Harriet clapped her hands delightedly. “How wonderful.”
Penelope squealed softly. “A proper special licence.”
Joan grinned wickedly at Charlotte and whispered in her ear. “You may breathe again, sister.”
Charlotte shot her a murderous glance whilst Victor calmly pretended not to notice.
The rogue.
Soon, the conversation descended into wedding preparations, which unfortunately meant everyone speaking at once. Harriet began discussing floral arrangements whilst Penelope insisted ivory roses were far more romantic than pink. Joan argued that the musicians ought to be fashionable rather than merely respectable, and Bridget became passionately invested in candleplacement for reasons Charlotte did not understand in the slightest.
“And the gold drapery shall frame the altar beautifully,” Harriet declared.
Charlotte grimaced before she could stop herself.
Victor noticed immediately. Of course, he did.
“You do not approve?” he asked lazily, though his eyes remained fixed entirely upon her.
Every woman in the room turned to Charlotte at once. She resisted the urge to flee. “It is only that gold drapery may appear somewhat… excessive.”
“Excessive?” Harriet cried. “You are marrying a duke.”
“That appears to excuse every terrible decorating decision,” Charlotte muttered under her breath.
Victor’s mouth twitched. “What would you prefer instead?”
She hesitated. “Something simpler, perhaps. Cream cloth. White flowers. Nothing too overwhelming. Elegant but plain.”
“A sensible choice,” Victor said immediately. “The wedding should reflect what my intended desires.”
Charlotte blinked at him in surprise.
Harriet looked scandalized. “But cream is so restrained.”
Victor did not even glance away from Charlotte. “Then restrained it shall be.”
The room fell oddly quiet for a moment. Charlotte suddenly became very aware of how intensely he watched her, as though the rest of the conversation barely existed to him at all. It unsettled her terribly.
Worse still, it pleases me.
Joan smirked knowingly. “Well. That settles that then.”
Harriet sighed dramatically. “I see the duke has already become entirely ruled by his future wife.”
Victor finally looked away from Charlotte long enough to answer smoothly, “A wise man knows when to surrender.”
Penelope giggled aloud whilst Charlotte felt heat climb straight into her cheeks. He was impossible. Entirely impossible.
Eventually, Victor rose to depart, and every woman in the room suddenly began speaking over one another once more. Harriet thanked him for his generosity whilst Joan asked several scandalously direct questions about wedding breakfasts andPenelope worried aloud about whether society would discuss the ceremony for months. Through it all, Victor remained perfectly composed, though Charlotte noticed his attention drift back toward her repeatedly.
“I shall escort His Grace out,” Charlotte announced quickly before her family could embarrass her further.
Victor bowed slightly. “Miss Brown.”
The moment they stepped into the foyer alone together, the air changed entirely. Silence stretched between them thick and charged whilst distant voices echoed faintly from the parlor behind them. Charlotte suddenly became aware of how close he stood beside her.
“Thank you,” she said softly. “For earlier.”
