had escaped his mouth without thought.
A slow smile spread across her face. “Well, then?”
Knowing when a battle was lost, Nathanial hung his head. Still, the hint of a smile teased his lips. “Very well, Miss P—” He caught himself. “Charlaine.” Her name left his tongue slowly, syllable for syllable.
She rewarded his efforts with a proud smile. “Now, about the shoes?”
Nathanial chuckled. “You’re relentless.”
“I know what I want,” Charlaine told him with a pointed look. “Do you?”
Nathanial sighed. “I’m not certain.”
“Well, that sounds like no.” She slipped her arm back through his and they continued down the path. “Perhaps you should work on that. Will you come to Pierce and Caroline’s engagement celebration tomorrow?”
“I’ve been invited.”
Charlaine chuckled. “That’s not an answer.”
Stopping, Nathanial turned to her. “Do you want me to come?” A nervous shiver teased his spine as her dark eyes looked up into his, and Nathanial knew that in no more than a short week’s time, she had made him care for her. No wonder she had managed to break Albert as well. It seemed no one stood a chance against her.
Except for the ton at large.
But that was their loss.
“Yes,” she said, a deep smile upon her face. “I want you to come. Of course, I do.”
Something warm settled upon Nathanial’s chest. “Then I’ll attend.”
However odd she had gone about it, Nathanial was glad that Charlaine had become his friend. The notion was still strange—after all, men and women could not simply be friends, could they? Still, it felt good to be able to speak to another, to have his company cherished, to know that his presence or absence was noted. Perhaps it was simply that Charlaine showed her affection without restraint, without thought for what was appropriate, without fear to be disappointed. She saw the good in the world, the good in people, and she refused to live anything but a happy life.
Nathanial felt awed whenever he looked at her.
And more grateful than he could say.
“And will you dance with me?” The grin upon her face told him that she did not truly expect him to agree. “Or are you afraid you’ll get hurt? I could leave off my shoes. It might hurt less.”
Nathanial chuckled. “It’ll be an engagement celebration, not a ball.”
“True,” Charlaine replied, and Nathanial could not help but feel that she wanted to add something to that simple statement. Something that started with However…
She did not though.
“Do you have any plans for the summer?”
Nathanial sighed. “Not yet.” In fact, over the past week, he had enjoyed not thinking ahead. It had been a new experience for him; one that had proved beneficial to his mood. After all, thinking ahead only meant planning his return to Boston. He could not very well stay in England indefinitely. He had a company to think of.
His father’s legacy.
Now that Zach had become the Earl of Pembroke, his brother was expected to remain in England and see to the duties that went hand in hand with that title. He would not be returning to America.
Not permanently.
Nathanial sighed at the thought that they would, from now on, be separated by an ocean, both on different continents. Once, they had lived their lives together, side by side, and now? Now, in all likelihood, years would pass between occasional visits. Once Zach and Becca became parents, the distance would only increase.
Nathanial was certain of it.
“You look sad,” Charlaine observed. “Is it your brother?”
How on earth had she come to know him so well in no more than a week’s time? “Life will no longer be the same.”
“Is that good or bad?”
Nathanial shrugged. “For him, I suppose it’s good. He’s happy.”
“And you?”
Again, he shrugged. “I don’t know where to go from here.”
Charlaine smiled up at him. “Then don’t make any decisions until you do. Promise me.”
Nathanial nodded. “And what about you? Will you remain in England for good?”
“There’s no place I’d rather be,” she told him, conviction in her voice. Still, a deep sadness rested in her eyes that made Nathanial wonder what had happened to her. By now, he had pieced a few things together from what she had told him, but everything else remained a mere suspicion, far from certainty. She had lost her family, but how? And when? And how had she found her way to Lord Markham? Quite obviously, they were close and shared some kind of history. Nathanial could not deny that he…cared to know.
After all, Charlaine was his friend and he wanted her to be happy. Was that