To Warm A Wintered Heart (Regency Romance)

by Deborah M. Hathaway

  “What is it?” she asked. “Did you not wish for him to join us? I can tell him we would rather it just be us, if you wish.”

  “Oh, no,” Julia said, “I am most pleased to have him join us, for then I may see the romantic interaction between you both, but…”

  “Then what is making you so unhappy?”

  “You have…” Julia began before bringing a finger to her own chin, “you have a bit of fruit just there.”

  Charlotte retrieved her handkerchief before wiping her chin and pulling it back to see a bright red smear across the white cloth.

  “Oh, dear,” Charlotte said, heat from her blush already rising upon her cheeks. “Now I know what he found so amusing.”

  “I am sorry,” Julia said. “I did try to tell you before he arrived.”

  Charlotte shook her head with a sigh. “It is no fault of yours,” she said. “I suppose I was simply too distracted to notice.”

  “I do wonder why.”

  And Charlotte shook her head, smiling at the sly look upon her sister’s face before becoming lost once more in the thought of spending more time with Gabriel.

  Gabriel walked away from the sisters with a smile on his face and a lightness to his step he knew was caused by Charlotte Rosebury.

  He smiled, recalling his earlier days of fear when he had first begun to enjoy spending time with the woman whom he found increasingly more attractive, but the fact that he would soon leave Brightwood, to forever be tucked away within the walls of Greyston Hall, had allowed him to relax during his final days in Stratford.

  And then I shall, at last, forget Miss Rosebury, he thought.

  He imagined her dimpled smile and intelligent conversation, how nearly irresistible she had appeared with the bit of fruit on her chin only moments before, and with a fading smile, Gabriel wondered if he truly wished to, or would even be able to, forget such a woman.

  And when he returned to the Roseburys, he shook his head in frustration, for his heart raced to see Charlotte smiling up at him.

  Well, you must forget her, Gabriel, he told himself, for it is time to leave Brightwood, whether you are prepared to do so or not.

  “Are you well, Mr. Worthington?” Charlotte asked, noting the frown upon his brow when he rejoined them.

  “Yes, thank you,” Gabriel said, “I was merely deep in thought.”

  Charlotte nodded, though when the three of them began their walk through Stratford, Gabriel’s frown returned, and she feared he had changed his mind about walking with them.

  Warily eyeing the large, black horse Gabriel led behind him, Charlotte asked, “Are you certain you would not rather ride?”

  He was silent for a moment before responding, “Would you prefer me to ride?”

  “Oh, no,” she said at once. “Of course we are happy to have you join us. I only thought, well, it is quite a long walk.”

  “So you simply do not believe me capable of completing such a distance on foot then?”

  Charlotte shook her head. “I did not mean to imply such a thing, Mr. Worthington. I only meant…”

  Her words trailed off when Gabriel leaned forward to see Julia.

  “Should I be ashamed of teasing your sister, Miss Julia?” he asked.

  “Not at all,” Julia said. “In truth, I think she rather enjoys it.”

  Charlotte sent a frown in her sister’s direction, but Julia only continued.

  “Besides, she teases you the same, as you are sure to remember from your chess match.”

  “Indeed,” Gabriel said, “how could I ever forget her boasting after she had beaten me?”

  “Boasting?” Charlotte said with raised brows. “I was not—”

  “Oh,” Julia interjected, “yes, she is insufferable after a victory. This is why I no longer play chess with her.”

  “I think I shall follow your example, Miss Julia.”

  Charlotte looked straight ahead, pretending to ignore their banter with feigned offense, though she had to fight to keep a smile from spreading across her lips.

  “If I did not wish to make the return journey alone,” Charlotte said with a raised chin, “I would have left you both long ago.”

  “Yes, Miss Rosebury, but then you—”

  “Mr. Worthington! Oh, Mr. Worthington!”

  They turned to see who called behind them, and Charlotte nearly grimaced to see Miss Mounsey waving a handkerchief in their direction, her mother and Mrs. Chalcroft, following closely behind.

  “Good day, Mr. Worthington,” the young woman said, batting her eyes and ignoring the Roseburys altogether as her mother caught up with her.

