Charlotte read the final line twice before she understood it.
For your sake, it may be best if you remove yourself from Ashford at once.
The letter slipped from her fingers. She did not remember sitting, only the sudden realization that she was on the bed and the room had narrowed to a tight, airless space. Her breath came unevenly. Heat flared across her cheeks, then drained so completely she felt chilled.
Humiliation struck first. Then something heavier.
Edward.
His name would be bound to this. Again, he would be the subject of whispers, the object of speculation. After Eleanor. After the long months of murmured condolences that had always carried an undercurrent of curiosity. And now this.
Julian.
Children heard more than adults believed. Servants repeated what they thought no one important was listening to. What would be said of his governess? What would be said of his father?
Charlotte pressed her hands over her face.
She had thought she could endure scandal for herself. She had already survived worse than gossip.
She had not accounted for it touching them.
A soft shift in the doorway pulled her attention. Clara Bennet stood just inside the room, concern written plainly across her features.
“I heard voices downstairs,” Clara began, then stopped when she saw Charlotte’s expression. “What is it?”
Charlotte could not trust her voice. She bent, retrieved the letter from the floor, and handed it over.
Clara read quickly. The warmth in her face cooled into indignation.
“This is vile,” she said at once. “You must show this to his grace.”
Charlotte shook her head before Clara had even finished.
“No.”
“He would never allow this to stand.”
“That is precisely why I cannot tell him.”
Clara lowered the letter slowly, studying her. “Charlotte—”
“If I place this in his hands, he will challenge William openly. He will confront Lady Amelia. He will make declarations.” Her voice trembled, but her reasoning remained steady. “It will become louder. Larger. Permanent. I will not have his name entangled in mine in that way.”
“He is already entangled,” Clara said softly. “He stands beside you.”
“And I will not repay that loyalty by destroying him.”
Clara stared at her for a long moment. “You love him.”
Charlotte’s throat tightened painfully.
“Yes.”
The word felt like surrender and truth all at once.
“And Julian,” she whispered. “I love him too.”
Clara’s expression softened, then filled with distress. “Then you cannot leave.”
