Authors: Violet Walker
T
he party took place exactly as Charlotte had planned. Mrs. Ridgeley got so overwhelmed by all the love she received that she started crying with joy. Everyone had so much fun. The food was perfect, the cake was perfect, the timing was perfect. Even Brandon agreed that he had never had so much fun in his entire life. He actually laughed at one of Mrs. Ridgeley's ridiculous stories!
If only Lord Cornwall had attended the party too, Charlotte thought ruefully. He was looking so handsome in that black coat that fit him like a glove. He had left for the ball early in the evening and had informed Brandon that he would be late. Charlotte imagined him dancing with a pretty young woman. She was surprised at the stab of jealousy she felt. Something was grossly wrong with her. She shouldn't be feeling this way at all!
Charlotte had sent everyone back to their rooms for the night. She had insisted that she'd manage the little cleaning up that was required on her own. A little tired herself, she took the last plates to the sink to rinse. Suddenly, she felt that someone was standing behind her. She slowly turned around to see Lord Cornwall looking at her. Jesus! How handsome he looked!
Thomas tried to excuse himself from the insufferable party a number of times but to no avail. To make matters worse, Shirley was constantly accusing him of not paying attention to her. He desperately wanted to get back for Mrs. Ridgeley's birthday celebrations but Shirley was deliberately extending their stay for some reason or the other. At last, when he threatened to leave her at the party, she reluctantly agreed to accompany him back. He had escorted her back to the Rotherville Castle and then rode at top speed to reach home in time for the party.
But apparently, he'd missed all the fun. A sleepy eyed Brandon greeted him upon arrival as usual and Thomas told him to retire for the day. He wanted to ask him about the party, but seeing how sleepy the poor fellow looked, decided against it. While going upstairs to his chamber, he noticed the kitchen lights were still on. He decided to see who was up this late and saw Charlotte, dressed in that pink gown, rinsing something at the sink.
He moved closer and noticed she had tied her hair in a lose bun. The skin at the back of her neck was exposed to him and he fought the urge to bend down and kiss her there. As if sensing his presence, she turned around.
They both just stared at each other for several seconds, unable to move. Then Thomas moved forward, closing the already limited distance between them.
"How was the party, Charlotte?" he asked softly.
Their faces were so close that Charlotte could feel his breath on her face. Oh God! Was this some kind of a dream?
Charlotte's mouth went dry and she was unable to respond. She looked up at him and saw him staring at her with hunger in his eyes.
Thomas raised his hand and touched her cheek. Her skin was as soft as he had imagined. When she looked up at him with those big blue eyes, he couldn't resist himself. He lowered his face and gently kissed her on the lips.
That simple kiss filled his heart with an emotion that he couldn't name. He wanted her. Badly. She had been haunting him in his dreams and even today while dancing with Shirley, he kept on envisioning HER face.
He put his hand on the small of her back and pushed her closer. She laid her hands on his chest and sighed. Thomas deepened the kiss and crushed her body to his. He could feel her softness of her lush breasts against his chest.
Charlotte felt so light headed. She wanted this kiss to go on forever. She'd never been kissed before! Her whole body felt alive under Thomas's touch. Somewhere inside her head, a voice told her to stop, that this was totally improper. But she couldn’t stop herself, she didn’t want to stop!
Both of them were experiencing emotions they had never felt before. Though Thomas had been with women before, he had never been subjected to such unrestrained passion. As for Charlotte, she was an innocent, totally unaware of the level of intimacy that a man and a woman share.
Thomas moved his hand up and freed her hair from the few pins that held them in a loose bun. Her hair fell to her waist in waves. He ran his fingers through them and could feel their silky softness. He then started kissing her neck softly and her body involuntarily arched to give him better access.
“Jesus, Charlotte! You are so soft,” he murmured between kisses.
