte’s bones. Whatever information she possessed, she had full confidence in it, and that did not bode well for Charlotte and Ruth.
“I cannot help but disagree,” Helena said. “You have been sufficiently warned. If you continue to ignore my warnings, you will rue the day that you met my son.”
Charlotte stared at Helena. Had Helena gotten to Duncan already? Was she too late?
With a firm shake of her head, Charlotte smiled bitterly at Duncan’s mother.
“What I know is that I shall never regret meeting Lord Willeton,” she said. “And that Ruth and I are late for our dinner engagement with him.”
Without waiting for another response from Helena, Charlotte took Ruth’s hand and brushed disrespectfully past the woman. She continued to storm off without looking back, determined not to let Helena see how badly she had shaken them. Let her believe what she likes, Charlotte thought. After tonight, she will have nothing to hold against us.
Chapter 20
Duncan paced in the entryway of his home, checking his pocket watch anxiously. Christine and Ruthie were late, and he worried that Christine had changed her mind. He had also extended an invitation to his mother, with the hopes that, if she got to know Christine a little better, she would be less cruel and bitter toward her. However, Helena, in her infinite predictability, declined the invitation. Deep down, Duncan was relieved. He could see from Christine’s reactions to his mother that she made Christine very nervous and uncomfortable.
Dinner was already prepared and ready to be served, and he had included a special dessert and wine. Even though Christine would be bringing Ruthie along, it was still a special evening, and a rare opportunity to be alone with Christine.
A knock brought him out of his reverie. Duncan brushed past the butler to open the door himself. He sighed with relief when he saw Christine and Ruthie standing on the other side. Christine looked so radiant and beautiful that, for a moment, he forgot Ruthie’s presence. She took his breath away, and he could not wait to officially announce their courtship.
“Good evening, ladies,” he said, taking Christine’s hand and kissing it. “I was starting to become worried about you.”
Christine smiled, but it was strained.
“Please, forgive us,” she said. “We had something of a delay on our way back to the inn.”
Duncan frowned, seeing how distressed the women looked.
“Is everything alright?” he asked, as he led them inside.
“It was nothing that we could not handle,” Christine said. “We are just glad it is over, and that we are here to have a wonderful evening.”
At this, both Ruthie and Christine smiled, more warmly and sincerely than before. Duncan nodded, deciding not to press the issue. If they had a bad experience, he wanted to put them at ease, not force them to explain what had happened. He returned their smiles and bo
wed.
“Well,” he said, using all his charm. “You certainly came to the right place for a wonderful evening. Right this way.”
Duncan led the women into the dining room, where the servants were already serving the meal. He nodded to one of the lingering servants, who pulled out a seat for Ruthie, while he approached the seat nearest his and offered it to Christine. Once the women were comfortable, he took his seat at the head of the table. He intended to make this dinner last as long as he possibly could, so he reached for his glass of wine and raised it to Christine.
