A Secret Affair (10 page)

“What do you want from me, Charlie?”

The two words were a husky whisper. “A kiss.”

Frances’s eyes went wide. “Wh … What?” she whispered.

“A kiss. The same thing you asked of me after you won your bid.”

Tears filled Frances’s eyes. Now she was certain of it. He was just playing with her. Perhaps trying to experiment. Convince himself. It was ridiculous, and she refused to be a part of it.

Even if she had been wrong about him, beautiful, perfect Charlie Holloway couldn’t possibly fancy her. Not like that. He’d made it clear on more than one occasion. Some stupid male pride had made him challenge Sir Stuart for her tonight. Pride and perhaps jealousy. If she married Stuart, she and Charlie would stop being friends. But Frances wanted marriage, love, children. And she wouldn’t allow Charlie to play with her.

She shook her head, swallowing against the lump in her throat. “No, Charlie. I won’t kiss you.”

He took a step toward her, reached for her. She backed away. He stopped.

“Why, Frances? Are you frightened?”

She clenched her jaw, tears escaping her eyelids. She hated herself for it. “I might be frightened, Charlie, but at least I’m honest about who I am.”

She ran from the room, slamming the door behind her.

CHAPTER 21

One hour later, Charlie was resting comfortably in a large leather chair in Colton’s study. He had a brandy in one hand and a mountain of regret in his chest. He’d scared Frances off, acted inappropriately, and frankly, he was damaging her life. She’d made the decision to marry Sir Stuart, and Charlie had interfered tonight.

Charlie eyed the room’s two other occupants. Jordan lounged in the chair across from him and Colton sat behind the desk.

“Two hundred and fifty pounds,” Jordan whistled. “Gotta tell you, old chap, you surprised me.”

“I surprised myself,” Charlie murmured. He leaned his head against the back of the chair and ran the fingers of his free hand through his hair. Now he’d done it. Really done it. He’d managed to make Frances hate him. He was angry at himself for everything. Every action he’d taken since the night of the bachelor auction. He’d behaved like an ass at every turn.

Colton took a swig of his brandy. “You put on quite a show, I’ll give you that.”

Jordan nodded. “What did you say to her, by the by, when the two of you left the room? Annie was on tenterhooks to find out.”

Charlie closed his eyes and groaned. “Does it matter? Suffice it to say I made a bigger fool of myself.” He reopened his eyes and smiled wanly at his brother.

Jordan grinned widely. “Sounds about right.”

A knock sounded at the door. At Colton’s call, the door opened, and Annie came shuffling into the room, the back of her hand pressed to her forehead. Giving Jordan and Charlie a weak smile, she made her way over to the desk and took the seat vacated by Jordan for her. “Ugh. It feels like a quartet is playing a jig in my head,” she said, resting her head in her palm. “Why, oh why, did I drink so much wine?”

“I tried to tell you to stop, my love,” Jordan reminded her.

“I know. And I promise to listen to you from now on,” she groaned.

“May I get that in writing, please?” Jordan asked with a grin.

Annie shot him a look, then smiled too. She turned to Charlie.

“I owe you an apology, Charlie.”

Charlie continued to rest his head against the back of the chair. “For what?”

She winced. “For putting you in that position, for coming up with that idiotic bachelor auction idea in the first place, for asking you to give Sir Stuart competition tonight, and…” She took a long breath. “…for something else you don’t even know about yet.”

Jordan raised both brows. “You asked him to give Sir Stuart competition?”

Colton shook his head and took another swig of brandy.

Annie looked sheepish. “Yes, you might as well know. And I asked him not to tell you. But that was before I came up with that awful wine-induced idea to have another auction tonight.”

“You’re going to have a worse time explaining yourself to your sister in the morning,” Colton added.

“Don’t I know,” Annie answered. “She thinks I’m in bed right now. She’d have an apoplexy if she knew I was down here with you. We’re not married yet, after all.”

Charlie cleared his throat. “Yes, well. Sorry to interrupt, but I’m a bit preoccupied with that last thing you said, Annie. The bit about something else I don’t even know yet?”

Annie wrinkled her nose. “Yes. That’s why I came here. To apologize and to … confess.”

Colton coughed into his hand. “Why do I have a feeling this isn’t going to be good?”

