An Inconvenient Trilogy - Three Regency Romances: Inconvenient Ward, Wife, Companion - all published separately on Kindle and paperback

by Audrey Harrison

  “No, you, er, had actually decided against the match the last time we spoke about it,” Michael said, smiling at Charlotte. “Do you not remember?”

  Charlotte looked at Michael and then suddenly smiled. “I kissed him,” she said simply.

  “You did what?!” Stephen roared from the window seat.

  Charlotte, Michael and Elizabeth all jumped simultaneously at the sound of Stephen’s words. Charlotte flushed a deep red, Elizabeth looked stunned at Charlotte and Michael tried to suppress a smirk.

  “I-I kissed him,” Charlotte repeated, more hesitantly this time. Stephen looked angrier than she had ever seen him before.

  “I heard you the first time,” Stephen ground out through visibly gritted teeth. “I was just wondering why you would do that and why you would admit it to a room full of people?”

  “I just remembered,” Charlotte tried to explain. “It just came out, I suppose it was the relief about remembering something.”

  “What else is there to remember?” Stephen snarled.

  “Halkyn,” Michael said, a warning note in his voice. He was not going to allow his young guest be bullied under his roof, even if the motivation was nothing more sinister than jealousy.

  “Do you not think it is an important question?” Stephen asked with a snarl. “I should follow him and rip him to shreds, taking advantage of an innocent.”

  “I used him, not the other way round,” Charlotte responded honestly.

  Stephen looked as if he was fit to burst, but before he could say anything else, Elizabeth intervened. She had seen what appeared to be a flash of pain cross Stephen’s features at Charlotte’s words. “Charlotte, you are with friends, but you must be careful what you say. You cannot mean what your words suggest.”

  “Lord Dunham understood at the time,” Charlotte said, appealing to Michael for help.

  Michael did not know whether to laugh or groan at Charlotte’s words. Halkyn looked ready to jump on him and pummel him into the ground, while Elizabeth looked so indignant at being kept in the dark over something like this, that he knew he would suffer later. If he had the choice, he would take the pummelling from Halkyn, Elizabeth was far more frightening to him.

  He sighed, “I did and I still do, but I don’t think it is appropriate to talk about it now, do you?”

  Charlotte flushed and glanced at Stephen. “No, probably not,” she admitted, looking down at her hands. “I’m sorry; I got carried away with the excitement of remembering a clear sequence of memories.”

  “It appears it wasn’t the only time you got carried away, if your memory serves you correctly,” Stephen said, standing and walking to the door. “I wish you happy.” He did not give anyone else a chance to respond, storming through the doorway and up the stairs. The room seemed to go still, as everyone heard the thud of his footsteps on the stairs.

  “Thank goodness for sturdy craftsmanship,” Elizabeth said lightly, referring to the strength of her staircase. “Now, I take it the kiss had in some indirect way, something to do with Stephen?” She asked Charlotte.

  “Yes,” Charlotte said, blushing furiously. “It nearly got me into trouble then and it looks like it’s nearly happened again. I remember that I had listened to everyone telling me that Stephen was no good for me and so when Mr O’Hara tried to kiss me, I kissed him back,” she explained to Elizabeth.

  “And what happened then?” Elizabeth asked.

  “I pulled away when I realised it wasn’t really enjoyable. Mr O’Hara wasn’t very happy at my admission that I was trying to force myself to like him!” Charlotte admitted with a grimace as the memory became clearer.

  Elizabeth laughed. “I can’t imagine why! Oh, Charlotte, you could have got into so much trouble!”

  “I know, especially as Lord Dunham and Mr Dawson discovered us alone together,” Charlotte admitted. “Lord Dunham was very understanding.”

  “Oh, he was, was he?” Elizabeth said, giving her husband a clear indication that she would not be so understanding for being kept out of such an incident. “I would not have been quite so pleasant to Mr O’Hara if I had known he was going around kissing my guests.”

