His driver turned the carriage and headed in that direction. When they arrived, Carter jumped from the vehicle and once more pounded on the front door.
“Yes, Mr. Westbrooke.” Penrose offered him a slight smile. “Before you ask, his lordship and ladyship are in the breakfast room. Please feel free to join them.”
“Thank you.” Carter strode down the corridor to the breakfast room where he found both Berkshire and Addie having breakfast.
“She wasn’t at the rail station.” Carter slumped in the chair across from Addie.
“Why don’t you have some breakfast and we can discuss this.” Addie narrowed her eyes at him. “You look awful. You have a bruise on your cheek and jaw.”
Carter waved his hand. “No matter. I’ve come to ask you to either accompany me or give me the address of Lady Pamela.”
Addie’s brows rose. “You think she’s there?”
“I’m praying she’s there. If she isn’t, I have no idea where else to look.”
Berkshire wiped his mouth with his napkin. “You don’t suppose she’s returned to France, do you? It seems that was the only place the poor girl felt safe and secure.”
Carter nodded. “A good point. But let’s hope she’s right here in Bath at Pamela’s home.”
Addie pushed her chair back and Berkshire jumped up to help her up. Despite what he was going through Carter had to laugh at how doting Berkshire was with his wife. By the time the babe grew close to arrival, he would probably be carrying her everywhere.
“I will go with you. Just give me a minute to freshen up.” Addie walked past him and rested her hand on his shoulder. “We’ll find her. She loves you; you know.”
“Yes. I have surmised. But that doesn’t do me any good if I can’t find her.”
Addie squeezed his shoulder. “We will.”
Lottie rolled over and fell onto the floor, forgetting she was sleeping in Pamela’s sofa and not her own comfortable, large bed. “Ouch.” She rubbed her shoulder and climbed back up.
“Do you feel any better?” Pamela sat on a chair across from the sofa.
“No.” Lottie grinned. “But I didn’t expect to, anyway.” She had arrived at Pamela’s room in the boarding house around six in the morning after a night of tossing and turning and finally deciding she had to set Carter free. He didn’t know what was best for him, so she had to be the strong one and do it.
They made love twice, and Lottie had relished every minute, knowing it would be their last. She left Carter sleeping soundly, sprawled across the bed, his face bruised from the beating he’d taken from his brother. From what she’d seen, Charles must look much the same way.
“What are you going to do?” Pamela eyed her with sympathy. “You know Carter loves you very much. Do you really think he will give you up because his brother doesn’t approve?”
Lottie had told Pamela what happened when she showed up at the boarding house’s front door after a quick hackney ride from her home. Rather than offer advice, Pamela was smart enough to just listen to Lottie’s sad tale. Then she brought out a pillow and blanket and invited her to sleep for a few hours. Which she apparently had done.
“Would you like some breakfast?”
“No. I have no appetite, but a cup of tea would be nice.” Lottie looked down at her dress, a wrinkled mess. “I didn’t even bring any clothes with me. I was afraid of waking Carter up and rehashing what happened last night.”
“I hope you plan on talking to him before you make any major decisions. He has the right to let you know how he feels.”
Lottie snorted. “I know how he feels, but he’s not thinking clearly. We’re talking about the rest of our lives, Pamela. I can’t have his entire family under a cloud of disgrace because of me.”
Pamela moved across the room and sat next to Lottie, putting her arm around her shoulders. “Your husband is a grown man. He knows what he can handle and what he cannot. Just give him a chance to talk to you before you do anything rash.”
Lottie sighed. It was such a dilemma. She had spent a good part of the night before replaying Charles’s words in her mind and cringing each time.
They were in the middle of tea when a knock sounded at the bedroom door. “I am sure I know who that is,” Pamela said as she stood to answer the door. She turned to Lottie. “Do not try to climb out a window. This is the second floor.”
“My lady, your guest has a caller.” The man who manned the front door peeked around Pamela. “She must come downstairs to the drawing room to meet with him.”