Jordan gave her a warning glance. “Annie? What have you done?”

She rubbed her temples. “May I just ask that if you’re going to yell at me, any of you, you wait until morning? Tonight my head feels as if it might split in two.”

Charlie rubbed his hand roughly across the back of his neck. “
That
depends entirely upon what you tell me.”

“I was afraid you would say that,” Annie replied.

“Watch out, Charlie.” Jordan laughed. “When she bites her lip like that, she’s been up to something particularly egregious. That’s her tell.”

“Go ahead,” Charlie said to Annie. “I don’t know how this night could get much worse.”

Annie took a deep breath and wrung her hands. “It seems that Frances …
may
be under the impression that you…”

Charlie sat up straight and narrowed his eyes on Annie. “Go on.”

Annie squeezed her eyes shut. “She may be under the impression that you are—ahem—light in the instep.”

The color drained from Colton’s face.

Jordan cursed under his breath.

Brandy shot out of Charlie’s nose. It burned fiercely. He clutched at his handkerchief, ripping it from his pocket, coughing, wiping his face, and trying to address Annie simultaneously. “She thinks
what
!”

Annie winced. “You see, after you kissed her at the Chathams’ and told her you weren’t interested, I
may
have suggested that you
may
not prefer the company of females and I—”

Jordan’s laughter interrupted her speech.

“Shut up!” Charlie ordered his brother.

Annie’s face turned white. “I was only supposing, you see. To make Frances feel better, but then she saw you and Lord Avery and—”

Jordan’s whoop of laughter blocked out her next few words. “Saw you and Lord Avery doing
what
?” Jordan asked, nearly doubling over this time.

Annie gave her groom a glare. “I don’t see what you find so funny. There’s nothing in the least to laugh at about a man who doesn’t prefer women.”

Jordan’s grin was unrepentant. “No. No. I quite agree with you, my love. I’ve known plenty of men who I suspect are, as you say, light in the instep and good chaps, every one. I’m only laughing at the fact that you told Miss Birmingham that
Charlie
happens to be that way when I’m
entirely
certain he is not. Why, I’ve seen him with enough women to—” He cleared his throat, clearly thinking better of finishing that particular sentence.

“I can vouch for him in that quarter too,” Colton added, a smirk on his face.

Tossing his handkerchief aside, Charlie lunged forward in his seat, clutching the arms of the chair. He searched Annie’s face. “Tell me you’re jesting,” he ground out.

Annie bowed her head. “No, I’m afraid I’m not.”

Charlie lowered himself back into his seat, grinding his teeth to keep from cursing at his future sister-in-law.

“Does Lily know about this?” Colton asked Annie with one brow arched.

Annie shook her head.

“Of course not,” Colton replied.

Charlie addressed his remarks to Annie again. “So, you’re telling me, that Frances actually believes that I’m … I’m … not interested in women?”

Annie nodded, a purely guilty look on her face.

Charlie watched her carefully. “You’re quite certain she believes that? About me?”

Another nod from Annie. “Apparently, she heard Lady Lenora conjecture to that effect as well. All things together and I’m afraid Frances was quite convinced of it. To be honest, I wasn’t completely certain either. Until tonight…”

Charlie looked twice at Annie. “You must be— Tell me, what happened tonight to change your mind?” Was he in a bad dream?

“I saw you … how you looked at Frances,” Annie murmured. “I was certain then.”

Charlie closed his eyes, remembering the day that Frances had tumbled in on him and Lord Avery. He hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but he supposed it might have looked quite bad, especially when one’s sister-in-law had speculated upon the matter. And if Lady Lenora had started rumors to that effect as well, even more evidence.

He’d have to put a stop to it all immediately, of course. Men could be thrown in jail for such offenses. But more than any worry over his own neck was his mortification that Frances thought he didn’t want her. She must have believed he was playing with her. Or simply trying to ruin her chances with Sir Stuart. She had to think he was a complete ass. Oh hell, he didn’t know what she thought of him and his bid on her tonight, but she must be damned confused. He’d tell her, explain himself, explain it all. As soon as possible.

Annie stood and slinked toward the door.

“Not so fast, Miss,” Jordan said. “What exactly do you plan to do to make things right?”

