The Lords of Kendal Manor

Chapter 16

Lachlan retreated to the library not only to better ignore the likely events occurring upon the floor above him but to begin reading several farming almanacs he discovered within the journal section.

Assuming a pose much like Charlotte's earlier that day, he settled down to read into the night. Charlotte, it seemed, had other ideas.

The hallway door opened, and the dreaded woman snuck through it before it snicked closed behind her.

"What are you reading?" She asked, walking around to face him.

She wore a soft blue nightgown, cinched at the waist with a royal blue ribbon. Her hair, loosely braided, fell over her wounded shoulder. She was petite, the silky material covering the soft cotton of her night rail doing nothing to hide the fact.

Charlotte's dark eyes implored him, and his heart felt sore, only remembering to beat after several false starts. His memories of her didn't do justice for the reality – she was beautiful.

Lifting the almanac, he showed her the cover.

"A farming almanac?" She asked, looking at him curiously.

He returned to the publication and adjusted it to sit properly upon his knees, the move dismissive of her. However, Charlotte stepped toward his feet resting against the cushion, turned, and sat upon the arm of the sofa.

"I am still angry." She offered, causing his stomach to clench. "But I'm not angry at you, well, a little, but not entirely." She reasoned.

He said nothing, but he couldn't stop staring at her. She waited for a reply and even looked at him briefly from the corner of her eye.

Sighing, she continued.

"You were never overly talkative, Lachlan, but you always managed conversation with me. Do you believe we might manage that again?" She asked softly, turning her head to view him better, her dark eyes falling to view his chest, where the wound remained.

It hurt him to see her this way, but he didn't know what to say or how to behave.

Time... he needed time to get used to her being around him again.

Audrey claimed the rights to his bed in France because she bided her time. Yet this was an unfair association when Charlotte was a maiden without such design, and Audrey was a seasoned seductress.

But Audrey never claimed his heart, and the affair ended poorly. When he reflected upon it, it was an oversight how he didn't anticipate – that Audrey would develop such strong affection for him during their trists. The woman wept bitterly in the end, railing and screaming injustice and leaving him feeling betrayed that she expected more from their association when the rules of engagement were laid out early in the affair.

Any association with Charlotte would involve his heart, for he continued to love her despite what she may think.

Lachlan's prolonged thoughts suffered a timely reply, so Charlotte took his silence as an answer, sighed and lifted from the sofa's edge.

Lifting his foot while her back was turned, he touched where she rested, feeling the remains of her heat upon the bolstered arm before it dissipated.

Charlotte walked to the card table, where two chairs were stationed beneath it, her fingers trailing lightly across the backs of each chair, igniting Lachlan imagination and allowing him to believe those same fingers trailed lightly across his shoulders caressing him.

His fixation upon her fingers continued as she took a slow turn of the room, trailing them along spines and fondling the barley twists of the shelving.