Page 29 of Falling for a Footman

“No,” he finally stated and drew it out in a questioning manner.

“Oh, thank goodness,” she exclaimed and sighed with relief. She uncrossed her arms and her fingers immediately tangled in the fabric of her dress. “I just... I was unsure since I had not made you promise and just assumed... I needed to be certain...”

Nothing like Mrs. Fuller now. Not in the least. The insecure girl that had just had her first kiss was back and James’s hands reached for her almost of their own accord, before he thought better of it and let them fall to his sides. Blast, why did she have to be this adorable? He had never met a woman that he had a harder time keeping his hands off.

“I would never tell anyone,” James declared reverently.

Charlotte nodded and bit her lip again. James waited to learn what else she had to say. This was often the best tactic when interrogating someone and he had found it useful in conversations as well. Even introverted people like Charlotte would often simply start talking if he did not say anything, which gave him the opportunity to learn about them.

“Thank you,” she finally seemed to settle on, which for some reason made his heart plummet to his stomach.

“You’re welcome,” he murmured.

She shifted slightly on her feet. The motion brought her face into the light from the moon, and he was finally able to see her grey eyes. They looked like pools of liquid silver in the moonlight. His breath caught in his throat at the sight, and he was unable to tear his gaze away from her. He saw her throat work as if she was afraid, as if she too felt exactly what he felt in this moment. It was that small motion in her throat and her wide eyes that made it so easy for him to close the distance between them. To ignore all his thoughts on how they could never be together and how he was taking advantage of a young and innocent girl. It was easy to ignore all that because this felt right. This felt more right, than it could ever feel wrong.

“Charlotte,” he breathed, and she only nodded once as her throat worked again.

That undid him. He drew her into his arms and gently placed his lips on hers. She did not even hesitate before returning the kiss and let her arms snake around his neck. Her warm tongue that had a minty taste from the powder she had recently used to clean her teeth met his as their tongues began a dance of exploration and excitement.

Blast it, she was lovely. She fitted against him so perfectly that it almost made him dizzy, and he wanted to back her up against the wall as much as for her support as his own. But before that – luckily, he supposed – Charlotte broke the kiss.

“Charlotte,” he breathed again, hoping for just one more kiss. Just one more time, before they had to stop this and acknowledge that they could never do it again.

“There is something I need to ask you,” Charlotte stated just breathlessly, but there was a determined look to her face, and he instantly knew that it was no trivial matter that she wanted to ask him.

Neither had time to respond before they heard a muffled call in the hallway outside the door and quickly backed away from each other.

“James?” the call in the hallway came again, much closer this time.

James stiffened when he heard Mr. Curtis’s voice.

“I need to go,” James exclaimed as he had already started towards the door. “Meet me tomorrow night. Do you know the Golden Silk Room?”

He only had time to see her nod before he exited the room and swiftly closed the door. When he walked towards Mr. Curtis in the dark hallway, he wondered how she had found him. If she was led by some force more powerful than herself just as he felt he had to have been when he had asked her to meet him.