“Charlie, I am sorry. Truly I am,” Annie said, her fingers resting on the door handle. “I’ll tell Frances the truth, I promise.”

“
I’ll
tell Frances the truth,” Charlie thundered.

Not only would he tell her, he’d
show
her.

CHAPTER 22

Frances couldn’t sleep. She lay in bed in the guest room of Lord Colton’s house, her white shift stifling her, tossing and turning. What had Charlie been about, bidding on her tonight? Wouldn’t she like to believe he actually cared for her? In the way she wanted him to? In the way a man could care for a woman if he was not … wholly uninterested in women.

Was he just being spiteful? Or did he really think Sir Stuart was that unsuitable for her? It made no sense.

She barely heard the quiet knock on her door.

“Come in,” Frances called softly, grabbing her spectacles off the bedside table and settling them on her nose.

The door creaked open, and Annie stood there in the shadow from the corridor, biting her lip. She held a lit candle on a stick in her hand. “Did I wake you?”

Frances pushed herself up against the pillows. “No, not at all. I couldn’t sleep. Come in.”

Annie padded over and set the candlestick on the bedside table. Frances moved to make room for her, and Annie took a seat on the edge of the mattress.

“What is it, Annie?” Frances asked. “That look on your face worries me.”

Annie plucked at the coverlet. “I came to … confess.”

“Confess what?”

Annie took a deep breath. “Jordan and Charlie don’t know I’m here. In fact, Charlie told me not to tell you, but I just couldn’t sleep without setting things right.”

“Setting things right?” Frances furrowed her brow. “What things?”

Annie reached over and squeezed Frances’s hand. “It’s about Charlie. He’s not … well, that is to say. It seems he does indeed prefer women.”

Frances pressed a hand against her chest. Why was it difficult to breathe all of a sudden? “He … He does? Are you quite certain?”

“Quite. I asked him. He confirmed it and so did Jordan and Devon. They were very emphatic. It appears I made a terrible mistake implying—”

Frances shook her head. “But it wasn’t just you. What about Lord Avery?”

“What exactly did you see?” Annie asked.

Frances searched her memory. “Not much to be honest. But at the time, with the rumors and the conjecture, it had seemed like … well, it had all seemed quite probable.”

“He was just meeting with Lord Avery,” Annie replied.

“But what about Lady Lenora?” Frances asked.

“Seems Charlie rebuffed her advances, and she was none too pleased. She can’t imagine a man who wouldn’t want her. You know that.”

“But … But…” Frances dropped her hand in her lap, a hundred thoughts swirling through her mind. Blast it. Her flighty imagination had conjured up an entire tale about what Charlie and Lord Avery had been up to in the study. The truth was she actually hadn’t seen anything indecent whatsoever.

“It seems we’ve made a terrible mistake.” Annie sighed.

“You’re certain?”

Annie nodded slowly. “Entirely. I was just in the study with them. Charlie’s actually quite unhappy with the prospect that you believe he is.”

“Truly?” Frances couldn’t help her smile.

“Yes.” Annie nodded. “And if it wasn’t indecent, I think he’d be up here tonight himself to tell you.”

“Truly?” Frances’s smile grew even wider.

“Oh, Frances. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I ever said it. I was only trying to make you feel better, really, but it did stand to reason that he might be … if he had no interest in
you
and … I’m sorry but it seems he’s not. Not at all. Can you ever forgive me?”

Frances nodded. “I understand, Annie. You were just being a loyal friend.”

“So you’re not angry with me?”

“How could I be? It’s not your fault your brother-in-law does indeed fancy women.”

They both laughed.

Annie sighed. “I do feel as if I’ve made a mess of this entire thing. I just wanted so much for the two of you to make a match. I pushed you into that auction and then I made mad assumptions, and now I’m, well, I’m just sorry, Frances. That’s all. And you’ve been so lovely what with staying with me and helping me with the wedding preparations.”

Frances leaned over and hugged her friend. “Oh, Annie. You wouldn’t be you if you weren’t like this. You’re always up to something. And I love you for all the things you’ve done to try and help me.”

Annie gave her a brilliant smile. “I’m so relieved you’re not angry with me. Don’t worry, we’ll find someone wonderful for you to marry. If not Sir Stuart, then—”

Frances wagged her finger. “Oh, no, you mistake me, Miss Andrews.”