No chance, then.Charlotte jerked to her feet in an agitated whirl of silk skirts. “I didn’t end my evening there. Didn’t Captain West tell you? He made quite a point of escorting me home. Kind of him, wasn’t it? How convenient it must be for you to have him back in London.”
Ellie paused, then, “You could hardly expect him to leave you there, Charlotte.”
“I don’t expect anything at all from Julian West, though now I think on it, perhaps I should.” She stared hard at Eleanor. “Perhaps I should expect him to be forever at my elbow from now on? I grant you he’d make an admirable hound. Have you set him on my scent, Ellie?”
Ellie avoided her eyes. “How dramatic you are, Charlotte.”
That was a yes.It was always a yes when Ellie gave an answer that wasn’t really an answer.
Well. Julian may have failed to extract a promise from her last night, but he’d succeeded spectacularly this morning. As long as he remained in London she’d take care to stay away from her family and Bedford Square, just as he’d demanded.
After a long silence, Ellie heaved a sigh. “You’ve dragged out the season to the bitter end. The respectable half of thetonhas already left London. Don’t you think it’s time you made up your mind to go back to Hadley House? It will be quiet in Hampshire, and you can rest.”
Charlotte turned toward the window, away from Ellie. Quiet. Yes, there was plenty of quiet to be had at Hadley House, but precious little rest.
“Bellwood then, instead of Hampshire,” Ellie said when she didn’t answer. “Alec and Delia are already there, and Robyn and Lily leave London at the end of the week. You can stay through Christmas.”
Bellwood.The place of all her girlhood dreams. It was the one place in the world even lonelier than Hadley House. “Soon. I’ll go soon. Perhaps at the end of this month, or the start of the next.”
Ellie remained silent. She wanted more than that, of course, a promise Charlotte would cease her wild escapades, retire to the country, and behave in a manner befitting a proper widow. Vows and assurances rushed to Charlotte’s lips, but she choked them back down.No.She wouldn’t make any promises she knew she couldn’t keep.
“We’re leaving London at the end of next week, Charlotte—Cam, Amelia, and I, and we won’t return until next season.”
“Leaving?” Charlotte’s head buzzed as all the blood drained from it at once and then came back in a nauseating rush. They’d be off to the country before Julian left London. A few weeks without her family was one thing, but—dear God, it would be months before she saw them again.Months. It felt like a lifetime.
Ellie nodded. “Yes. The doctor was here this week, and he confirmed what we’ve suspected for several weeks now. I’m increasing.”
Charlotte’s heart squeezed in her chest, but she forced herself to turn back to Ellie with a smile. She took her sister’s hands. “How wonderful. I know you’ve been hoping.”
Ellie smiled back, but her face was anxious. “Yes. Cam is thrilled, but he insists we leave London at once for the healthier climate in the country.”
“Yes. Yes, of course. Very wise.”
Ellie squeezed her fingers. “We want you to come with us, Charlotte. There can be nothing keeping you in London this late in the season.”
Nothing but a wish to hold on to my sanity.
She dropped Ellie’s hands. “My friends are here.”
“But your family is at Bellwood, and we want you with us. Don’t you want that, as well?”
Such a lovely thing, to be able to do what shewanted. Such a wealth of choices. But she had only two choices left now—the things she could bear to do, and the things she couldn’t. To go to Bellwood, to spend the winter with her besotted siblings, their equally besotted spouses and their happy, growing families…
No. She couldn’t bear to do that. Not yet. Perhaps not ever.
She forced another smile to her stiff lips. “Soon. The end of next month, perhaps.” It wasn’t quite a lie. Maybe by the end of next month—
“I hope so.” Ellie regarded her with a kind of hopeless resignation. “But if you must remain in London, will you promise to stay away from Lord Devon? I don’t like to have you spend time with him. At best he’s no gentleman, and at worst he’s dangerous.”
No promises I can’t keep.
Charlotte laughed, but there was no humor in it. “You don’t mean to say you believe all that gossip about Devon, Eleanor? You know how thetonexaggerates. He’s as harmless as a kitten.”
Ellie frowned. “He’s no kitten, Charlotte. He’s far more like a hound about to tear into a fox.”
“Ah, but you forget, Eleanor, how clever the fox is.”
Ellie’s lips went tight. “Julian said it was a wager with Devon that led to the bordello escapade. Devon knows how dangerous such a wager is, but he’s happy enough to risk your reputation for his own amusement.”
