Page 43 of Always the Chaperone

His hand had not left her arm, and Charlotte suddenly felt the need to escape his touch, to free herself from this anchor.

“You say that so easily,” she said quietly. “I am still becoming acquainted with you. It is only a few weeks since we first met.”

“You know all the important things about me.”

She shook her head. It could not be this simple. “No, there is so much about you I do not know. Your favorite color, piece of music, where you were born, the food you hate.”

“Those things do not matter,” he said. “What matters is how I feel about you. How we feel about each other. What I do not understand is whether you feel anything for me.”

She hesitated. What did she feel for him? How could she translate desire into words? The heat she felt every time he looked at her, how whenever she was in his presence, she never wanted to leave, and when any other woman spoke to him, she wanted to rip her away from him, for William was Charlotte’s.

But it was deeper than that. The way he laughed, that lilt in his voice when he thought he was going to say something amusing. The grin he made when someone else did. Every facet of him made her love him more.

It was notherfeelings she doubted.

She bit her lip. It was time to voice one of the deepest concerns she had, and her cheeks burned to even think it here at church.

“Perhaps…perhaps you merely wish to seduce me.”

At the worst possible moment, the organ music rose in volume, and Reverend Michaels started walking down the nave toward the altar.

“Come on,” William muttered. His grip on her arm changed, becoming a pull that forced her to her feet.

“What?”

It was clear now that his intention was that she join the Lennox siblings, who almost took up an entire pew on their own. She sat at the end of the pew with William on her right. Lady Prudence was staring at her curiously.

“Good morning, dear friends,” Reverend Michaels began with a smile as he gazed at his flock. “And what a wonderful morning it is. As we come together to celebrate the bounty of spring and the coming of summer, we look to God, the Creator…”

“If I merely wished to seduce you,” a low whisper spoke into her ear, “then I would have abandoned your company long ago. Charlotte, you are important to me. Our time together is important to me. I was under the impression you enjoyed it, too.”

Charlotte clasped her hands tightly in her lap.

“Why would I go to the trouble of introducing my sister to you if I was not serious in my intentions?

She glanced at him. “Intentions?”

“You must think me an awful cad if you do not believe I have greater plans than sitting beside you in church one morning. One day, I would like to meet you at that altar with Reverend Michaels and a few witnesses in attendance.”

She would not read more in his words than was already there.

“We will start with hymn number fifty-nine,” the reverend directed.

Though she knew the hymn, she made no attempt to sing. How could she?I am Lady Charlotte St. Maur,she told herself.You do not have to do anything, speak to anyone, or do anything unless you want to.

The church service disappeared in a blur punctuated by moments of accidental intimacy, her hand brushing up against William’s as they placed their hymnals back on the pew.

It was almost a relief when Reverend Michaels brought his hands together. “Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.”

“We will,” Charlotte chorused automatically with the congregation.

John rose quickly. “Pru and I will see you outside, William, do not rush.”

They were gone before Charlotte could say anything more in apology to the youngest Lennox.

“John is quite eager that we continue as friends, you know,” William said quietly. “Despite any…misunderstandings.”

She gave a wry laugh. “Friends? William, I hardly know what that word would mean for us. Friends, acquaintances, lovers, courters? What are we?”