  “Hardly a serial offender,” Michael said drily. “You can be assured that I put him fully in the picture about my opinion of his behaviour. It does appear though that he stills has a high regard for you Charlotte, and would like to pay his addresses again. He assures me that he would act in the correct manner this time.”

  “He seems a very pleasant young man,” Charlotte started, trying to put her feelings into words without giving everything away to her hosts. “I’m afraid that although I have little to offer any man in the form of dowry, I could not accept his proposal. I am not attracted to him in any way and I can’t see that changing.”

  “Do you not wish to give it more time because of what has happened? You may feel different if you spend more time in his company?” Elizabeth asked gently.

  “No,” Charlotte responded firmly. “There is no reason to try and force something when I know it would be futile.”

  “It is how you felt prior to your accident, so I am not surprised at your answer,” Michael responded. “I said that I would send a note to him advising him of your response. I feel I have heard all I need to be able to send out a clear message.”

  “Thank you,” Charlotte responded meekly, full of relief.

  Chapter 24

  Stephen had never experienced jealousy before and struggled with the rage that it caused within him. She had kissed another man. Not only had she kissed another man, she had kissed him after they had shared kisses. The memory of which haunted his dreams, but obviously not hers. He wanted to despise her, instead the feelings he was experiencing just made him want her even more.

  She had kissed another man after Stephen had offered for her. He could not even gloat that she would never receive another proposal, the damn fop had offered for her not once, but twice. As he walked to the stables he ground his teeth. If he ever saw the man again, he would make him realise what the consequences were to anyone trying to steal his woman.

  His woman. She was and would always be his as far as he was concerned. She had turned to him when she had needed help. Stephen swung up onto his horse, but by the time he had reached the edge of the stable yard he was turning his dark mood in on himself. He had rejected Charlotte; he had made it obvious he had not taken the thought of a marriage with her seriously. It was no wonder that she had rejected him.

  By the time he reached the outer parkland he could no longer blame Mr O’Hara for proposing marriage. In fact, his proposal showed good taste, Charlotte was beautiful and charming. It was little wonder that she had received a marriage proposal that was serious enough to be asked twice. He dug his heels in the horse’s flank and set off across country. He needed to let off steam. He had to rid his mind’s eye of the picture of Charlotte with someone else.

  *

  Charlotte escaped the house, her cheeks still warm with embarrassment of confessing her feelings to her hosts. She was sure they must think her an immature miss, something that at the moment, she could not really dispute.

  It seemed ironic that the man she wanted was anything but amenable, but the man she was not interested in had taken the trouble to seek her out and had asked to pay his addresses to her. She shook herself mentally; Stephen had been amenable when they had spent the afternoon in the billiard room. He had been amusing, relaxed and charming. Something he had not been after Mr O’Hara’s visit. She sighed as she strode out across the grounds, a walk and deep thought was required.

  Stephen saw the figure long before he reached her. Her pelisse billowed out behind her as she walked briskly across the country. He had noticed how she always chose earthy colours, greens, creams, browns, yellows. They suited her colouring, even now, her hair contrasting against the browns of her jacket and the bonnet. He smiled to himself, she was too beautiful to be constrained to such limited society, but he was glad she was. He could not cope with on
e rival; he would never cope with a ballroom full.

  He knew exactly the moment that she recognised him, her face blushed in the way he found charming. He groaned to himself, when had he started describing something as charming? He was beginning to realise that where Miss Charlotte Webster was concerned, any endearment was not misplaced. For the first time in his life, he began to wonder if he was becoming a besotted fool.

  Stephen drew his horse to a stop near Charlotte, and dismounted.

  “Good afternoon Miss Webster,” he said bowing.

  “Good afternoon,” Charlotte said, curtseying, but looking at Stephen warily, he had never referred to her by her family name so formally before.

  “Are you taking a general walk, or are you seeking something in particular?” Stephen asked, falling into step beside her, letting the reins of his horse hang loosely in his hand.