Pamela turned. “Won’t you at least talk to him?”
Lottie climbed to her feet. “Yes. I might as well get this over with.”
As she entered the small drawing room next to the front entrance hall, Carter turned from where he stood in front of the window. “Lottie!” He strode across the room and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her. “What the devil did you do this for? I’ve been frantic, looking for you all morning.” He leaned back and placed his hands on her shoulders. “Don’t ever do this to me again.”
Pamela entered the room, shrugging into her coat. “I am going for a walk. The fresh air will do me good.” She winked at Lottie and left.
“Would you like some tea?” Lottie asked after the front door closed.
“Tea? I need a nice strong, large glass of brandy. You scared me to death.”
Lottie took his hand and led him to the sofa in the drawing room. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you, but I have to make plans and I would not be able to do that with you there.”
“Plans?” He cupped her chin and kissed her, taking complete possession of her mouth. Tears rushed to her closed eyes, knowing in her heart this was to be one of the last kisses she would ever share with Carter.
Lottie pulled back first and placed her hand on his chest. “Please let me have my say.”
Carter crossed his arms over his chest, certainly not in a way that suggested he was ready to listen to her. “Go on. Then I will have my say.”
Lottie stood and backed away, not wanting to be too near him. Already her resolve was fading with him merely kissing her once and sitting there watching her. How her heart ached. If only she had used her common sense and refused to marry him.
“Please don’t blame your brother for this.”
Carter snorted. “Yes. That seems like something I would consider. He’s dead to me, Lottie.”
She shook her head furiously. “No! That’s precisely why I want to have this talk. He’s your brother.”
“Half-brother.”
She frowned. “What?”
Carter uncrossed his arms and stood, but when she backed up, he stayed where he was. He rotated his neck, placed his hands on his hips, and then said, “You were not the only one with secrets, my dear. Many years ago, my mother and father were separated for a short while. I never learned what the cause was for the separation, but during that time my mother had a very brief affair.”
If Carter had told her his mother had been an opera singer in her youth, she would not have been more surprised. “An affair?”
“As I said. Very brief. But during that time she became pregnant. With me.”
Lottie collapsed onto the sofa, her mouth agape. “You are not the Earl of Huntingdon’s son?”
“As far as the world is concerned, I am the Earl of Huntingdon’s third son. But in reality, you could almost say I was a bastard since my parents were not married to each other.”
She shook her head as if to clear it. “Does your father—er, the Earl—know?”
“Yes. Once I became old enough to understand, my mother told me. She and my father—the Earl—sat side by side on the sofa and told me this. He had forgiven her when she returned to him and always considered me his son.”
“So, Charles—”
“—Is my half-brother.”
Lottie was stunned. Here she thought she brought disgrace to his family, and yet his mother had made one mistake and her husband took her back. “How do they ge
t along now?”
Carter laughed. “They are devoted to each other. In fact, one time Father told me that what happened between them, and his acceptance of her mistake and my arrival, put their marriage on stronger ground.”
“Your father is an amazing man.” She thought for a minute. “Did your mother ever tell you who your real father is?”
“Lord Huntingdon is my real father.”
“I apologize. Your blood father, then?”
“No. I got the impression that they were happy to share the story with me but did not want to go further with it. That was fine with me because my father never treated me any differently than my brothers.”
Lottie sat and pondered that information. Then she said, “Do your brothers know?”
“No. Father and Mother asked me to keep it to myself. There really was no reason to shame her in their eyes.”
Carter waited a few minutes, then said, “Lottie, please come home with me. We need to talk this out, and poor Pamela is probably wandering the streets wondering when she can reclaim her home.”
Still reeling under the news Carter had just shared with her, she nodded. “Very well. Let’s return to our home and talk this out.”
They found Pamela strolling up the street as they left the boarding house. “You may return home now,” Lottie said with a grin. “Thank you for letting me stay here when I needed a shoulder to cry on.”
