Page 91 of The Good Fortune of Miss Robbins

Lady Derringer sighed. “Well, there is only one thing to do.”

He glared at her. He would not ask. Even though he secretly hoped she would tell him, since he didn’t trust his own judgment, nor did he have any ideas.

“You must court her.”

“Court her?” What hope did he have now of ever winning her heart? She must hate him. She was so angry with him, and rightly so.

“Yes. That is, if you want a woman who is full of Christian charity and compassion for the poor, a lady who has refused the marriage proposals of gentlemen simply because she didn’t love them and they weren’t in love with her. She hasn’t squandered her fortune—your fortune—and if you don’t want to lose her, you had better show her that you can give her what she wants.”

“And what does she want?” It was irritating to hear Lady Derringer sounding so certain of what he wasn’t certain of at all.

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“No.”

“She wants love, William.”

He thought about her face just minutes ago. Her voice, how distraught she had been. Her tears. What a despicable man he was to cause her such pain. He thought he was giving her choices, but what she wanted was love.

“Can you give her that?” Lady Derringer asked.

Could he? He could give her money and status, but ... he’d thought he was incapable of loving anyone again after Letitia had run off with the marquess. He’d been in so much pain. And he felt such humiliation, his pride injured for all to see. How could he have been so mistaken in her character, in her love for him? She hadn’t loved him at all, but he’d been convinced she did. He was sure shewas the pure, guileless, worthy girl she seemed to be. And though he couldn’t admit it, he was afraid of being fooled again. He could not, would not be fooled again.

But how foolish would he look now, for people would surely hear of his elaborate ruse to give Miss Robbins fifty thousand pounds?

Lady Derringer had warned him.

“Well? Can you?” Lady Derringer was waiting for an answer.

He was glad he hadn’t confided in anyone else but his aunt, and he might as well continue to be honest with her. “I don’t know if I can love her as she deserves, but I do love her. I just don’t think...” He fell silent.

“What will you do now?” Lady Derringer asked.

“I’ll write her a letter.”

She raised her brows. “I hope you make it a good one.”

“I don’t know if she will ever forgive me for deceiving her.”

“I suppose this just proves that it wasn’t money she wanted.” Lady Derringer tilted her head, a cocky tone in her voice.

He went to his room, took out paper, pen, and ink, and started to write.

Before he could get more than a sentence written on his letter, a note arrived from Charlotte Robbins.

Lord Brookhaven,

Please advise me on how I can transfer the balance from my account to yours, as I do not trust my ‘solicitor’ Mr. Sullivan.

Miss Robbins

His heart sank. For some reason, the fact that she didn’t sign her first name to the note made his heart feel as heavy as a stone.

Lady Derringer was right. This proved that it hadn’t been money that she wanted, and it proved she had enough integrity to not accept his money.

Charlotte Robbins was not like other young ladies, the ones he’dknown his whole life. She’d listened to him and said things he hadn’t even known he’d been longing to hear. She’d been intelligent, intuitive, and thoughtful. She was a competent and capable teacher when she was with Samuel and Annabelle, but also was kind and enabled them to play and be children in a way he hadn’t fully understood they needed.

He’d enjoyed her companionship, looking forward to talking with her every day on his walks. He felt compelled to understand her, but he also wanted his friends and the rest of society to accept her, which was why he decided to have a house party and invite her. Perhaps he also wanted to see how she would conduct herself, but what he’d found was that his friends had conducted themselves very poorly, while Charlotte Robbins had been everything he could have wanted.