Under the Seductive Lady's Charm: A Historical Regency Romance Book

by Henrietta Harding

  “Yes, Amanda has come to spend the day,” Charlotte said to Mrs. Wilson.

  Mrs. Wilson’s face lit up. “That sounds lovely.” The woman turned to Charlotte more fully. “Do you need the afternoon off from your duties?”

  “Certainly not,” Charlotte said. “Amanda can visit with me while I attend to my chores.”

  Amanda did not like the sound of that, but good manners made her nod her head in agreement. “Yes. I suppose I could.”

  “Well then, I shall get about my own work then,” Mrs. Wilson said. The woman was swiftly out of the room, leaving Amanda to ponder what she had just agreed to.

  Charlotte set down her tea. Amanda assumed that their respite was at an end. Charlotte washed and put away the dishes. “Forgive me, but I must get the children outside for a bit while I check on the washing.”

  Amanda waved off the apology. She followed Charlotte and watched as her friend rounded up the children with such adeptness that it made Amanda marvel. It seemed the very act of herding cats to Amanda, but Charlotte accomplished it with relative ease.

  Once the children were outside, Charlotte shooed them off, “Go on and play. I have to attend to the washing.”

  The oldest of the girls offered, “I can help.”

  “There will be plenty of time for work in your future,” Charlotte assured her. “Now run on with the others.”

  Amanda came up beside Charlotte. “Should the child not get used to the duties of her station?”

  The hard look that Charlotte gave Amanda made her regret her words. “She is a child and children should play.”

  Amanda frowned. She stood awkwardly to the side while Charlotte worked. Charlotte walked down the row of clothing, pinned to the line with wooden pegs and felt each garment. If Charlotte deemed one dry enough, she took it down and folded it up neatly before placing it in a woven basket that was set nearby in the grass.

  The afternoon passed in that fashion. Amanda followed her friend around as Charlotte did task after task, all while wrangling the brood of children. There were lessons to be taught and a house to be cleaned. Mrs. Wilson was in the kitchen cooking, and all the household seemed as busy as bees, other than Amanda.

  Charlotte spoke to her as she worked. “You should show some compassion to your brother. He is only trying to do what he thinks is best for you.”

  After her chores for the afternoon were at an end, Charlotte led Amanda out towards the small shed that served as Charlotte’s bedroom. Amanda was appalled at the very sight of the place. “This is how you live? You do everything for them, and this is where they place you?”

  “I placed myself here,” Charlotte informed Amanda. “I like the quiet and it gives me my own space.”

  Amanda frowned as Charlotte showed her inside the shed. It was neat and orderly. There was a bed and a small table to write. Amanda felt something she had never truly felt before toward Charlotte. She felt pity.

  There was guilt that rolled up inside her. She had sent Charlotte fleeing back to this life. Charlotte had chosen this life over life at Berwick Manor, all because of the chain of events that Amanda had set in motion.

  She could not quite bring herself to say the words, but Amanda felt the weight of how she had treated Charlotte on her shoulders. She looked around at Charlotte’s ‘room’. She had driven Charlotte here with her spite and jealousy.

  Charlotte gave Amanda a curious look. “Are you ill?”

  “No.” Amanda turned toward Charlotte. “You have always been very kind to me. I should not impose on you anymore.”

  Charlotte’s expression held confusion. “You will journey back to Berwick Manor?”

  “I should like to speak to Lord Stanhope before I see my brother again, but it may not be possible. I cannot run away from things, as you have said.” Amanda straightened her shoulders.

  Charlotte gave Amanda a smile. She put her hand on Amanda’s shoulder. “I never said you had to do it all by yourself. The road home does cut through the town. It would do little harm to take a look around. Besides, it will be dark before you reach Berwick Manor. I could not stand by and let you travel alone.”

  Amanda let out a breath she had not realised she was holding. “Oh, thank you,” she said with genuine gratitude. “Again, you show me kindness, even when I fear that I have not been as kind as I could be to you.”

  “Come. The longer we stand talking the later it gets,” Charlotte said. Amanda let the conversation drop as Charlotte said. “I have to tell Mrs. Wilson where I will be. Wait with your horse and I will come to you.”

  Amanda waited for Charlotte to fetch her horse. “This is Dusk,” Charlotte said with affection as she led the grey stallion towards her.

  “He’s beautiful. I did not know that you had a horse.” Amanda did not know why she said it , but she immediately regretted her words as a look of sadness crossed Charlotte’s face.

