She could scarcely breathe.
“I love you,” he repeated. “And once I realized that, nothing else really mattered. Having my practice in Edinburgh means nothing to me if I cannae have ye by my side.”
“Alex.” Lottie pressed a shaking hand to her forehead. “You know I can’t betray my family. Icannot.”
“I ken that. It’s one of the things I love best about ye. That your heart is so true, so loyal. Ye fight for those who you see as your own. Perhaps I’m selfish, but I want your loving heart turned onme.”
Lottie swallowed a sob.
It is!she longed to say.Your heart is lodged in mine, and I will treasure it forever.
“My father specifically wanted Freddie to inherit. And Margaret . . . Oh!” Lottie all but wailed. “It’s just impossible, surely you see that?”
“Aye. And I can appreciate how the thought of hurting your family pains ye. It’s to your credit, lass. But ifyoubecame the next Lady Lockheade . . . ye would still be honoring your father’s legacy.”
“Yes, Grandmère said as much, but I don’t know that I can betray Margaret so.” She pressed a shaking hand to her forehead. “How can I choose between two halves of my heart—”
A light appeared on the path to the greenhouse. Margaret, most likely, returning with a candle this time.
Lottie and Alex exchanged a panicked look, both understanding that her sister would not be as understanding of his presence here. Moving quickly for a man who still needed a cane to walk, Alex darted behind a large potted myrtle.
Lottie glanced toward Grandmère. Her grandmother shrugged and flipped her hand, motioning for Lottie to speak with Margaret.
The greenhouse door snicked open.
Lottie smoothed her hands down her ball gown and stepped toward the door, trying to calm her racing heart before facing her sister.
“Lady Charlotte?” a man’s voice asked. “Are you here?”
Lord Nettlesby.
Oof!
Why washehere? How had he found her?
Of all the people Lottie least wanted to see at the moment.
She was inclined to remain silent until he left, but the light from his candle caught the sheen of her gown through the greenery.
“There you are,” he laughed as Lottie stepped out.
She peered behind him. “Where are Lord and Lady Frank? They are to come and fetch me.”
Nettlesby smiled and set the candle down on an obliging pillar. “I think it will be a few minutes before your family arrives.”
“Oh.” Lottie blinked.
Nettlesby appeared alarmingly smug.
Every hair on Lottie’s arms instantly lurched to attention.
Abruptly, she realized that if Alex and Grandmère were not hidden in the shadows—if she did not feel Alex’s eyes boring into her shoulder blades behind her—she would be horrifyingly alone with Nettlesby.
“Then why are you here?” she asked, proud of the steadiness of her voice. “Certainly you must know that you should not be here with me alone. It would not be proper.”
“No.” Nettlesby’s grin turned almost malicious. “No, it would not do, would it. Why, Lady Charlotte, if we were caught out by the right people, some would say we would even have to marry, you and I.”
A chill skittered down Lottie’s spine.
