Charming Sir Charles (Dashing Widows 5)

“I’ll just take the key, then. No need to worry yourself. I can see you’re on an errand.”

Nervously she touched her straw bonnet. Behind her, he saw two laden baskets and a small trunk. “My sister in Harborough isn’t well. She had a bairn last week, and she’s poorly after it. I’m off to run the house for her while she gets back on her feet.”

Harborough was a good thirty miles away. Mrs. Brown would be lucky to get there by nightfall, even if she left this minute. “Then you must go to her.”

“Oh, you are kind, Sir Charles. I can wait a few minutes and put a luncheon together for you, although I fear it will be plain fare.”

He shook his head. “We’ve eaten, thank you. You go ahead and never mind us. I’ll be back for the hunting in August.”

“Thank you, sir,” she said with another curtsy.

“The key?”

“Oh, dear, my head is all over the place today.” She disappeared into a room off the hallway and reappeared with a heavy iron key. “All should be in order. I went through and did a good clean at the start of the week.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Brown.” He accepted the key. “Let me know how your sister fares.”

He remounted and turned his horse down the long, winding drive to the house. Behind him, Meg clicked her tongue to the horses to get them moving. Sally remained silent. She’d been quiet for the whole trip. So much for his hopes that his company on the road might melt the ice between them.

They traveled through thick woods and emerged onto a graveled forecourt. Before them stood a delightful doll’s house of a building, red brick, three stories high, with tall windows and a steeply raked, tiled roof. Although he rarely visited, Charles had always been fond of this lovely little house, lost dreaming in its deep woods.

“This is lovely,” Sally said, taking in the charming view.

For once she spoke without prompting, even if she still didn’t look at him. He stopped his horse beside the carriage and smiled. “My father built it for my mother. I call it a hunting box, and that’s what I mostly use it for. But I have a feeling Papa intended it as a place to escape the children.”

“How romantic.” Sally’s voice was warmer than it had been in days. Whatever Meg was plotting, so far it seemed to be working. “I had a feeling you came from a happy family.”

What a turn up. Sally showed some interest in him. His hopes ratcheted up another notch. “Yes, I was lucky. Parents who doted on each other and on their five children. Four older sisters who adored their little brother. You’re lucky I’m not completely insufferable.”

To his delight, Sally laughed. It sounded rusty, but he wasn’t fussy. This was the closest they’d come in days to their old amity. “But of course modesty is one of your many perfections.”

He made an ironic bow in her direction. “Indeed it is.”

“Will you please show us through the house, Sir Charles?” Meg set the brake as he dismounted and tied his horse to the back of the carriage.

“It would be my pleasure.” He stepped over to help Sally alight.

By now he should be accustomed to the zap of response when he touched her, even through the decorous layers of their gloves. Her fingers trembled, and for a fleeting moment when her green eyes met his, he wondered if his case mightn’t be lost after all. His fingers tightened, and it took an effort to release her and help Meg down.

“My friend was right about the fine countryside, and this is such a pretty house.” Meg’s hand didn’t linger in his, and she ascended the flight of shallow steps toward the tall front door.

Sally lingered behind, looking around at the woods that encircled the clearing. There were no formal gardens around the house. Up to where the trees began, lawn scattered with wildflowers surrounded the building.

“It’s like something out of a fairytale. The Beast’s estate or Sleeping Beauty’s castle. I’m so glad you brought us here.”

A dreamy smile curved her lips. Damn it, he’d give up his hope of heaven if she looked at him like that.

“So am I,” Charles said fervently.

Her expression closed, and she cast him a wary glance. Blast. Sally might have gone back to speaking to him, but he needed to step carefully.

When he strode up to the door, the key turned with ease. The Browns were scrupulous caretakers. There were no creaky doors on this estate. The minute he stepped into the hall, behind the ladies, he smelled beeswax and lavender.

In the dimness, Sally and Meg were mere shadows, until he flung open the shutters to reveal a graceful hall with paneled walls and black and white floor tiles. Light flooded in to illuminate Sally in her dark green traveling dress. His heart turned a somersault and his breath caught. She was such a lovely woman. Surely fate couldn’t be so cruel as to bring this glorious creature into his orbit, then keep him from possessing her.

He sucked in his first full breath in what felt like days. Things headed in the direction he wanted. Right now, she looked much more like the vivacious lady he remembered from London. Her vivid face was alight with interest and pleasure as she looked around her.

“Does the house have a name?” Sally stood next to him and looked through the window at the pretty view.