  “Just a general walk,” Charlotte responded, looking at him with trepidation. His demeanour was pleasant, but his body was still stiff and she had the impression that he was ready to spring into action, to do what, she was less sure of.

  “In that case may I join you?” Stephen asked, not really giving Charlotte the chance to refuse as he walked alongside her.

  “Of course,” Charlotte replied quietly. She watched the wind blow through his hair that was peeking under the brim of his top hat. She flushed slightly, she suddenly had the thought that she had touched that hair before.

  “Anything wrong, Miss Webster?” Stephen asked, picking up every change in expression that Charlotte ever made.

  “N-no,” Charlotte stammered, flushing deeper.

  “Perhaps you undertook this walk to remember more of Mr O’Hara’s kisses?” Stephen said, unable to resist the urge to goad her.

  “Perhaps,” Charlotte responded primly. She was not about to respond to a man who was so obviously being unpleasant.

  Stephen grabbed her arm and swung her around to face him. “Were you?” He demanded.

  “That is a question that has nothing to do with you,” Charlotte fired back.

  “It has everything to do with me!” Stephen snapped.

  Charlotte had had enough of his behaviour. She felt the memories of what he had been to her, the way he had protected her, the way she felt about him, but she was not going to let him continue playing this game of one moment being nice to her, the next being an ogre.

  “It has absolutely nothing to do with you or anyone else. I am sick to death of everyone having the advantage over me and presuming that because of past behaviour they know exactly what I am thinking, or remembering!” Charlotte snapped in return.

  Stephen’s eyes flashed at her, Charlotte was not convinced that she was seeing anger there, there seemed to be something else. She took a breath and glared at him.

  “You are so confident now your Mr O’Hara has returned to offer his hand,” Stephen sneered. “I’ll wager that Elizabeth is planning the wedding as we speak.”

  “Why do you dislike Elizabeth so much?” Charlotte asked, ignoring the first part of Stephen’s words. “I thought you were friends.”

  “So did I, before she interfered with my life,” Stephen snorted. “It has convinced me even more that you can never trust anyone in this life.”

  “That is a very sad way of looking at things,” Charlotte responded, no longer angry at him. His words very often made her want to comfort him and show him that the world was not the horrible place that he thought it was.

  “It’s the safest way,” Stephen retorted. “Even you let people down, Charlotte.”

  “Do I?” Charlotte asked, genuinely puzzled. “How did I do that?”

  “You acted as if you cared and then as soon as someone else came along, you forgot what had happened and left destruction behind you,” Stephen said ambiguously.

  Charlotte put her hands on her hips and glared at Stephen. “You are wrong.”

  “Tell me how,” Stephen said mockingly.

  “I will when I remember,” Charlotte responded, turning away in frustration. She knew that she had a connection with Stephen, but she still could not remember.

  Stephen laughed behind her. The sound was bitter and made Charlotte flinch, not that she was afraid that he was going to hurt her, but the sound affected her. She did not like to know that Stephen was not happy and he certainly was not happy with her at the moment. While she was in the state of not being able to remember fully, he would always have the advantage. Charlotte took a few steps before she was stopped by Stephen’s voice.

  “Why are you walking away from me, Charlotte?” he demanded.

  Charlotte turned and sighed before answering, “I cannot give you what you want Stephen,” she said sadly. “I can’t remember specifics, I know the memories are there, but for some reason I can’t remember them. You are going to taunt me and taunt me, but I can’t change the situation.”

  “But you remembered O’Hara,” Stephen said, half way between petulance and anger.

  “I remembered one moment; I don’t remember anything else about him. He says we danced, but I have no recollection of it,” Charlotte replied truthfully.

  “It must have been some moment,” Stephen retorted with a sneer. “I have been far easier to forget obviously.”

  Charlotte’s heart ached to remember, to give Stephen some of the comfort she sought herself. She knew that he had meant so much to her, he still attracted her beyond her experience of how to deal with such strong feelings. She decided that although it may be mortifying, she would be truthful with him.