As his lips moved towards the swell of her breasts, Charlotte stiffened. She had never allowed anyone to touch her so intimately. It was like her mind snapped out of a trance and realized the enormity of the blunder they’d just committed.
W
hen Thomas felt her stiffen, he too came back to his senses. What had he done? Worse, what was he about to do had Charlotte not reacted the way she did! He had almost robbed her of her innocence!
Thomas immediately stepped back as if he had just touched a live wire.
“I….I am extremely sorry, Charlotte. This should not have happened.”
Charlotte felt sudden tears well up in her eyes. So, he was sorry for what happened!
“Please don’t cry, my dear. I mean…Charlotte. I….I don’t know what came over me. Please, believe me. I didn’t mean to take advantage of you. It’s just that…..”
“I understand, my lord,” Charlotte wiped her tears.
There was an eerie silence in the kitchen.
“You can call me Thomas,” he said quietly.
“No, my lord. That would be highly improper. And I’ve already had my share of improper for one night!”
Thomas flinched at her words.
“Please don’t think that I blame you for what happened. I was an equal participant. For a while, I forgot that you are an Earl and I, a mere assistant housekeeper. I promise you this will never happen again,” she added and hastily left the kitchen.
Thomas felt as if he’d just been slapped. He almost forced himself on her and she was taking the entire blame on herself! He had never felt so lowly in his entire life. He was ashamed of himself. This was how he was repaying Mr. Nesbitt for his loyalty and honesty- by compromising his daughter!
Charlotte could not sleep the whole night. Why, oh why had she let her emotions override her better sense! She could not forget the regret that she saw in Thomas’s eyes. He regretted having kissed her, he even apologized for it! What else had she expected? Why would he want anything to do with an accountant’s daughter?
She cried a little more. She dreaded facing him again, that would just be too humiliating for her! Living under the same roof, it was impossible to avoid him altogether. But she could make sure that their paths never crossed, at least for some days.
Thomas didn’t see Charlotte the next few days. He understood that she was deliberately avoiding him, and rightly so. After all, the girl had loads of self-respect and Thomas admired her immensely for that. But he could not understand why HE was feeling so rattled by her absence. He missed seeing her move around the castle, giving instructions, or occasionally helping Mrs. Ridgeley with the books. He missed seeing her smile, hell, he missed all of her!
It wasn’t as if she had locked herself up somewhere. He knew that she did her routine chores but she just made sure to avoid HIM! Served him right for acting like a libidinous teenager, he thought.
Charlotte had not been her usual self these past days. No one but Mrs. Ridgeley had noticed this change in her.
“What is the matter, my dear? You seem a little upset about something since a few days,” she asked.
“Oh! It’s nothing, Mrs. Ridgeley. It’s just that I am missing papa,” Charlotte lied. Well, it wasn’t a lie exactly. She did miss her father terribly, but more than that, she felt guilty for behaving in such an untoward manner that night. It had been extremely hard to avoid Thomas later on, but she did her best. And when he didn’t make any effort to reach her, she understood that he had just been carried away in the moment that night. She meant nothing to Lord Thomas Cornwall.
L
ady Rebecca Cornwall had just arrived at the Devonshire Castle along with her future daughter-in-law, Lady Shirley Stanton. Lord Peter Stanton and his wife were expected to join them by evening. The castle was buzzing with activity that day and everyone was excited about their arrival. Except Charlotte.
Although she greatly admired Lady Cornwall for all the love and sympathy she showed towards her when her father expired, she wasn’t too keen on meeting Lady Shirley. Whenever someone mentioned her name, she felt a feeling of jealousy swamp her heart. She knew it was foolish of her to feel this way, but she couldn’t help it.
“What are you doing Charlotte? Come on, Her Grace is already at the dinner table with Lady Shirley and Lord Thomas. Would you mind helping Genelia in serving the main course? Julie is on leave today and the poor girl needs some help there. You know how flustered she gets under pressure!” Mrs. Ridgeley called her.
