It pained Charlotte to hear her cousin surrender so easily.
“I shall be more mindful of my words in the future.”
“Please do.” Mary’s words punched the air. She ran her hand along her chin and glanced worriedly over her shoulder before returning her gaze to Charlotte.
“I know that you do not see much merit in marriage, but for those of us who do, the situation can be precarious. I understand that you’re supporting me in your own way, but I fear that if you continue in this vein, it may do more harm than good.”
Mary shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Charlotte’s earlier assurances clearly had not been emphatic enough. Charlotte clasped Mary’s hand and looked her directly in the eye.
“I promise I will not say anything like that again.”
Mary breathed a sigh of relief. “Believe me, Charlotte, your forthright manner is one of the things I love about you, but it is like fire. When controlled, it offers warmth and comfort, but if even a spark gets where it’s not supposed to be…” She trailed away but made a gesture with her hands that represented a rush of fire.
“My fire shall be a dim glow,” Charlotte assured Mary.
Making this promise was one thing; keeping it quite another, however.
Mary turned and gazed at the room. Edmund and Nathaniel were playing cribbage at a low table while Beatrice was looking stunned.
“How did that happen?” she uttered. She turned to Lydia, who shrugged helplessly.
Agatha cackled with laughter as she turned to Clara. “They think I’m a fool, see, but I still know how to play whist.” She gathered all the cards and then handed them to Beatrice, who still had a dazed look on her face.
“This is the life I want, Charlotte. This is the future I picture for myself. I’m so afraid of losing it,” she said in a choking breath.
“You should take heart from the fact that we are all still here. If His Grace was truly offended, then we would have been shown out, and the wedding would have been canceled.”
Mary’s smile was sad. “I’m afraid that is not how His Grace works. He is like an accountant, balancing books with additions and subtractions. He will take the entire visit into account and then, at the end, presuming nothing completely egregious happens, he will make a tally of the good and the ill. Only then will he come to his decision.”
“That sounds ridiculous,” Charlotte gasped. “How can he reduce behavior to such simple terms?”
“It is the way he has always been. Alfred told me. It’s how he decides which people to keep in his employ as well. And everything is secret. I have no idea how near or far I am from getting married.”
Charlotte stared at Nathaniel as he moved his peg around the crib board. Edmund ran his fingers through his hair and looked despondent. Nathaniel was trying to reduce life to an exact science.
Since her mind was naturally drawn to this way of thinking, she found it strangely admirable, even though she was loath to compliment him. She assumed that she had accumulated plenty of black marks. Was there even a way for her to make up the deficit?
Alfred moved toward them, sipping his brandy.
“It seems that Edmund is quickly learning that it’s pointless trying to defeat Nathaniel at cribbage,” he said. He nodded to Charlotte.
“Madam, I wanted to say that I appreciate the sentiment of your words at dinner, even if the delivery may have been ill-advised.”
Charlotte inclined her head. “I do offer my most heartfelt apologies, sir. As I explained to Mary, I only said what I did in the hope of swaying him to your way of thinking.”
Alfred wore a wry grin.
“I’m afraid nothing has ever been able to sway my brother’s mind. He has always been sure of himself, no matter the situation.” He paused for a moment. “If you wouldn’t mind, might I have a moment with my beloved?”
Charlotte bowed her head and sidled away, a little vexed in truth because she had been able to use Mary as a shield. She occupied herself by looking at the various volumes contained on the bookshelves. They were mostly dry books of military history. Then, her name was called.
It was Edmund.
“Hopeless, utterly hopeless,” he said, and then called Charlotte’s name again, beckoning her with a vigorous wave. “You’ve always bested me at cribbage. Now, it’s time to play for the honor of our family.”
“I’m not sure this is the right time.” Charlotte’s heart skipped a beat. She glanced toward Mary, fearing that if she was forced tosit at the same table as Nathaniel, then she would say something she would later regret.
“You don’t strike me as the type to pass up a challenge, My Lady,” Nathaniel said. There was a goading edge to his words, a taunt that Charlotte could not ignore. She wrestled with herself but eventually moved toward the table.