“I will always have a shoulder for you, Lottie.” Pamela hugged her and waved at Carter who was signaling his driver.
They remained silent on the trip home. Lottie sat across from him and watched the houses and stores as they rode by. Carter studied his hands and appeared to be deep in thought.
Hand-in-hand they climbed the steps to their townhouse and went inside.
“Sir, a wire has arrived for you while you were gone.” Milton held out the pale-yellow envelope to him.
“Thank you.” Carter took the envelope and followed Lottie to the drawing room. He turned to his butler. “Will you please have cook send in a decent breakfast? Let us know when it is ready, and we’ll move to the dining room.”
Milton bowed and left them.
“Who is the wire from?” Lottie settled on the sofa.
Carter read the information and then looked up at her. “My mother and father will be arriving tonight.”
15
Lottie paced their bedchamber, her stomach in knots and on the verge of bringing up the little bit of food she’d eaten that day. It was about twenty minutes past the time the last train from London would arrive in Bath. That had to be the train Carter’s parents were on.
She’d nearly fainted when he read the wire to her. His parents! Wasn’t it bad enough that his obnoxious brother came and insulted her? Now his mother and father came to add to her misery.
Carter had assured her more than once that his parents would not behave like Charles. However, each time he said it she saw the flicker of doubt in his eyes.
“Ah, here is where you are hiding.” Carter walked into the bedchamber and held out his hand. She walked to him and he wrapped her in his warm, safe arms.
“I’m not exactly hiding. Well, maybe I am, but I don’t know if I can face your parents.” She leaned back and studied him. “I still think the best thing is for me to leave and you can seek a divorce. I know it’s not easy to get, but I will sign any papers and say anything you want me to.”
He placed his hands on either side of her head. “If you leave me, I will follow you. If you go to France, I will be there. I will hire people to find you. I love you Lottie and refuse to spend the rest of my life without you.”
Lottie shook her head. “Foolish man.”
They both froze as the knocker on the door sounded. Carter kissed her on the lips and smoothed back the hair from her forehead. “Come. We face this together.”
Clinging to each other, they made their way down the stairs as an older couple passed through the front door. They looked around and spotted her and Carter on the stairs.
“Oh, my. Here is my beautiful new daughter-in-law. Come and give me a hug.” The woman who looked remarkedly like Carter held out her arms.
Tears of relief flooded Lottie’s eyes as her muscles relaxed. She slowly moved forward, and Lady Huntingdon did, in fact, give her a hug. The pleasant odor of lavender and vanilla drifted from Carter’s mother. Lottie breathed in the scent.
She was shorter than Lottie, a woman who would be considered well-rounded. She was still beautiful, with dark brown hair, scattered throughout with silver strands.
Lady Huntingdon leaned back and looked into Lottie’s eyes. “I’m so happy my son found someone to love.”
Then she turned to Carter, her eyes flashing. “Why was I not invited to my son’s wedding?”
Lord Huntingdon placed his hand on Lady Huntingdon’s shoulder. “Why don’t we all move into the library.” Then he turned to Lottie. “Welcome to the family, my dear.”
Stunned, Lottie took hold of Carter’s hand and they followed his parents to the library. They seemed quite familiar with the layout of the house. Lord Huntingdon went directly to the side bar and poured two brandies. Then he turned to Lottie and his wife. “Would you ladies care for a sherry?”
They both nodded. Now that the tension had left her, Lottie felt a combination of hunger and exhaustion. But more than anything, she felt relief.
“I will have Cook prepare a light repast for us.” Lottie stood and pulled the bell to summon the footman. Once she gave instructions she returned to the sofa. Carter reached over and took her hand in his.
“I am waiting for an explanation, Carter. Why were we not invited to your wedding?”
Lottie took a deep breath. “That was my fault, my lady.”
