The Rake and the Fake by Goldie Thomas

Author:Goldie Thomas
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Claire Pomeroy

Chapter 13

The next morning, Charlotte awoke to an empty room. She could hear Sarah through the thin wall, tending to the fire that just barely kept them warm. Charlotte pictured her friend, stooped low to avoid hitting her head on the slanted beams of the garret ceiling as she stoked the coals in the small grate.

She’d dreamt about Dorset that previous night, after she had returned safely home and trudged up the many stairs to her bed, exhausted. Almost as soon as she closed her eyes, he was there, running his hands through her hair and whispering beguiling nonsense into her ear.

The skin below this point belongs to me…

I wish for you to be bare to me except for your stockings…

Peaches, you are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen…

There’s no way the last was true—Charlotte wasn’t a swooning schoolgirl, easily led down the primrose path. She had marched down that path hand in strong hand with Dorset, once again unable to resist his pull toward her own emotional ruin.

The viscount was only one of two reasons Charlotte felt unsettled that morning. The other, of course, was her potential impending ladyship. She rolled onto her side, pulled her threadbare quilt up around her chin to keep out the chill, and wondered what life would be like if she could install herself in a home like the Sutton Abbey. Sarah entered.

“You were so late returning last night, I didn’t want to wake you,” she said, slipping behind the screen in the corner to dress.

“I hope you didn’t wait up for me,” Charlotte replied, idly twisting a loose quilt thread and letting her gaze fall on the small, grimy window tucked so near the roofline that it provided them little light, even on a rare sunny day.

When was the last time we spent a sunny day away from the shop?

“I knew better than that, you were in one of your moods,” said Sarah, doing up her buttons. “Did you manage to measure every yard in the store?”

“Not even close. I got distracted”

“Distracted? That’s not like you, Lottie.”

“True, although I had rather a lot to mull over,” she replied, sitting up in bed. It wouldn’t do to remain prone like some kind of invalid; decisions must be made, and an important one was just beginning to form, deep within the depths of her mind. “I’d barely started when Madame came and found me.”

“Did you tell her about the duke?”

“Indeed, I did. She’s thrilled for me,” said Charlotte. She got up, crossed the room to the wash basin in the corner, and dipped her hands into the cool water. As she rinsed her face and then patted her skin dry with a thin cloth, Sarah emerged from behind the screen.

“We’re all thrilled for you, Lottie. Or, we’re prepared to be, that is.” Charlotte could sense that her friend was being careful not to press her. What Sarah didn’t realize was that Charlotte no longer needed convincing.

The stark contrast between their dark, decrepit home and the lofty opulence of Sutton Abbey had shocked Charlotte upon her return.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.