“Do you trust me?”
“I do not know you that well,” he admitted.
“Well, you are about to trust me with the allegiance of a man saved from death, I promise you. Now go,” she said. And with that, he walked away, back towards the foyer, nervously rubbing his hands together.
No one looked at Charlotte with any surprise. This was certainly not the first time she had seemed to scare a man away, and God forbid it be her last. It was very fun indeed.
* * *
After leaving Lavinia with a group of friends, William waited in the back hallway so as not to look too suspicious. He waited for ten minutes before Charlotte appeared at the end of the hall. She quickly turned and disappeared into a door off the side of the hallway. Once he was certain that no one had seen her, he quickly followed. Joining her in the small family dining room. There was a beautiful heavy wooden table in the center of the room. The walls were a light blue, and the curtains were heavy, blocking out some of the light from outside.
Charlotte caught his eye the most. She was dressed in a beautiful pink gown. It was slim against her figure. Her reddish-brown hair hung in tight corkscrews over her updo. She smiled and her green eyes caught some of the light. Before he could stop himself, he reached over and pulled her close to him for a hug before he pressed a kiss to her cheek.
“Oh my God, Charlotte,” he said. “I am so nervous.”
“Me too,” she agreed. “I have spoken to Lord Stanton.”
“For what purpose?”
“I have urged him to reconcile with my sister, but should Benedict ask about the change of heart, you should claim to have helped smooth things over.”
William bit his cheek. “Would he forgive Lord Stanton?”
Charlotte nodded. “He never held any ill intentions. I think he understood, as most of us did, that it was a mistake, and one he regretted. His greatest hope this season was that Arabella would find a match that she was confident about. So far, the only man that has drawn her eye is Lord Stanton. He will be happy.”
William swallowed hard and smoothed out his clothing. “I will go and talk to your brother now,” he said, reaching his hand out. She looked back at him with sympathy in her eyes. His task was difficult, and it was all her fault that he had to make the reveal of their mistake better in the eyes of Benedict.
After placing a soft kiss against her forehead, he left through the door. He walked into the ballroom and smiled when he noticed that Charlotte’s sister and Edward were dancing, smiling at each other as if they were back to the way things were. Hopefully William’s luck would be just as present. In the corner of the room, Benedict stood with his wife, watching the dance floor, and presumably his sister while he sipped from a glass of brandy.
With a deep breath, William made his way around the perimeter of the room, squeezing past couples and trying his best to avoid anyone who might attempt to pull him away for conversation. Once he arrived on the other side of the sitting room that had been entirely cleared of furniture for the dance, he approached Benedict and bowed.
Benedict returned the bow out of politeness, but his eyes told a different story. It was impossible to believe that he could have looked towards William with any more disappointment.
“May I take a moment of your time in private?” William asked.
After a moment of consideration, Benedict agreed. He said his goodbyes to his wife. Then, he wordlessly led William out of the room and back towards the hall where his study was. Together they entered the room, and Benedict closed the door with a thud.
“Are you out of your mind?” Benedict shouted, making William stumble to the side.
“Pemberton, allow me to—”
Benedict shook his head. “No. You listen to me. Can you imagine what might have become of my family had your game been revealed to the whole of London? Me, disgraced. My wife, my sisters, my mother disgraced. As for Charlotte, she would never have a chance to marry and would be seen in the lowest regard.”
“Pemberton.”
“I have already spoken at length with her. I am disappointed of course, but with you? I did truly believe you to be a better man than this.”
“Pemberton!” William shouted, surging forward to assert his authority. He was, after all, higher in rank. Benedict crossed his arms and looked expectantly at his friend. “What I did was incorrect. I agree with you. I will never excuse my behavior, but I will say that I have the most respect for your sister. Should I have realized that earlier, I would have tried to court her properly.”
Benedict shook his head. “The fact of the matter, however, is that you did not.” He removed a cigar box from his desk along with a book of matches. He lit a match and carefully ignited the end of a cigar. William breathed in the calming and familiar scent of tobacco. “And if you respected her so much, then I would have expected you to sit this ball out so as not to—”
“I made a mistake,” William said clearly. “I love Lady Charlotte and I have the means to provide her with a life that will make her happy. Please, I need your blessing to propose to her.”
Benedict puffed the end of his cigar and smoke spilled out over the edge of his lips. He sat down on the couch, one arm propped around the back and his knees apart in a challenging stance. “Did you ruin her?”
“What?”
“You must have heard me, Holdford. I speak clearly.”