Lady Huntingdon waved her hand in the air. “Please don’t stand on formality, my dear. You may call me Mother or by my given name, Harriet. But since you have a mother of your own, perhaps Harriet is better.”
Lottie’s heart thumped at the mention of her mother, but no one looked startled, or upset. And the roof did not fall in.
Harriet continued. “Very few of us have led perfect lives, making no mistakes.” She reached over and took her husband’s hand. “I’m sure my son shared with you my own indiscretion. Thank God my wonderful husband forgave me and life continued.”
Lottie almost laughed since Harriet’s ‘indiscretion’ was sitting alongside her, a flesh and blood man, not a minor thing that one can easily overlook. She was growing more uncomfortable by the minute. Harriet was so open about things that Lottie felt the need to hide. But she merely nodded at the woman.
“If the reason we were not notified of the nuptials was for some silly reason about your family, Lottie, then I will forgive you both. Not because I believe you were correct in doing that, but because you are so very young and inexperienced in the way of the world.”
Milton rolled in a tea cart with an array of sandwiches and sweets. Lottie felt her stomach growl and hoped no one else could hear it.
Happy for the interruption, she instructed the butler to place the tea cart next to her. Thank goodness for her years of training because she was able to pour tea, fix it the way each one wanted it, and place a few sandwiches and sweets on the plates she passed around with no visible shaking.
“My dear, you are so gracious and elegant and handled that so well. It must be all that wonderful training you had.” Harriet took a bite of a small sandwich and closed her eyes making a light moaning sound. “I have always loved Carter’s cook. I would love to steal her, but she won’t move to London.”
Lord Huntingdon stood. “I don’t know about you son, but instead of tea, I believe I will indulge in a bit more brandy. He held up his empty glass. Care to join me?”
“Yes, sir. That sounds perfect.” Carter joined his father at the sidebar where they began a conversation about politics.
Lottie was still reeling from the way the visit was going when she realized Harriet had said something that d
idn’t make sense.
“Excuse me, my lady—”
“—Harriet, please.”
“Yes. Sorry. You mentioned the training I had. I’m not sure what you mean by that.”
She patted her lips with her napkin and smiled. “Well, I know all about you, my dear. Your early life in the countryside, at school in France, and your time here in Bath.”
Lottie stared at the woman with her mouth agape. “How . . .” She shook her head “How do you know that?”
Harriet offered her a warm smile and popped a piece of a lemon tart into her mouth just as Carter and Lord Huntingdon joined them again. She swallowed the sweet and patted her mouth again. “Why from speaking with your mother, of course.”
Carter choked on his sip of brandy and proceeded to cough until his eyes teared. His parents had him at sixes and sevens since they walked in the door. While he was not as anxious as Lottie had been awaiting their visit, he did have some concerns about what Lottie would do if his parents denounced her, like Charles had. And he did not relish the idea of fisticuffs with his father and then throwing them out of his house.
However, given his mother’s history, he would have been very surprised if they did behave badly. He was quite happy that he’d told Lottie about his mother’s affair, so she wasn’t befuddled by his mother’s statement.
“You spoke with Lottie’s mother?” He finally got the words out. Lottie just sat there dumbstruck.
Mother had the nerve to raise her eyebrows and act surprised. “Well, of course. When my son presents me with a lovely new daughter-in-law, I certainly want to speak with her family. Make sure they feel welcomed.”
Lottie finally came out of her stupor. The grip on his hand could break his bones. “My lady—err, Harriet—I don’t know what to say. To say I am surprised is so underwhelming that I, frankly, don’t know what to say.” Lottie seemed to fumble, trying to get the words out. She looked over at him. “I said ‘say’ too many times, didn’t I?”
He understood since he felt the same way.
“Lottie, dear.” His mother stopped and considered for a moment. “I understand your mother prefers Charlotte.”
The Courtesan’s Daughter and the Gentleman: The Merry Misfits of Bath ~ Book Two Page 13
