“Speaking of proper procedures, would you do me a kindness?” Edmund asked.
“Of course, what favor do you ask?”
“My sister enjoys dancing, and she has yet to be asked tonight. Would you escort her to the floor?”
“It would be my pleasure,” Baron Winstanley said. The delight on his face was flattering and unnerving. He stepped aside and gestured for Charlotte to join him.
It would have been rude to refuse his invitation. Charlotte gave a savage look to Edmund, who simply waved her goodbye.
The dance floor was wide and long. They took their place on the left side while Nathaniel and Honoria were in the middle, the focus of attention. Everything seemed to flow around them. Charlotte made a point of standing with her back turned so that she wouldn’t have to witness their dance.
While Charlotte did not make a habit of dancing, she had been schooled in the art of it and so was familiar with all the steps. Baron Winstanley’s movements were stilted but adequate.
“You are a wonderful dancer, Lady Charlotte. You put me to shame,” he said.
“I am nothing compared to my younger sister—dancing comes quite naturally to her—but thank you for the kind words.”
“You are welcome. I hope that it is not too much of an ordeal to dance with me. I am more comfortable sitting in a reading chair beside a warm fire.”
“As am I,” Charlotte said with a warm smile.
“I must say that I find your company most refreshing. It seems we have much in common.”
“Indeed.”
Charlotte couldn’t help but turn her head slightly, giving herself the opportunity to look over her shoulder at Nathaniel and Honoria. For a moment, she thought he was looking directly at her, but then all the bodies and the faces undulated and came between them like a great tide.
“Have you got any suitors?” he asked.
The question took Charlotte by surprise. She almost lost her footing but managed to recover at the last moment.
“Suitors?”
“Yes, for your hand. I can imagine a woman of your intellect and beauty must have many offers for marriage.” He punctuated his words with a kind smile.
“I do not. Although it is unconventional, I have chosen to focus on my research rather than marriage.”
“I do find that most intriguing. I feel as though you are a woman who appreciates openness, My Lady. I would like to be married again. To the right person. One who shares my interest in academic pursuits. We could attend lectures together, and I would be happy to support your research in any way I can.”
“That… that is most unexpected and most kind, My Lord,” Charlotte stammered. The last thing she had anticipated tonight was an offer like this.
“Then please think of the possibility. Would you mind if I discussed the matter with your brother?”
“You are free to discuss whatever you like,” Charlotte replied. She intended this to be a simple declaration of a fact, for she was still attempting to process his words. However, the look of delight on Baron Winstanley’s face suggested that he took it as encouragement.
Had Charlotte just invited a proposal?
Well, she had always said that she would be married if she met the right man, and from what she had seen so far, Baron Winstanley was far more suitable than any other man she had met.
He was intelligent, courteous, and respectful of her interests. He was eager to read her research and did not intend for her to sacrifice her ambitions for his sake. He was not unattractive to look at, although he was a little older than she would have preferred. She estimated him to be in his late thirties or early forties. A marriage to him would probably be satisfactory.
But there was a flaw, one that was entirely out of Baron Winstanley’s control. It was a flaw that Charlotte wished she could ignore, but it pulsed in her mind.
He wasn’t Nathaniel.
It shouldn’t have mattered, but it did. She turned her head again, instinctively looking for the Duke. He was no longer on the dance floor. She supposed she would have to get used to not seeing him soon enough, and the thought filled her with melancholy.
Chapter Twenty-Six
