Page 31 of Always the Chaperone
They looked at each other, shame clear on their faces. Charlotte had not said a word, and he could not tell whether she was disgusted by the way he was treating these boys or shocked at his angry tone.
“Come on,” one of them said, and the three of them slipped away into the crowd that had gathered around them.
“T-thank you, sir.”
Kneeling before the elderly man, William looked into his eyes. Without saying a word, he pulled out his pocketbook and offered the stranger a five-pound note.
“For you,” he said gruffly.
The man shook his head in refusal. “Five pounds? God knows I need it, sir, but I cannot take it.”
William had already dropped the note into the gentleman’s lap, stood tall, and started walking away. He had to walk, had to move. He had to do something to forget his anger.
Charlotte slipped her hand into his. “That was a very brave thing you just did.”
William felt a little guilty for the spark of pleasure her words brought. “The idea of our men coming back here to live in poverty, suffering to no end, displeases me more than I can express.”
“It is a disgrace,” she said softly.
He nodded. “Who knows that I would have been any different?”
As they walked, Charlotte looked back at the man still seated on the pavement. “You would never have lived like that.”
William stopped in his tracks. “Why not? I came home to a title, but others return to no family, no friends, and no livelihood. They bring back the demons of the battlefield with them.”
He had not intended his voice to be so loud nor his grip on her hand to be so tight. Charlotte swallowed, and he released her hand, lowering his gaze to the ground.
“There is so much I do not understand,” she said, “but I am willing to learn.”
All the bitterness disappeared from his heart. She never failed to surprise him. How many other ladies would have even thought it, let alone said the words?
It was a few more minutes before he said quietly, “I should not have allowed my temper to get the better of me, especially with you.”
“I understand.”
“Would you say yes if I proposed, Charlotte? In seriousness?” He stopped again, watching her intently.
Her eyes flickered to her left. “This is where my appointment is.”
William turned to look. They were outside a dressmaker, and Charlotte was avoiding his gaze.
“You have not answered my question.”
“Is it possible for you to go ten minutes without proposing to me?” She smiled at him gently. “William, I do not believe you could make me that offer in seriousness. Good day, Your Grace.”
Chapter Nine
It was thenoise of the hooves on the cobbles and the neighing of the horses that caught her attention. Charlotte smiled as she looked up through the window to see a carriage pull up in Queen Square with the Axwick livery painted carefully on the side of the door.
They were home.
Looking down at the letter still in her lap, she reread her brother’s handwriting.
We will leave early to avoid any nonsense on the road and will aim to be with you by ten o’clock at the latest.
She glanced at the clock on the mantelpiece. It had just chimed a quarter past twelve. Well, they had their excuses now, of course. The Duke and Duchess of Axwick could be as late as they wanted in their condition.
Folding up the letter and placing it on the small table beside her, Charlotte called out, “Matthews, they are here!”