  Gabriel merely raised his hat in greeting before Mrs. Mounsey spoke to him, also disregarding the sisters.

  “We were just on our way to purchase my Fanny a new bonnet,” she said, smiling proudly at her daughter as Charlotte exchanged glances with a frowning Julia. “You would be most welcome to join us, Mr. Worthington.”

  “Thank you,” Gabriel said, “but I am to return to Brightwood with Miss Rosebury and Miss Julia.”

  Mrs. Mounsey’s brows arched at Gabriel’s refusal, and her daughter pouted.

  “But you would enjoy your time far more with us, sir,” Miss Mounsey said in a whining tone.

  “Never mind, Fanny,” Mrs. Mounsey said with her lips in a thin line. “Mr. Worthington’s responsibility obviously must be observed before his pleasure.”

  She pulled Miss Mounsey away from the others to a nearby dress shop before looking expectantly at Mrs. Chalcroft.

  “I shall be just a moment, Mrs. Mounsey,” Mrs. Chalcroft responded, remaining where she stood in front of Gabriel and the Roseburys. “Do go on without me.”

  Before the Mounseys had even entered the shop, Mrs. Chalcroft returned her attention to them.

  “Oh, Miss Julia,” the woman said, “you really ought to wear your bonnet properly, or I shall have to speak with your mother. Now, Miss Rosebury, are your family treating your guest with kindness?”

  “No, we are not—”

  “Of course, Mrs. Chalcroft,” Charlotte said, interrupting Julia’s words, no doubt laced with sarcasm. “Mr. Worthington and his mother have been welcomed into our home.”

  “Wonderful,” Mrs. Chalcroft said before turning to Gabriel.

  Charlotte took the opportunity to send a look of gentle warning to her sister, mouthing out, “Please,” when Julia merely pouted.

  However, after another pleading look, Julia finally sighed with a begrudging nod, and Charlotte smiled before both of them returned their attention to Mrs. Chalcroft’s words.

  “Mr. Worthington,” the woman said, “I have heard you and Mr. Rosebury enjoy riding together, and that is all well and good, but I do hope you do not neglect the ladies of Brightwood whilst taking part in your gentlemanly pursuits.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Chalcroft,” Gabriel said, responding calmly to the woman’s insolent words. “I shall certainly take your advice into consideration.”

  “You are most welcome,” Mrs. Chalcroft said, her face beaming with pride. “Now, I have heard this visit of yours to Brightwood is quite a rarity, as you do not leave your home in Yorkshire very often, and I would never wish to impose, but what is the reason for your seclusion? Why have you not yet chosen a wife?”

  The woman stared at Gabriel expectantly, seeming not to notice the Roseburys gaping until Charlotte spoke.

  “Mrs. Chalcroft,” she began, “Mr. Worthington has his own reasons for his choices, and he is certainly entitled to his privacy regarding the matter. To ask anything less would not be appropriate.”

  “Of course I know that, Miss Rosebury,” Mrs. Chalcroft said with a hand to her chest in exaggerated horror, “but I am not asking him to reveal his greatest secrets with the world, only myself.”

  “But it is not your place to—”

  “Nonsense,” Mrs. Chalcroft interrupted, “a woman my age has a right, nay, an obligation, to ensure a young gentleman fulfills his duty to society in marrying and pro
viding his wife with a child! Really, Mr. Worthington, you must free yourself from singleness, at last, and choose a wife, or you will be forever considered ungenerous by all you encounter from this point forth.”

  Mrs. Chalcroft ended her words with an exasperated sigh and silently stared at the others.

  Feeling angry words at the tip of her tongue, Charlotte clenched her teeth, but as the woman continued staring at Gabriel as if she deserved an explanation, she could no longer remain silent. “Mrs. Chalcroft, never have I heard such—”

  Her words ended when Gabriel’s hand softly grasped her wrist, and she glanced up to see him nodding in her direction before facing Mrs. Chalcroft in all his stature.

  “Thank you for your opinion,” he said politely before releasing his hold of Charlotte’s tingling wrist, “but I feel, in order to avoid further undesirable words from you, we must now part ways. Good day, Mrs. Chalcroft.”

