An English Lord's Love Affair

Chapter 13.4. Seed Of Distrust

   Sir Edward stood alone with Charlotte on the stone entrance steps while the rest of her family climbed into carriage for the brief drive home.

   "Thank you for the pleasure of your company, Lady Charlotte. I wish I could have offered you a more entertaining evening."

   She forced herself to meet his regard. He seemed gallant, refined, and yet the seed of distrust, of horror, had been planted in her mind. "I was well entertained, Sir Edward," she replied cordially.

   Heavens, that was true enough. Thinking of the way Benedic had kissed her in the dark, had caressed her body, brought a searing blush to her skin. No one had ever entertained her like that. And now she knew the basis, if not the details, of his story. Her curiosity had been satisfied while other parts of her nature were aroused.

   Sir Edward smiled. "I wonder if Chistlebury will hold either of us here much longer. I begin to miss the art of battle, and you clearly belong in London, Lady Charlotte, where you can be admired."

   For a moment Charlotte wondered if he was warning her away. "You flatter me, Sir Edward." And frightened her even more.

   To think that such a distinguished man could be a killer. Or that he'd played a hand in Bernard's death. Was it possible? Had Benedic made a terrible mistake? Yet someone had made a monstrous attempt to murder him, and Sir Edward stood to gain a gain a great deal from his inheritance. Charlotte decided to put her trust in Benedic. She was not about to take any chances.

"You sweet little thing," Aunt Penelope cooed to the massive dog who sat in watchful silence at the mossy steps of Crowbridge Hall. "Look how obedient you are."

   "Look at the size of him," Uncle Humphrey said in a disgruntled voice. "I don't suppose I'll be having steak chops this weeks."

   "You are enough at Sir Edward's table tonight to last you until Christmas."

   Sir Humphrey ignored the insult, watching as Charlotte and Paulina entered the house arm in arm, Ares following in their shadow. He cared deeply for those two young women and was surprised how determined he was to guard them. "I did not take to our new neighbor, Pennie."

   The usual argument that he expected from his spirited wife did not come. "Nor did I, to be frank," she said in an undertone. "A man who dislikes dogs cannot be trusted."

   Benedic watched the carriage disappear down the drive, craving one last glimpse of Charlotte's face. Her taunting smile was an image to keep with him in the darkness. When the shadows began to suffocate him again, he would think of her and how she had brightened his hellish realm. He would remember how it had felt to laugh and be himself, to lower his guard and trust another as he had once done so easily.

   In a way he was glad that Ares had gone with her. The damned dog had become a liability. But no more so than Benedic's involvement with the desirable lady who had learned his deepest secrets.

   His mood sinking, he returned to his hiding place. In the drive below he could see Edward staring after the carriage. The perfect host. The perfect soldier. The man who had betrayed his own country and family for gold, who had killed without conscience. It made Benedic's flesh crawl to think of his uncle staring at Charlotte.

   He stood for a moment inside the passageway. He needed to work on the coded letter—it required a focus he did not seem to be able to muster. It fit somehow into the puzzle of Edward's treachery, but who had written it? Who was it meant to reach?

   He trudged down the steps to the cellar. God, no wonder he could not think clearly in this dank hole. The oppressive gloom muddled his mind. He needed to breathe. He needed the brisk night air.

   Almost a half hour later he crawled from the chalk tunnel that had been carved into the down and emerged from a wooden trapdoor on the floor of the abandoned mill. The journey seemed endless tonight, and he was almost drunk with relief as he broke outside into the night.

   A twig snapped in the dirt. He reached inside his waistband for his pistol. For the second time that evening he had company.

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