Heart's Desire

Chapter Three

The morning dawned bright, but Charity's mood was sour. It was as if Mother Nature were mocking her. Out of her window, happy, puffy white clouds set against a vibrantly blue sky were on display. They did nothing to soothe her bad temper.

Five days had passed with Charity and Lord Wrotham living together as strangers. They took meals separately and stayed out of one another's way. Yet, she was ever aware of the fact that she was being watched.

Lord Wrotham was not someone who drew people near him with his sunny personality. Therefore, Charity trusted her servants. They wouldn't betray her. Their loyalty was secure. Instead, the task of spying fell to his lordship's servants - those who'd arrived with him or who'd been hired afterward. Charity knew that the jobs the footmen asked for or the questions the valet put to her were a ruse to come close enough to see what she was doing. The new maids watched her more often than what they were cleaning. She'd even caught her husband glowering at her from another room while she performed some chores.

With a sigh, Charity rose from the bed. Scowling at all the summer beauty Mother Nature displayed out her window, she made her way to a chipped pitcher and basin. With so much on her mind, sleep eluded her. She knew she was fast becoming as unpleasant as Lord Wrotham, but she could see no immediate cure for her malady.

Patting her face dry, Charity noted in the mirror above the washstand the dark circles beneath her eyes. They were silent proof of yet another sleepless night. The answer to her dilemma had yet to reveal itself. Should she act the immoral wife, or tell Lord Wrotham the truth of how the twins came to be hers?

Throwing the towel down with a sharp exhalation, Charity mumbled, "I hope his lordship slept as poorly."

Lord Wrotham reclaimed the master's chambers. It was the one room Charity had steered clear of upon her arrival nearly ten years ago. The room had been neglected, and she found herself hoping the mattress was lumpy and lice-filled. She'd watch for evidence of a rash, she decided, her mood brightening somewhat.

Of course, Mrs. Rogers, the housekeeper, would not have allowed such infestations to occur under her watch. In reality, the chamber was likely only overrun with a few dust bunnies. Charity's spirits plummeted once more.

The following day of Lord Wrotham's arrival, Charity had played the coward and hid in her room. She hadn't spoken to him since their conversation in the dining room. Yet the tension between them built. The staff felt it as well. New and old, they walked on eggshells whenever master or mistress was in sight.

In turn, Charity's servants felt the need to keep her informed of Lord Wrotham's activities. At least twice a day, Rogers groused that he'd yet to find a carpenter to repair the front door, and Lord Wrotham kept pestering him about the state of the once-stately portal. It would no longer latch correctly and blew open with the first stiff breeze. It had been thus for two months now, and with the twins being mobile, it'd been deemed best to keep the door bolted. Why his lordship was so adamant about it being fixed became something of a mystery to the butler. He was wont to point out that keeping it locked worked just fine.

As she no longer had to pay for the repairs, Charity told Rogers that replacing the door was for the best. It galled to have to agree with her husband on anything. However, Lord Wrotham came and went through it regularly. If it weren't appropriately latched, the twins could take off and become lost or, worse, hurt.

Grabbing a dress out of the wardrobe, Charity laid it on the bed. The missive to Charles had taken her but a moment to write. It was now traveling on its way to him. Since then, she had little to do but to mull over her current predicament as she awaited her brother's reply. No matter how she wished differently, she felt she'd be stuck with an unwanted husband. Unlikely as it seemed, Lord Wrotham sounded serious about reconciliation. That made her wonder at the why. After all these years, why was now he so keen on having a real marriage?