While she truly had enjoyed seeing James again, his arrival had delayed her. Or rather, her desire to speak to him had. She drew a long breath of appreciation for the handsome man he’d become. His rugged appeal had deepened during his years away.
Broad, powerful shoulders and narrow hips were evident thanks to his form-fitting dark grey double-breasted tailcoat, a paler shade of waistcoat, and matching trousers. His features had strengthened, becoming more chiseled, made evident by the elegant double knot of his snowy white cravat.
Dark brown hair with a hint of a wave was clipped short in the back but left long in the front to fall carelessly over his forehead. Thick brows framed brown eyes that seemed to observe far too much. His smile was slower to appear than it had been in the past. Surely that had something to do with the shadows lingering in his eyes.
She shouldn’t wonder about those issues now. She pressed a hand against her stomach to settle the nerves there as she retrieved her silk Spencer to protect against the cool, evening air where she’d left it on the handrail. After quickly donning it, taking care to tuck the object it hid underneath her arm, she hurried down the stairs. She’d already told her mother she was going to the ball with a friend but had been careful not to mention Lady Barbara. Her mother wouldn’t approve. For once, Charlotte was grateful for the lack of interest her mother had in anything beyond her sitting room these days.
Her father was at his club, and Mother intended to remain home. Again. Charlotte reached the front door, excited at the evening before her. Yet she couldn’t deny a certain amount of worry at what she was about to do. So many things could go wrong if she were caught.
“Lady Charlotte, did you wish me to call for the carriage?” Gordon, their longtime butler, asked as he hurried forward to get the door for her.
“No need. I’m joining friends.” She gestured outside as if they were waiting in the drive and forced a smile, certain the servant knew she was lying. If only she were better at telling falsehoods.
“Very well, my lady. I wish you a pleasant evening.” He definitely knew something was amiss, but the sympathy in his expression suggested he would hold his tongue.
“Thank you.” She ignored the unsettling sensation his concern caused, stepped outside, and hurried down the steps. She braced herself for him to call out a question, but the door clicked shut behind her.
What if Lady Barbara and her brother had left without her? Alarmed at the thought of missing the evening she’d planned for some time, she quickened her pace and rounded the corner, relieved to see a carriage a short distance ahead. The door flew open as she approached.
“We nearly gave up on you,” Lady Barbara declared from the dim interior.
“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting. I was unexpectedly detained.”
The tall form of Charles Lowery, Lord Palmer, shifted forward to extend his hand to help her, though he didn’t bother to step out to do so. “I thought perhaps you changed your mind.”
“Nothing of the sort,” Charlotte said as she settled onto the bench beside Lady Barbara.
The carriage jerked forward, doing nothing for the nerves that continued to plague Charlotte. She leaned back against the seat, well aware of the weight of her friend’s regard.
“Are you certain nothing is amiss?” Lady Barbara squinted at her with suspicion.
“Not at all. I was waiting for my brother to depart before joining you.” And desperately hoping he and James didn’t decide to make an appearance at Madame Bernard’s gathering.
The French widow was well known for the parties she threw. Many members of the ton and the demimonde, including well-known actresses and singers, were among her guests. One never knew who one might see there. At least, that was what Charlotte had heard.
She’d never attended a party like this one, but she hoped it would be the first of many adventures in the coming months. After the news her father had delivered last week, her time to truly live as she wished was short. Lord Wynn had advised her that she would be married by the end of the Season to a man of his choosing. She was to have no say in who the man would be. Her father had already narrowed down the choices but had yet to reveal their identity. No amount of arguing had changed his mind.
Charlotte had no doubt she wouldn’t approve of them, for the men her father respected were just like him—domineering, unreasonable, and old-fashioned, with no enjoyment of life and no tenderness for family.
She need only look at her mother to imagine what her future held—emptiness. She gave herself a mental shake. She’d promised herself not to dwell on what she couldn’t change but rather to enjoy all she could.
Hence this first adventure to Madame Bernard’s. The risqué party would give her a taste of a daring life she might otherwise never experience.
“Why not attend with your brother?” Lord Palmer asked. “I’ve seen him at several gatherings like this.”
Though tempted to admit that Edward would never agree to do so, she held back, not wanting Palmer to change his mind about accompanying her and Barbara.
Edward would be appalled if he knew what she was doing this evening. Nor did he care for Palmer. She had to admit there was something unsettling about Barbara’s brother. Darkness lay beneath his polite façade, a certain danger barely hidden.
The thought nearly made her shiver. Though she told herself that very danger was what drew her to agree to Barbara’s suggestion that he take them to the
