Damn. He remembered now. The room had been hot, and he’d been out of breath from running. The perfume had been cloying. Even now, as the scent of smelling salts dissipated, the sweetness of the air made him gag.
“Where is she?” he asked Luella, propping himself up on his elbows. If Charlotte had been in the room, she would be there.
“Good God, you’re both idiots,” Luella replied. “Lady Charlotte left an hour ago.”
He sat upright, the room spinning as he did so. “Where did she go?” Could he possibly track her down before his ship sailed?
“She went after you.”
He sighed. Damn. Charlotte had gone to the docks.
***
“Well, brother, what do we do now?” Charlotte asked as they stood on the wharf and looked out at the many, many ships in port. They all looked exactly the same to her, except for the flags that flew, and searching each of them for John would take more time than they had.
“We ask questions.” William rubbed his hands together. That was one thing the war hadn’t changed about him—he loved to be involved in mischief, and Charlotte racing to the docks to declare her love was exactly that.
She’d toyed with the idea of coming alone, but she knew John would be upset if she did. It was late and dark, and she was unfamiliar with the area, so she’d snuck back into Wildeforde House and begged Will to join her. Seeing men stumble and sway as they walked the wooden boardwalk was enough to assure her she’d made the right decision.
“What was the name of the ship?”
“TheLutetiana.”
“And it leaves at first light? Damn, Charlie. Could you not have come to your realization a few days ago?”
A few days ago, she’d been in self-imposed isolation, determined to fix the wrong problem. She’d been trying to see if she could change who she was rather than trying to make who she was fit new circumstances.
“I needed help to settle on the right decision. It came from the most unlikely of sources—you have no idea.” It weighed on her that she now owed Luella a debt. Even the recovery of Luella’s letters wouldn’t satisfy it, especially given Luella did not know of Charlotte’s involvement. At least in Boston, she wouldn’t have to face her nemesis again to say thank you. She shuddered at the horror of that prospect.
A group of men were stumbling down the wharf, singing a sea shanty, something about a sunny linguist that made her ears go hot. She swallowed before approaching them, waving her hand nervously.
They stopped, except for the man at the rear, whose voice continued the tune until he walked into the back of another.
“Excuse me, sirs. Do you know where theLutetianais stationed?”
The leery expressions directed her way made her thankful for Will’s presence. He was six feet and two inches of muscle at her back.
“It’s not anywhere at this end,” a grizzle-haired man said. “You might try further down.”
“Thanks, friend.” William put a hand on Charlotte’s shoulder and steered her away. “I think you’re daft,” he said as he tucked her arm into his and they strolled down the wharf, sticking as close as possible to the lamplight. “What are you going to do in Boston?”
“I’m going to do what I do here, hopefully. There’s bound to be some charities to work with—that will keep my days busy. John is going to have colleagues, so we’ll have them over. It won’t be to the scale of Edward’s political dinners, but I can still be a hostess even if I’ve only one cook and no footman to help me.”
Will leaned toward her, nudging her shoulder with his. “I’m going to miss you, Charlie. I don’t know what I’m going to do without you.”
Charlotte tightened her grip on his arm and swallowed hard. Leaving Will and Ned would be the most difficult thing she’d ever done. All of her life, she had loved her brothers above all else. She had put her brothers above all else. After all, they were all each other had.
Except now Ed had Fiona, and she had John. Everything had changed and Will…Well, he would find someone too. He just needed to forgive himself first for whatever it was that haunted him.
“You’ll survive just fine without me,” she said. “You survived a real-life battlefield. You can certainly live without a meddling little sister.”
Will shook his head, chagrin crossing his face. “I shouldn’t have said that. That was undeserved. You do not meddle.”
Charlotte arched a brow.
“You do meddle, but with good intention.”
“Thank you, brother. And do not fret. It won’t take long for John and me to be settled and then you can come to stay as long as you like.”
