How to Turn a Frog into a Prince - Bree Wolf Page 0,107

ought to have spoken her mind and demanded he do so as well.

For she always had, had she not?

Heaven help her, but she would do so again.

Chapter Forty-Six

Lord Ashhaven Interferes

Awkward didn’t even begin to describe it.

Seated in the drawing room, Nathanial had been roped into attending Daphne’s and Susan’s tea party. They had set up their armada of dolls in a small circle around the coffee table, Mrs. Colden’s good dishes artfully arranged upon it, and were animatedly discussing whether the biscuits were best on their own or dunked in the tea.

Every once in a while, Daphne would look up and glance out the windows overlooking the terrace. “I wish we could have a picnic,” she sighed for at least the tenth time.

Susan nodded. “I do as well.” Then she glanced at him. “Don’t you agree?”

Casting her a warm smile, Nathanial nodded. “A picnic sounds marvelous.” Unfortunately, though, the skies had opened not long ago and were still releasing torrents of rain upon the unsuspecting ground.

While the girls continued their conversation, alternately speaking as themselves and for their various dolls, Nathanial found his thoughts drawn to the moment on the terrace.

Indeed, Abigail’s kiss had shocked him, but it had also helped him realize that his heart truly no longer beat for her. Yes, he had been angry with her these past two years, dwelling on her betrayal and his disappointment, however, he had failed to notice at what point he had stopped caring.

What he understood with perfect clarity, though, was why Abigail no longer held his heart.

“Where is Charlaine?” he asked the girls. “Didn’t she want to join your tea party?” His gaze swept over the open doors, leading out into the hall where Pierce and Lord Ashhaven just then strode by, their faces tense as they spoke to one another.

Daphne shrugged. “She went to look out the window and then she suddenly ran off.”

“Do you think she saw something frightening?” Susan asked with wide eyes. “Something like…?”

“Like what?” Daphne prompted.

Susan shrugged, the look in her eyes still tense as she glanced toward the terrace. “I don’t know.”

“There’s nothing frightening around here, silly,” Daphne laughed. “Don’t worry. Perhaps she only ran off to fetch more biscuits.”

That thought immediately eased Susan’s fears.

Rising to his feet, Nathanial began to pace.

While he worried about Abigail, unable to forget the forlorn look upon her face when he had made it clear that they did not have a future together, he still could not stop wondering where Charlaine had gone. It was not like her to disappear and leave the girls without a word. Had something upset her?

He tensed. Had she seen him and Abigail kiss on the terrace? After all, Daphne had said Charlaine had looked out the window and then run off. But why would it bother her to see him and Abigail together? Was she angry with him for forgiving Abigail after what had happened? There could be no other reason, could there? After all, Charlaine and he were merely friends.

That word was beginning to feel like a curse, a swear word, an insult, and he gritted his teeth against a wave of annoyance that suddenly rushed through him.

Without another word, Nathanial strode from the room, determined to find Charlaine and speak to her. He could no longer bear the distance that lingered between them. Yes, she still spoke to him, laughed and smiled, but there was something wrong in the way she met his gaze. She no longer spoke honestly, and he could almost see something hiding behind every word to leave her lips.

Rushing from room to room, Nathanial grew more and more frustrated when he continued to come up empty. It seemed the world had opened up and swallowed her whole. Where on earth could she be?

After at least half an hour of futile searching, Nathanial circled back to the drawing room, wondering if Charlaine had reappeared in his absence. His feet carried him toward the front hall in long strides when he suddenly stopped.

Across the hall, Charlaine stood near the doors to the drawing room, her back to him and her hands slightly balled at her sides. She seemed tense, even annoyed perhaps, and he wondered yet again what had sent her running from the room earlier.

Nathanial was just about to approach her when Lord Ashhaven stepped into the hall.

Without so much as a glance in Nathanial’s direction, the other man moved toward Charlaine with what seemed like single-minded intent.

Nathanial felt his insides tense. Something odd was going on.