  “You are wrong,” she started, her usual frown developing in the way that was the indication that she was trying to remember. “With you it has been different. I have felt......I felt safe with you, protected, even though I could not remember what had gone on in the past.”

  “Safe and protected are not the words of a grand passion,” Stephen said with derision.

  Charlotte flushed, but remained strong in her conviction that it was important to have this conversation. “Is that what we shared?”

  Stephen looked at the girl before him and almost slumped with sadness. “No we didn’t, Charlotte. I asked you to marry me, but because I couldn’t offer you love, you refused me.”

  Charlotte’s eyes widened in surprise. “And yet you have cared for me more than anyone else in my life has.”

  “With your history that wouldn’t be hard,” Stephen said with his usual self-derision.

  “Thank you,” Charlotte said.

  “What for?” Stephen asked, this time his turn to frown.

  “For caring as much as you did and making me feel secure. I know you responded when you could just have easily walked away. Thank you,” Charlotte responded gently.

  “You are welcome,” Stephen bowed slightly and remounted his horse. “Good day Miss Webster,” he bowed and rode away, leaving Charlotte to stare after him in despair.

  Chapter 25

  Events at Dunham House developed that forced Charlotte and Stephen to concentrate on something else. Elizabeth went into labour before her expected date. Michael was reduced to a nervous expectant father, as he walked up and down the dining room, while his wife, Miss Fairfield and the midwife tended Elizabeth upstairs.

  Charlotte and Stephen joined Michael in the dining room. It was not the ideal place for many hours of inactivity, but it was the place that Michael wanted to be, at the foot of the stairs, in case he was needed.

  Stephen tried to talk to Michael and used every subject that he could think of to get a response from Michael, to make him think of anything apart from his wife in pain upstairs. Sometimes he was more responsive than others. Very often he would glance at the ceiling, as if wishing that he could see through the plasterwork into the room above.

  Charlotte felt a little unwelcome. She had no experience of childbirth, the school she had spent the last few years did not give lessons on what to do with nervous fathers. She poured tea and offered cakes and fancies, also trying to distract Michael. Her own stomach w
as in knots. Elizabeth had been a very good friend and the labour was long. Charlotte knew how many women died in childbirth and prayed silently for the safe delivery of her friend and baby.

  Eventually Miss Fairfield entered the room and indicated that Lord Dunham should follow her. She smiled at the remaining pair. “Mother and baby are well,” she informed them quietly, before leading the way to the bed chamber.

  Both sagged with relief and were silent for a few moments. “I wonder whether it is a girl or boy?” Charlotte wondered aloud.

  “It won’t matter, it will be spoiled by both parents,” Stephen said, half joking, half mocking.

  Charlotte laughed with the thought, “I hope it is. I can’t think of better parents to be born to.”

  Stephen stood, as if impatient with the conversation. “They are good people.”

  Charlotte stood also; keen to be out of the room now that the worry was over. “Yes they are very fortunate. Although Elizabeth has told me that she never expected to be so happy when she was Lord Dunham’s ward.”

  “Yes, he was a fool, and could not see what was under his nose. He even tried to encourage me, although he quickly realised he’d made a mistake,” Stephen said.

  “You still proposed to her,” Charlotte said, trying not to feel jealous and failing. It made no sense, she had been told that Elizabeth had turned Stephen’s proposal down, so she had no right to feel jealous about a proposal that he had made to someone else before meeting her.

  “I ultimately need a wife, Elizabeth was one of the few women I could bare to be around for more than a few hours. It made perfect sense at the time,” Stephen responded with a shrug.

  Charlotte shuddered, “That sounds so cold.”

  “I was being practical,” Stephen defended himself. He should not let her affect him, but her condemnation angered him, probably because it reminded him of her rejection. “I suppose you are waiting for someone like Dunham to come along and sweep you off your feet?” The words choked him, but he forced them out.

  “I’m not interested in a title or riches, but someone who cared for me as Lord Dunham cares for Elizabeth would be something to aim for,” Charlotte said.