An English Lord's Love Affair

Chapter 20.1.1. A Perfectly Sinful Reputation

   Another week passed. Charlotte felt herself slipping back into the restive state that had dampened her spirits after her father and Bernard had died. The world gradually began to look gray again. She felt uneasy, on edge, as if she had been turned inside out.

   She had not heard a word from Benedic.

   Did he realize how she worried about him? Did he know that she was on the verge of staging a private hunt for him? He probably wasn't thinking about her at all. True to Charlotte's habit of making horrible choices, she had lost her heart to a phantom, a man who had no room in his life, or what was left of it, for love.

   But life for the rest of the world continued on. In the midst of Charlotte's private conflict, she was dimly aware that the ladies of Chistlebury had thrown themselves heart and soul into planning their annual bal masqué. The local assembly room was swept of its cobwebs and dust balls, the century-old chandelier was polished and restored with fresh candles, chairs were brought out of storage.

   If anyone asked, the village patroness claimed they were hoping to raise funds from the ball to patch the schoolmaster's roof, to provide a few more coal braziers for the chilly parish church, and to repair the steeple.

   In reality, the masquerade dance provided the perfect background for all the matchmaking mamas whose debutante daughters had returned from their last London Season without the coveted marriage proposals they'd been sent to procure.

   As Chistlebury boasted only a few eligible young men, the annual ball had become a frantic competition of sorts. This year's event promised to be even more intense than usual. For one thing, the desirable Viscount Strathmere would not be present. For another, the lovely Charlotte Brumidge seemed to be in the lead for Lord Sinclair's affection.

   Then last, but not least, an exciting newcomer had just landed in Chistlebury on his way to London. A duke's heir, it was said, who was in the market for a quiet country home. The fact that this magnetic adventurer, Lord Overton, had a tainted reputation did not discourage the league of wedlock-obsessed mothers from placing him at the top of their lists to impress.

   Who among them would not secretly wish her daughter to become a duchess? The little matter of Lord Overton's murky past as a mercenary could be tidily swept under the Aubusson carpet of his Mayfair mansion. His exploits in foreign lands could considered heroic, if one chose to look at it that way, and not believe the rumors of his dealings with opium-eaters and pirates.

   For her part Charlotte paid no attention at all to their chatter. It had become an effort to engage in civilized conversation at all, and she alone knew the reason for Aleister's appearance in the village. Her aunt was so concerned about Charlotte's lapse into despondency that she wrote to Geordo in London, asking his advice. Yes, the entire family knew Charlotte had been a little moody for some time, but she had seemed to be so uplifted lately, and she and James were clearly not as friendly as they had been.

   Charlotte woke up on the day of the and decided she would throttle the first person who asked her if she felt better. She went straight to her dressing closet and opened her trunk, as she had done every morning. Of course there was no sign from her elusive Benedic. No way of knowing when or if she would ever see him again.

   The only thing that had kept her grumpy spirits going was the fact that she had almost broken Bernard's code. She had found the numbers that represented a and e, and from there her work should become easier. Henry had studied the art of cryptology at college. He'd taught Charlotte that the codes used during the war were not as complicated as one would imagine.

   There was usually no time to decipher a message in the middle of the battlefield, or when a young corporal captured a dispatch. Most of the ciphers were mathematically based, using a chain of numbers. Even so, it took Charlotte forever to figure out that the number 2 represented h in one column. In the next column, three letters down, the number 2 had become j.

   It took a certain perception, a methodical and intuitive skill, to see patterns that others missed. She did not look forward to explaining to Henry how the code had come into her possession.

   Benedic's secret had complicated her life in ways neither of them could have foreseen. The day passed slowly. As evening fell, she bathed and put on her costume for the masquerade ball, a pink gauze dress with silver tissue wings to represent the fairy queen, Tatiana. Even the circlet of pink silk rosebuds on her head looked wrong to her. She didn't feel in the least bit airy or playful. She wanted to bite off someone's head.

   She had no reason to look forward to the ball.

   "Wear your scandalous corset tonight," Paulina urged her as the maid dressed her hair. "It might put you in a better mood."

   And so Charlotte did, either as an act of protest against Benedic leaving her worry or as a talisman to lure him back to her, she could not decide.

   "All right," she whispered as she and Paulina crowded into the carriage together for the ride to the assembly room. "I took your advice. I'm wearing a certain shameful garment under my costume, but don't you dare tell anyone, or else."

   Paulina, dressed up as a medieval princess, grinned in illicit approval. "Perhaps the soon-to-be-duke will take a fancy to you."

   Charlotte's heart missed a few beats. "What are you talking about?"

   "The rogue every woman in Chistlebury has been talking about while you were locked away in your tower, Rapenzel. Honestly, Charlotte, he's probably the last man your family would want you to marry. He has a perfectly sinful reputation, but I hear he's as handsome as they come."

   All of Charlotte's senses went on the alert.

   "He's coming to the ball?"

   "That's what I was told," Paulina whispered.

   Gooseflesh prickled Charlotte's arms. Aleister, attending the ball? Was it a good sign or a bad that he was appearing at a country dance? She wondered if he would give her a message from Benedic, whether it was news she wanted to hear, or whether Aleister attending was merely to alleviate his boredom. Chistlebury's social life did tend to put one to sleep.