Charlotte could not make any excuses this time. If God wanted her to come face to face with Lord Thomas AND his fiancée, so be it!
As soon as she entered the dining room, she was greeted by Her Grace herself.
“Why, is that you, Charlotte? How have you been doing, my dear?” she enquired.
“Very well, thank you, Your Grace. I am comfortably settled here now and Mrs. Ridgeley is the most wonderful woman to assist,” she replied with a smile.
Thomas’s heart skipped a beat on seeing her smile. But Charlotte was completely ignoring him hitherto. She was looking lovely as ever in a pale blue dress that offset the color of her eyes beautifully. Thomas couldn’t help staring at her. When Shirley cleared her throat, he looked at her and realized that she had caught him openly staring at Charlotte. Good Heavens! He was in trouble!
“Mrs. Ridgeley is all full of praises for you. And that is no small feat, considering she is a hard woman to please,” Lady Cornwall chuckled. “And Thomas also informed me that you have been discharging your duties diligently.”
“Oh! Charlotte, meet Lady Shirley Stanton, Thomas’s fiancée.” Lady Cornwall introduced the two women.
“Good evening, my lady,” Charlotte bowed a small curtsy.
“Good evening, Charlotte. So you are that accountant’s daughter who died a few months back! What was his name? Mr. Nesbitt, right?” Lady Shirley asked.
“Yes, my lady.”
“Shirley, Mr. Nesbitt wasn’t just an accountant. He was like family for us,” Thomas said a bit sternly.
“Oh! Trust you Thomas to consider an accountant a part of your family! You would even consider the stable boy your family, you have such a kind heart,” Shirley retorted.
What was the matter with her! Why was she being so mean, Thomas thought.
Before he could say something, Charlotte spoke up.
“You are right, my lady. Her Grace and Lord Cornwall have extremely kind hearts. Had it not been for them, life would have been extremely difficult for an orphan like me,” she said. Thomas could see the infinite hurt in her eyes.
"We haven't done anything extraordinary, Charlotte. It is the least we could for a man who gave his entire life to us," Thomas looked at her.
"I am sure Lord Cornwall wouldn't mind opening an orphanage right here in this castle for young women like you, such is his big heart. After all, that would serve the twin purpose of charity AND recreation," Shirley said in an acidic tone.
"Shirley!" shouted Thomas.
Charlotte's face grew ashen and Lady Cornwall looked as if she could not believe her ears!
"Why? Have I said something wrong? Now I understand why you've been trying to avoid my company these past days," Shirley also raised her voice.
"And you," she wagged her finger at Charlotte. "Pretty, young and lonely- seems like you've found the perfect company, huh?"
"Enough, Shirley! Keep her out of this," thundered Thomas.
Most of the staff, including Mrs. Ridgeley and Brandon had gathered in the dining room by this time to see what the commotion was all about. Charlotte was looking stunned and Lady Cornwall wore an appalled expression.
"Calm down, both of you," she pleaded.
"Don't you dare talk to me in this tone, Lord Thomas Cornwall! First you cheat on me with this piece of worthless trash here and then you have the audacity to shout at me!" cried Shirley.
Thomas wanted to slap her right across her haughty face. He got up with such force that his chair fell with a loud thud behind.
"Get out!" he said in a low, menacing voice. "Get out right now or I'll forget that I am a gentleman and you are unfortunately, still my fiancée."
"You shall pay for this Thomas. I am going to tell papa about all of this and then you just watch what....."
"GET OUT!" roared Thomas again. Shirley got up hurriedly seeing the raw fury in his eyes and rushed out. Lady Cornwall went after her calling her name.
"Shirley, listen to me, Shirley!" she called after her.
Inside, Charlotte looked too stunned to move.
"Charlotte, I am sorry for all that Shirley said. I don't know from where she..."
Before he could complete his sentence, Charlotte ran out of the room. He pleaded Mrs. Ridgeley with his eyes to follow her.