“Lionel and I were never the same after that,” he continued roughly. “We were not particularly close before, but afterwards…” He shrugged one shoulder stiffly. “Everything changed.”
He did not tell her the worst part. He did not tell her that sometimes he still heard his mother screaming in his dreams, or that he had spent years convinced their deaths were somehow his fault because he had begged them to travel. That darkness remained locked firmly inside him where it belonged.
No, I can never tell her that.
Charlotte brushed her thumb gently across his knuckles. “Is that why you always ride horseback?” she asked carefully.
Victor blinked and glanced toward her. “What?”
“I realized I have never once seen you willingly enter a carriage.”
Her voice was soft with understanding rather than judgement. “You always take a horse.”
Victor felt oddly exposed beneath her perceptive gaze. “I dislike carriages,” he muttered.
Charlotte’s lips curved faintly. “That is a very dignified way of describing terror, Your Grace.”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “I am not terrified.”
“Mm,” she hummed teasingly. “Of course not.”
He should have been offended. Instead, to his own irritation, he found himself amused.
Charlotte shifted onto her side to face him fully now. “Perhaps you could overcome it.”
Victor immediately grimaced. “Absolutely not.”
“Victor,” she said patiently.
“No.”
She laughed softly. “You are being stubborn.”
“I am being sensible.”
Charlotte propped her chin upon her hand and smiled at him in that infuriatingly sweet way that weakened his resolve.
“What if I helped you?” she asked gently.
Victor stared at her as dread instantly coiled in his stomach. The mere thought of willingly climbing into a carriage made his chest tighten unpleasantly.
“No,” he repeated more firmly.
Charlotte leaned closer and pressed a light kiss against his jaw. “Please?” she whispered.
Victor shut his eyes briefly in defeat. It was profoundly unfair that she had discovered so quickly how vulnerable he was to her affection.
“You fight dishonourably, Duchess,” he muttered.
“I learned from the best,” she replied smugly.
He opened his eyes again and found her smiling at him with such warmth that refusing her suddenly felt impossible. Victor sighed heavily like a man marching toward execution. “One short carriage ride,” he said reluctantly.
Charlotte brightened immediately. “Truly?” “Do not sound so delighted,” he grumbled. “I may yet throw myself dramatically into a hedge halfway through.”
Charlotte burst into laughter and threw her arms around his neck impulsively. Victor caught her easily against him, his annoyance vanishing the moment her body pressed against his.
“Thank you,” she whispered against his skin. He tightened his arms around her slowly and buried his face briefly in her curls.