  Charlotte and Julia followed Gabriel as he walked past the woman, and Charlotte nearly smiled until she noticed the Mounseys exiting the shop in front of them and heading in their direction.

  Mrs. Mounsey moved beyond them to where Mrs. Chalcroft stood with a stunned expression, both of them whispering with intermittent glares in their direction before Miss Mounsey pushed past Charlotte to stand between her and Gabriel, placing a gloved hand upon his arm.

  “Oh, Mr. Worthington,” Miss Mounsey began, her back to the sisters, “as much as you have upset me by denying me your company, I do hope you enjoy your walk back to Brightwood.” She paused to smirk over her shoulder at Charlotte and Julia. “Though that may prove difficult with these sullen sisters. Only promise me you will not allow yourself to frown as they do, for such a look would lessen the appealing nature of your handsome lips.”

  She giggled, tapping her forefinger against Gabriel’s mouth before walking away with her skirts drastically swaying from side to side with each step she took.

  “Always a pleasure,” Charlotte muttered under her breath as she and Julia watched the young woman depart.

  “Shall we continue?”

  Charlotte looked to Gabriel who faced the opposite direction with an indifferent expression.

  “Are you certain you can manage walking home with us sullen creatures, Mr. Worthington?” she asked.

  “You know already, Miss Rosebury, I quite fit in with the sullen crowd.”

  After sharing a smile with Gabriel, Charlotte felt her mood improve considerably, and even Julia, after venting about “the audacity of Chattering Chalcroft,” smiled anew as the three of them carried on in pleasant conversation, leaving behind the small town for the quiet Warwickshire countryside.

  “I do love life in the country,” Julia said as they walked along a road lined with trees, their orange and red leaves hanging overhead to nearly hide the blue sky above. “Larger cities, however, offer a greater society. In my time in London, it mattered not where I looked, for I was nearly always met with sights of a handsome gentleman.”

  Charlotte turned to her sister with wide eyes and a small shake of her head, but Julia merely looked at her with innocence.

  “What is it, Charlotte?” she asked. “You have said the very same yourself. Why, only this past season you wrote to me of how Bath held more fine gentlemen than we have ever seen here.”

  “Yes, but—”

  “Oh, look over there, Charlotte!” Julia exclaimed, pointing out a tree with flaming red leaves. “How could I have missed those before? They will be perfect for my collection. You stay here while I gather the best ones.”

  “Oh, no, the pathway is far too dirty, Julia,” Charlotte protested, stopping to eye the muddy trail that cut through the tall grass and led to the tree.

  “I know,” Julia said over her shoulder as she skipped away, “that is why you must stay here. Mama will have nothing to say if I return home with a dirty petticoat, for she is used to seeing mine in such a state. Yours, however, are always spotless!”

  Charlotte cringed as Julia took off through the field, mud already splashing upon her skirts, and she sighed.

  “She is right, you know,” she said.

  She glanced up to see a smile spreading across Gabriel’s lips, and she blushed in horror.

  “Oh, no, she was not right about, well, she is, but that is not what I…I only meant she was right in Mama expecting Julia to behave in such a way, not about how spotless my…my…”

  Gabriel’s grin only grew, and Charlotte paused to shake her head. “Your teasing look is not helping my blush, Mr. Worthington,” she said, “though I am certain that is why you smile so.”

  “It is,” he said simply, and she could not help but return his smile.

  She took a few steps forward, looking down to where her slippers crunched against the ground before a gust of wind blew past her, carrying leaves through the air as they fluttered to and fro, the sun brightening the colors like jewels.

  Charlotte closed her eyes for only a moment to breathe in the smell of cool air and crisp leaves before releasing a sigh and saying, “I do love this time of year.”

  “I can see that.”

  She opened her eyes to see Gabriel watching her, and her heart fluttered until he looked away.

  “I assume your sister does, as well.”

  Charlotte followed his gaze to where Julia jumped up and down to reach the tall branches above, her hands already filled with more than a dozen leaves.