  Charlotte turned toward the horse as if to check her saddle. “He was my brother’s. I could not keep him, so I sold him to the Wilson family.”

  “I did not mean to hurt you,” Amanda said truthfully. “I remember how much you loved riding.”

  Charlotte nodded. “Truthfully, I don’t get to ride often. It is better that he has a family that needs him. Still, it is nice to ride him again. Come on. We are wasting daylight.”

  *

  Charlotte eyed Amanda as they rode. It had been a most eventful day, and Charlotte certainly had not thought she would have spent it convincing Amanda Easterly not to run away. There were birds calling out as the sun sank behind the treetops. “I know that it is not my place, but I do wish you would give up this pursuit of Lord Stanhope.”

  “Why?” Amanda looked at her and Charlotte could see the pride there. Where was that glimmer of humility that Charlotte had spotted in the woman at the house?

  Charlotte said reasonably, “I know that you hold affection for him, but the side of the man that I have seen does not speak of someone who has either my or your best interest at heart.”

  Amanda frowned and looked down at her horse, her hands gripping the reins tighter. “Everyone seems to think they know Lord Stanhope better than me.”

  “It is not that, Amanda,” Charlotte said. Amanda looked over at her at the use of her given name. “He asked me to marry him after he had already offered to marry you. What is more is that he was very forward and brazen. I do not wish to see you entangled with someone who is posing as a gentleman merely for gain.”

  Amanda looked up, her eyes flashing with anger. “He said he loved me.”

  “I am sure he did.” Charlotte sighed. “Men are not often as forthright as we would like them to be. You have so many suitors, why throw in with Lord Stanhope when you deserve better?”

  A long silence stretched out before Amanda said, “I am sorry if Lord Stanhope did something to offend you, but he has done nothing to me. Should I hold everything he has done against him? Should I not take him as he is with me?”

  “It is good that you offer him a chance of redemption, but I worry. I never took you for one to stand for being made a fool of. Surely you would not want a man who proposes to the likes of me?” Charlotte looked at her old friend with a pointed stare.

  Amanda’s shoulders drooped and she looked at Charlotte with an unreadable expression. “I should not have made fun of your position. My own brother had a hand in your scandal, and I did not hold him accountable.”

  “It was not your brother’s fault,” Charlotte confided in Amanda. “I can take responsibility for my actions. If you choose to continue your courtship with Lord Stanhope, I just wish you to do so with open eyes.”

  They rode along side by side for a long time. Charlotte knew there was not much else she could say. Amanda would do what she wanted regardless of anything that Charlotte might do or say to her.

  There may be water in the well, but there was no way to force people to drink it. The same could be said for accepting the truth of things. Then again, perhaps Amanda’s view of L
ord Stanhope was the truth in regard to her.

  People could often be two very different people depending on the company they kept. Charlotte frowned as she remembered the man’s actions around her. She certainly hoped that Amanda was right about Lord Stanhope’s intentions.

  “I had no idea you lived like that,” Amanda said in a quiet voice.

  Charlotte looked over at her. There was that touch of humility again. “At least it is a simple life, secure and simple.”

  “Yes, but when you came to me for aid, I treated you poorly. For that, I wish I could make amends.” Amanda looked around at the woods. “Are you certain there are no robbers about?”

  Charlotte shrugged. “I should think they could find a better place to set up camp than in a poor town like this one. It is still light enough for us to get to the town and the manor beyond.”

  “I have never been out like this near dark, let alone past dark,” Amanda said in an earnest tone.

  Charlotte looked over at her old friend. “You have gone to many balls past the evening hour.”

  “Yes, but that was in carriages with escorts. This is outside my experience.” Amanda frowned and bit her lip. “I did not think the idea of running away through very thoroughly.”

  Charlotte chuckled, which earned a glare from Amanda. “Do not look so vexed. Running away is not something people tend to think through. Most people run away before they have a chance to really stop and think about the problem.”

  Amanda asked, “Is that what happened when you left?”

  Charlotte had not expected the turn of the question, but she supposed it was fair play. She thought back to when she had left Berwick Manor and refused to return. “I guess you could say that. I saw no way to banish the scandal and I thought that my presence at Berwick Manor would only cause further rumours to spread.”

  “You were right to leave,” Amanda said with a nod. “It was a good decision, faced with the scandal.”

  Charlotte laughed. “I tell myself that often. Somehow it never quite rings true.”

  “I should like to talk to that innkeeper and his wife,” Amanda said as she narrowed her eyes.

