“I know such words might seem unexpected, and, perhaps, not quite welcome yet,” he said urgently. “I shall not press you now. I just ask that you allow me to continue to spend time in your company so that you may come to know me better. And, in time, I hope I shall be able to secure from you the words I most long to hear.”
“Oh!” Charlotte gasped. Her knees nearly gave way. This was as close to a proposal as she could think a man capable of even as he was not yet formally asking for her hand. Still, he was clearly stating his intentions and asking her to give him encouragement.
He must truly love me.
She became aware that he was still holding her hands, smiling down at her. Finding her voice, she finally said, “I am much aware of the honor of your sentiments, Mr. Morton, and I thank you for not pressing me further at this time. I believe that we should both wish to know each other better before…before we make any firm decisions.”
“Your reply is all I need to keep hope alive in my heart, Miss Kendall. But, may I ask you for one thing?”
“Of course.”
“Will you do me the honor of dancing the first, third, and fourth sets with me at the upcoming ball?”
Threesets. Such an act would advertise to all his admiration forher. Perhaps she should refuse in order to dampen his ardor somewhat but, instead, Charlotte found herself nodding in stunned agreement.
“Thank you, my very dear Miss Kendall,” Robert said. He lifted one hand to his mouth and kissed it gently. “I shall count the very hours until then.”
“I thank you for the honor, Mr. Morton. Shall we return to the house? I think Dorothea must be anxious to offer you refreshments.”
She took his proffered arm, and they turned out of the garden. Glancing back, Charlotte saw Becca, an intolerably smug expression on her face, trailing behind.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Tuesday morning, Frederickwaited for Miss Kendall at the Greek temple for their drawing lesson. Would she even show up? Now, quite positive that his brother was her intended romantic object, he even questioned whether her interest in him was simply a ploy to get closer to Robert.Having achieved her goal, why should she bother with me any longer?
As he paced, he thought back to dinner that Sunday after learning of his brother’s intentions toward Miss Kendall. Robert had returned from Haverstone in a cheerful mood, and it had taken all of Frederick’s self control not to ask if things were now settled for good and all between him and Miss Kendall. He had merely inquired if Robert’s visit to the neighboring estate had been pleasant. To his surprise, Robert laughed and replied that he should more accurately call it “promising,” or even “profitable.” When Frederick pressed him to explain himself, his brother just laughed again and said that things were proceeding exactly as he had hoped.
Frederick looked up from his brooding to see Charlotte approaching, accompanied by a young girl. She broke into a smile when she caught his eye and waved as the two climbed to the top of the hill.
“Gracious,” she exclaimed, entering the temple. “I should not have walked so quickly—I have quite winded myself.” She smiled at the girl, then said, “Mr. Morton, may I please present my niece, Miss LucyGillingham? Lucy, I do not think you have formally met my good friend, the reverend Mr. Frederick Morton. He is going to give me a drawing lesson while you play.”
Obviously impressed to be presented to such a gentleman and trying to be as grownup as possible, Lucy curtseyed and said, “Good morning, sir.”
Frederick bowed and said, “My very great pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Gillingham.”
Charlotte patted her niece’s back with approval. “Now, run along, but stay within shouting distance, please. We shall fetch you later so that we may be back home in time for breakfast.”
The girl eagerly ran down one side of the hill toward a wooded area where she knew a stream ran. “I am going to look for crawdads!” she cried.
When she was gone, Charlotte smiled apologetically. “I am sorry to impose my niece on you. For some reason, she was up and dressed early this morning and caught me as I was leaving the house to join you. She insisted on coming and so we left word with the governess and, well, here we are. I have sworn her to secrecy, however, as to your presence. I hope that is agreeable.”
“It is perfectly fine, Miss Kendall. Actually, it makes our meetings more innocent. I should hate to damage your reputation if word of our private lessons were to become public knowledge. Especially now that…” His voice trailed off a moment.
“Now that what, Mr. Morton?” Charlotte asked.
“Nothing—I do not know what I was going to say. Forgive me.” He gave a nervous laugh and looked away a moment, before continuing, “Well. I thought today we might work on a landscape. The prospect of Haverstone grounds from the temple is an admirable one but also difficult to render due to the perspective. Still, I thought it might be an enjoyable challenge for you to try. Are you willing to attempt it?”
“Yes, although I think I shall require a lot of guidance from my instructor,” Charlotte said, grinning. She unpacked her drawing supplies, as he did the same.
For the next hour they sketched side by side, Frederick making some suggestions to help Charlotte accurately render the illusion of distance.
“I think you are catching on quite well, Miss Kendall,” he said, nodding in approval. “You seem to have improved even since our last lesson. Tell me, have you been practicing?”
Charlotte gave a sheepish smile. “I confess I have—at least as much as I can by sneaking away from my sister. You see, I am very aware of the demands I make upon you for these lessons. Therefore, I have made an effort to practice what you have shown me. I should hate for you to think your time was wasted.” She added a few more pencil strokes on her paper to create shadows in the clouds.
He paused before saying softly, “No time spent with you could ever be thought a waste, Miss Kendall, I assure you.”
At his comments, she sharply turned her face from her work to him, and he saw her countenance was filled with surprise and something else—sorrow? Confusion? He held her gaze a long while before returning his attention to drawing and mumbling, “After all, I have little to fill my days just now. I shan’t give another sermon for two weeks, and my curate duties are light enough.”
