Nathaniel stared at Charlotte. Emotion flickered across her face. She wrung her hands together and shifted in her chair. He waited patiently. The conversation had been surprisingly open, and their discussion aboutThe Iliadhad been intriguing.
It was actuallyenjoyableto spend time with her. He hadn’t thought such a thing possible. Yet here they were. And now, he could finally ask the question that had tormented him since it first occurred.
But still she attempted to tease him.
“I thought you did not wish to speak about that,” she said in a hesitant tone, pushing stray strands of hair behind her ear.
“I also suggested that we keep our distance from each other, but that did not work out either. I do not like mysteries, Lady Charlotte. Over the past two weeks, I have been trying to fathomwhy you kissed me. I think perhaps it is time you told me the truth.”
“Because if I don’t, you won’t grant Mary permission to marry your brother?” she asked, her words trembling with worry.
As it happened, Nathaniel intended no such thing. However, he did not reveal this to Charlotte and instead allowed her to squirm, feeling that it might well help coax the truth out of her.
Charlotte became more worried the longer the silence lingered. She cringed with anxiety. A small whimper escaped from between her lips.
“It was an accident,” she whispered.
Nathaniel tilted his head toward her, unable to believe he had heard her correctly.
“An accident?” he repeated.
She nodded, her gaze directed into her lap. The strands of hair that had been pushed back now fell around her face again, caressing her cheek. His fingers twitched with the temptation to shape them around her ear, and then he thought of their kiss again.
It had occurred in a quiet, shadowed place like this, away from everyone. Despite his adherence to rules, there was a flurry of excitement within him. It had only been one kiss. He couldn’thelp but wonder what a second would feel like or a third. Would they be just as sweet as the first, or would they be different somehow?
It was a dangerous question, of course, but Nathaniel found himself tormented by the unknown answer.
It’s what had led him to the library in the first place, a fact he had kept from Charlotte for obvious reasons. While he was no stranger to late nights, sleep had been difficult for him since Charlotte’s arrival.
“Yes, an accident. I’m sorry. It was never supposed to happen. I promise that I did not follow you with the intention of trapping you. I haven’t lied about that.”
Nathaniel was still focused on the first part of her confession.
“An accident? How do you kiss someone by accident?” His face twisted with confusion as he spoke.
Charlotte let out a nervous laugh and wrung her hands even more tightly together.
“I was afraid someone would hear us or see us alone together and assume the worst.”
“So you kissed me, proving them right…?” His voice rose as he attempted to make sense of her logic.
“I panicked. It wasn’t exactly a considered decision.”
“Like Achilles, you obeyed your emotions.”
“In a way, yes. We were speaking, and I feared that our conversation, which was becoming heated, would draw the attention of people passing by. I kissed you so that you would stop speaking. Nobody came near us, so in that sense, it worked.”
The words began tumbling nervously from her mouth.
“Of course, at the time, I was unaware of your identity. Frankly, I hoped that I would never see you again. With Mary’s wedding approaching and your notorious liking of rules, I did not want a whisper of scandal to overshadow the occasion.”
She opened her palms and stretched them out in an animated manner. She laughed as she spoke, but it was more from nerves than from humor.
“And of course, I go and kiss the worst possible person, aside from Lord Blackwood, I suppose. You can imagine the horror I felt when I saw you here. I was trying to hide any potential scandal from you when, in fact, I brought it as close as possible.”
Nathaniel listened to her rushed explanation and nodded, finally beginning to understand what had happened and how this reckless act had come to be.
“That does explain your subdued nature when we shared tea. You barely moved away from the window.”
