Even if he is impossible.
“Yes,” she said finally. “We are agreed.”
Victor inclined his head once, as though the matter had merely been business all along. “Excellent,” he said. “You shall return to Mulford Manor as soon as possible. I told Grandmother you left to visit family. So that is what she believes. We must continue that story.”
Charlotte sighed faintly. “I cannot believe I am agreeing to this.”
“Neither can I,” Victor said dryly.
Her eyes narrowed. “Do not grow smug, Your Grace.”
“Perish the thought.”
Charlotte paced slowly, though now her thoughts felt lighter somehow. For the first time in years, there existed a possibility, however absurd, that her sisters might actually have proper futures.
Joan might find a husband who appreciated her spirit. Irene might finally have the season she deserved. Penelope might perhaps avoid setting society entirely ablaze.
“You would do anything for them, wouldn't you? Your sisters,” he observed quietly.
Charlotte stopped. “Yes,” she said simply.
Something in his expression changed briefly at that, though she could not quite decipher it.
“Well,” he said at last, reaching for his gloves once more, “I shall expect you to return tomorrow afternoon.”
Charlotte nodded slowly.
As he moved toward the door, she found herself speaking again before she could stop herself. “Your Grace?”
Victor paused, glancing back.
“For Elizabeth’s sake,” Charlotte said carefully, “I shall do my best.”
To her surprise, his expression softened just slightly. “I know,” he said.
Then he was gone, leaving Charlotte standing alone in the parlour, staring after him with thoroughly tangled thoughts.
This arrangement is reckless.
Ridiculous.
Potentially disastrous.
But for the first time since losing father, hope no longer feels entirely impossible.
CHAPTER 6
Charlotte sat beside Arabella in the carriage, her gloved hands clasped tightly in her lap as Mulford Manor came into view once more.
“You realize,” she said quietly, “that this situation is entirely absurd.”
Arabella smiled with infuriating delight. “Oh, completely,” she agreed. “Which is precisely why it is so entertaining.”
Charlotte sighed softly.
“It is not entertaining for me,” she muttered. “I am returning to a household where I have to pretend that I am engaged to a duke.” Arabella’s smile widened.
“There are certainly worse fates,” she said.