  The amusement of Amanda’s reaction brought a smile to Charlotte’s face. “I did not expect indignation from you on my behalf. After all, did I not bring it down upon myself?”

  “Women are seen very critically by society, Lotte. I know that all too well. My own brother considers me something of a hopeless case.” Amanda drew in a breath. “I cannot undo what I have done in the past, but I would like to do better.”

  Charlotte assured Amanda, “Trying to be better is all we can ask of anyone, including ourselves.”

  Chapter 11

  The stable boy fretted and stuttered, “I did not know it was unusual. She just wanted to go for a ride.”

  “Did she say where she was riding to?” Graham stared at the boy, unmoved by his obvious distress.

  The boy thought for a moment then shook his head. “No, Sir. I saw her turn towards town, though, on the road. Perhaps she went there.”

  “Damn it,” Graham muttered. “Is my carriage ready?” His gruff question caused the boy’s head to bob up and down.

  “Yes! We kept it ready just as you asked, Sir,” the boy said as he wrung his hands together.

  Graham nodded and waved to dismiss him. “Have them bring my carriage around then. I have to get my wayward sister, it would seem.” The boy was off the next instant.

  Edward came up beside Graham. “You really think that the miss has run off?”

  “Knowing my sister, that is exactly what I think she has done.” Graham ground his teeth together. “Lord Stanhope had better have enough sense to send her straight back. If I find out otherwise, he will like me even less than he does now.”

  Edward patted Graham on the shoulder. “Don’t go taking your anger out on the young folks. Sometimes they don’t know any better.”

  Graham sighed. “That may be, but this could ruin her reputation.”

  “Not with a brother like you around. I’m sure you’ll sort it out.” Edward looked around and yelled at a boy who was walking towards the service door, “Thought I told you to mend those fences?”

  “Aye,” the boy called back. “I got held up by the foreman. Says he wants me to tend a field.”

  Edward grumbled, “I’ll show him a field that needs tending. Go on back to you mending! I’ll handle that foreman.” The boy nodded and dashed off.

  “Looks like you have your own messes to handle,” Graham said as he gave Edward a smile.

  Edward frowned. “I would gladly go with you. Do you think it is wise to go alone?”

  “I am merely going to have a conversation with another gentleman, Edward. I do not intend on quartering the man on the spot.” Graham waved off Edward’s words. “Tend to my fences and I shall tend to my sister.”

  Edward nodded. “You are the boss, Sir.”

  “I wish my sister agreed with that,” Graham said with a shake of his head.

  Edward chuckled. “Women will never think you are the boss of them. They always know better.”

  Graham laughed and it felt good to do so. This day had wrung him out with its demands, and it was not over yet. He gave Edward a pat on the back as the carriage pulled up.

  The driver looked down. “Where to, Sir?”

  “We are going into the town. I think the inn should be our first stop,” Graham said as he stepped up into the carriage. He lifted his hand to Edward as the carriage started forward.

  The ride into the town always brought back memories, some pleasant and some not so. Graham sighed and looked out of the window. He looked for any sign of Amanda along the way, but he saw nothing.

  It was not that he was surprised that she had been angry enough to storm off. No, Graham had almost expected some kind of theatrical episode. But to actually run away to be with the likes of Lord Stanhope was beyond the pale. Surely Amanda was not truly that set upon the man.

  Graham could no more stand the thought of Amanda being with the obnoxious young man than he could the thought of Miss Browne marrying the sot. Graham drew in a breath to calm the anger he felt rising. He could not truly say which idea angered him more.

  He could not control the actions of the two women. His mind went back to the inn with Miss Browne. He had not made her kiss him, but he had definitely kissed her back. It was his shame in the whole scandal, for if he had rebuked the kiss then there would have been nothing to whisper about.

  How could he have turned Miss Browne away when he had all too often as of late thought of her in ways that were wholly not suitable? If Graham thought about the kiss too long, he could even remember how her dress had felt under his hands. His lips tingled with the memory of her kiss.

  He rubbed his face. This was not the time or place for such thoughts. He had to focus on what to do once he found Lord Stanhope and his sister.

  It seemed an impossibly short time before the carriage came to a halt. Graham was swiftly out with a hand to the driver to tell him to wait. He hurried inside, startling a woman as he came through the door. “Pardon me. I did not mean to frighten you.”

  “Not at all, Lord Easterly,” the woman said. “Please come in. I’ll just get my husband, shall I?”