  “Oh dear,” she said, smiling before her brow furrowed. “I do hope you do not find her behavior too shocking, Mr. Worthington, as many tend to do.”

  Relief filled her when Gabriel shook his head.

  “No,” he responded with a smile, “though it would not matter if I did. Your sister is far happier the way she is than if she was made to be someone she is not.”

  “I feel the same,” Charlotte said, her respect for the gentleman growing. “I could not bear to have my sister lose her enthusiasm for living, nor her indifference to the opinion of others, merely to avoid the risk of another’s judgment.”

  “Would we could all behave in such a way.”

  “Oh, indeed. The world would be a far better place if we would all be blunt and improper.”

  Gabriel stared down at her, and she smiled in his direction until they watched Julia walk around the base of the tree, her neck craned back for her to see further into the branches.

  “I wanted to thank you for earlier,” Gabriel said, his deep voice breaking through the silence, “for your defense of me while speaking to Mrs. Chalcroft. I must admit, I was taken aback at her words.”

  Charlotte nodded. “I am sorry to say you are not the first person to have been spoken to in such a way by the woman,” she said. “We have all been subject to her opinion, including my sister, if you had not already deduced by the complaints she made against her today.”

  They glanced to Julia who had since fallen down into the tall grass after a particularly high jump. She stood straight up with a wave in their direction, shouting, “I am all right!” before continuing with her leaf retrieval.

  “Yes, her disgust was rather apparent,” Gabriel said with a small smile. “May I ask what the woman has said of her?”

  Charlotte nodded. “During a private conversation taking place between myself and my sister many years ago, Julia expressed her desire to marry and have children of her own one day. Mrs. Chalcroft overheard and was swift to assure Julia she would never find a man to love her, for the freckles on her nose were most unappealing. And Julia, I am afraid to say, has never forgiven her.”

  “I do not blame her,” Gabriel said, frowning.

  Charlotte nodded again before glancing up at him. “I am sorry for the woman’s questioning, though,” she said. “One should never have to explain a personal choice unless her or she wishes to. I do hope her words do not ruin the rest of your stay at Brightwood.”

  Gabriel stared down at her in silence for a moment before glancing away.

  “Do not worry, Miss Rosebury, they
shall not.”

  Julia approached them then with muddied skirts and hands filled with bright red leaves.

  “I have found the best ones, Charlotte,” she said, “and I have brought enough for the both of you. Which one would you like?”

  Charlotte laughed. “How am I ever to choose between them all?” she asked.

  “Here, I will help you. Give me your hand.”

  Julia raised the leaves high above Charlotte’s outstretched hand before letting them fall through the air until two of them landed upon her palm.

  “There,” Julia said, reaching out to take the two in Charlotte’s hand before offering her one. “You keep this one, and the other shall go to Mr. Worthington.”

  Julia handed the leaf to Gabriel.

  “Here you are, sir,” she said, “so you may always remember the beauty you see here, in both the scenery and my sister, for she is far more beautiful than anyone you would ever happen upon in all the cities of England.”

  With cheeks as red as the leaf in her hand, Charlotte stared at her sister in shock, but Julia simply smiled and turned on her heel before walking down the pathway.

  “Come along,” she called, “I am sure Mama wonders what is keeping us.”

  Charlotte did not dare look at Gabriel, though she could see him twirling the leaf between his fingers from the corner of her eye.

  “Shall we?” she said, and she scurried across the fallen leaves, not noticing when Gabriel tucked the leaf safely away in his waistcoat before he joined the sisters once again.

  Chapter Seven

  Days later, Charlotte sat in the Seabrook’s drawing room after dinner, listening to the conversation of the women around her, though she longed to have the men come through and join them.

  “Do you visit York often?” Charlotte heard Mrs. Seabrook ask Mrs. Worthington.

  “Oh, not as regularly as I should like,” Mrs. Worthington replied, “though I make it a point to go as often as I am able.”

  “Charlotte has always had a desire to see York,” Mrs. Rosebury added, “have you not, my dear?”

  “Indeed, I have,” Charlotte responded, pulling her gaze away from the door. “I have heard many wonderful things about the city.”