“As though... I were planning a wedding?”
His face stole back to her eyes. Charlotte clasped her hands, and her lips drew up, confirming his fears and sending a lump into his gut.
“Yes. May I add my congratulations?” Her smile was torture, and he wished the door were much closer than it stood now.
She broke into a laugh. “I am daft.” She shook her head, and then she lifted a delicate eyebrow. “Or maybe... you are.”
Swallowing again, he stared at her. She’d repeated the words he’d once told her. “What was that?”
“I am not engaged, Alex.” One more trill of laughter, and that, coupled with her words, were a draft of water he never wanted to stop drinking. He wished he could focus on that sound and not the heat that crawled up his face. He felt as though his heart started to jump around and ricochet off his other organs, hoping for a future he’d thought impossible until just now.
He managed a steady breath. “My... mistake. I assumed your coming back to Otterburn so soon could only mean—”
“No.” For the third time, she interrupted him, and yet he found it enchanting, not frustrating. “I came back because I decided to do what I wished, not what Christopher planned for me. I’ve been a pawn in his game too long.” She sighed, and the darkness that clouded her eyes signified there were more words and feelings brewing under the surface. “As you have noticed now and again in some of my mannerisms,” she added. Her eyes drew up to his, and he only nodded.
Their eyes continued to hold each other, and the pull between them intensified. He wanted to help her become who she truly was, who she used to be. His own blood had boiled more than once when he’d felt how stifling Christopher could be. “I applaud you. Such a decision is no small matter.” He knew what it felt like to have some other force dictate one’s future—his father’s choices and reputations and then the mines had ruled his.
Her smile grew in confidence, pulling up on one side. “Thank you.”
Her face was inviting him closer. “You know”—he took a step toward her—“this independence is one thing I remember about a very beautiful, very strong-willed eleven-year-old friend I once had.”
Perhaps he shouldn’t have mentioned her beauty, but she deserved to know she was both gorgeous and determined. She let out a held breath and stepped toward him. “I... hadn’t realized how much I lost until you returned, Alex. I still have much to work on, but your words have been a source of courage.”
They had? Even with their conversations having been so short, so limited by their circumstances and the expectations of her family? It could be true, though, because her words had surely influenced him these past weeks. Now her speech fueled his desire to come closer to her, especially since she wasn’t engaged.
He tugged on his too-tight cravat. Did the color on his cheeks match hers? They stood close enough to each other that he could grasp her hand if he but reached toward her. She cleared her throat, and her eyes darted away. “It appears my younger brother has taken to being just as stubborn as I once was.” She gazed toward the corridor leading to Walter’s room. “I am so glad he spoke with you.”
Alex nodded. He wanted to spend the rest of the morning with just her and discuss anything and everything. When they spoke like this, it felt like a friendship between them could continue so easily, so naturally. He started to reach out his hand just as George’s broad frame burst through the front door.
George stopped and studied him—and his proximity to Charlotte. Alex immediately slid back a pace as George cleared his throat. “I did not expect you so early, Jenkins. I went riding this morning, and it took some time for the groom to find me.” He came into the room enough to make a triangle with Alex and Charlotte. “What did you learn?”
Alex remembered his purpose for being there. “Walter spoke with me. He seemed... angry with his family for not being the ones to rescue him. I tried to explain that I was merely the closest to him and got there first.” He sighed. “He also feels like he gets no attention from any of his older siblings and that his continued silence is the only way for you to notice him. Might I just say that from his perspective, it is hard to forgive the world right away.” He knew all too well what it felt like to be alone and how hard it was to overcome tragic, life-altering experiences. “Walter’s a good lad though. I’m sure he’ll come around.”
“Itissometimes hard to forgive others.” George gave him a pointed look. Alex was immediately on his guard. This young man, whom he had always thought to be reasonable, sounded like Christopher in that moment.
Alex sighed. “Walter asked that I call again. Would you allow such a thing?” He couldn’t believe he was asking a boy not yet seventeen, and not the master of this house, for permission to return, but George was the one who had asked him to come in the first place.
George’s dark brows lowered as he shifted his weight and tightened his jaw. “There are some in my family who wouldn’t like it.”
“George.” Charlotte stepped toward her brother, giving him a look half full of pleading and half full of anger. Alex knew when she wasn’t happy with someone—he’d been the recipient of that glare before. She went one step farther until she held George firmly by the elbow and cleared her throat. “If that is what will help Walter, no matter the objections, I see no reason...”
George’s face cut down toward hers, and his conflicted glance contorted. “I shall not run you off if you visit again,” he conceded. “But only to visit with Walter. That can’t do any harm. I like you, Jenkins, but Christopher has warned me not to let you interfere with our family.” He looked decidedly toward his sister before his arm tensed and he gestured to the open door. “You should be on your way.”
So Christopher attempted to control George’s actions too.
Charlotte stared at her brother, a tight sadness in her eyes, but she didn’t speak. Alex waited for her to act as he left the house, to use that courage she’d just spoken of, but George shut the door swiftly behind Alex, his jaw tight.
Alex drew one heated breath on the doorstep before making his way briskly to Cobalt. He listened to the air around him, the trees leading up to Otterburn filled with a murder of crows. Their caws rained down upon him, much louder than when he had first come, as though they too bade him leave and never return. How could even they conspire against him?
He kicked at the gravel before mounting his horse. This was maddening. To experience such a lovely conversation with the beautiful, emboldened, and most importantly unengaged Charlotte only to be warned off, yet again, by someone else related to Christopher.
But Alex knew his mind. He would not stand for it any longer, especially if Christopher’s clutches were tightening around the other brothers. It might take creativity and finagling, but he’d see Walter—and most definitely Charlotte—again.
Chapter 20
The rays of the noondaysun invited themselves into Charlotte’s room as she sat alone at her dressing table, but she wished the sunshine could warm not only her skin but also her soul. Nearly two weeks had passed since she’d seen Alex, and he hadn’t returned to visit Walter.
She thought of George’s treatment of him. Even her favorite brother had been affected by Christopher’s requests, to a degree. If only they could band together and defy their brother. George had been complimentary to her after Alex left though. “I saw how he looked at you; his feelings for you were so obvious,” he’d said. She’d wanted to believe him, to bask in that observation, but then George had added an admonition: “I hope he’s careful. I worry what will happen if he tries again to push his luck with Christopher.”
