Chapter 24

I can’t help but think Anna harbors a secret resentment for Miss Melton. Every time she wrote the girl’s name, her pen struck through the “t” with such force that it ripped the paper.

The Countess of Bridgeton to the Earl of Bridgeton, while sitting at breakfast at Hibberton Hall

Rupert stared at the list on the desk before him. A man of twenty and four years should possess far more than six horses, a curricle, a high perch phaeton, a wardrobe of fashionable clothing, and a run-down cottage set on some lonely acreage in Derbyshire. Disgusted, he threw down the pen, ink splattering across the paper.

There had to be more, or Charlotte was lost to him forever. The last two weeks had been an awakening. For the first time in his frivolous life, he cared about someone else more than himself. Cared with a purity of passion that both frightened and exhilarated him.

Each day brought him closer to Charlotte and they’d taken to meeting secretly, talking for hours on end, finding each other as delightful as their first meeting had promised. Rupert closed his eyes, imagining the warmth of Charlotte’s arms about his neck, the feel of her cool lips beneath his. He would never presume to so much as kiss her hand without having some understanding, and her relationship with Anthony held them apart.

But soon…if he could find a way to prove to her parents that he could support and cherish her, perhaps then he would have her.

He raked an impatient hand through his hair. No. He had to have her. He loved her far too much to let her go. If her parents would not countenance the union, then he’d sweep her off to Gretna Green and—The fantasy abruptly faded. Charlotte was too delicate, too pure to be married over an anvil in the still of night. He had to convince her parents to countenance the match. It was the only way. Rupert dropped his head into his hands and stared down at the dismal list.

If he sold the carriages and four of the horses, he could possibly pay off his debts and still have a little to live on. He straightened slowly, smoothing the paper as he considered what else he should do. They would have to practice economy, of course. But it could be done. Restless, he returned the pen to the holder, picked up the paper, and stood. Perhaps Anna could help him. She knew about practicing economy and what it would take to run a household.

He had just reached the door of the library when Anthony entered. Rupert forced himself to meet Anthony’s quizzical gaze. “There you are,” Rupert said, wishing he didn’t feel so guilty.

Anthony’s dark gaze rested on the paper in Rupert’s hand before he said, “I’m surprised to find you here and not in the nursery or riding with Miss Thraxton.”

“I’m on my way to see Anna now.”

Anthony’s jaw tensed at the way Rupert so casually used Anna’s name. “You sound as if you have become very familiar with my governess.” He didn’t mean to put emphasis on the word “my,” but somehow it came out that way.