The Unwanted Heiress Read Online Free

young men.”
    Charlotte studied Lady Victoria with interest, relieved to hear views so similar to her own. She couldn’t abide the abysmal lack of intelligence most women seemed determined to exhibit around the male sex, as if rampant idiocy would make them more attractive.
    “My nephew has more sense, my dear. Believe me. ”
    “ The way he follows you about—worshiping you— hardly inspires me with faith in his perspicacity.”
    Mr. Archer’s brows waggled in amusement. “But that is precisely why I am so convinced of his intelligence.”
    Lady Victoria laughed and shook her head as her grinning husband finally took his leave.
    “Now, my dear Miss Haywood, would you care for a cup of tea or would you rather go to your room to rest?”
    “Tea would be lovely, Lady Victoria,” Charlotte said. She had barely walked three blocks from the Westovers’ house to the Archers’ townhouse. In truth, she needed neither the cup of tea nor a rest, but she hoped to stay longer than a month or two, so she was determined to be agreeable.
    Thankfully during the last few minutes, her anxiety had dwindled until it seemed like a bad dream. She liked the Archers and felt strangely at home with the pair. They were both so cheerful and unabashedly affectionate with each other that she longed to find the right path to friendship. She wanted to be part of their home. Her heart ached to belong.
    All she had to do was hold her tongue for three short years.
    “So, Miss Haywood, have you been in England long?”
    Startled, Charlotte caught Lady Victoria’s curious gaze. “Actually, yes. I’ve been here eight years.”
    “You’ve lived with the Westovers for eight years?”
    “ Oh no, I’ve only been with the Westovers for a few months.”
    Lady Victoria’s finely arched brows rose. Her gray eyes shone with intelligence and sympathy. “Oh?”
    “I suppose I should explain.” Charlotte suppressed a sigh. “Perhaps it is simpler if I start at the beginning as it will save misunderstandings.”
    “Undoubtedly. I always prefer it when tales begin at the beginning.” Lady Victoria’s lips twitched.
    Brightening, Charlotte released a breath and let out a small, breathy laugh.
    Lady Victoria reached over and squeezed her hand just as the butler opened the door. He ushered in a maid carrying a tea tray, liberally festooned with lace and covered with plates of seed cakes, biscuits, and a large silver pot of tea. In solemn silence, the butler pushed aside the dishes already on the table. He nearly spilled two cups half-filled with milky coffee before he could make enough room for the tea service.
    Taking charge, Lady Victoria poured a cup for Charlotte and grinned when she requested it without milk or sugar.
    “Would you like a cake?” Lady Victoria asked, holding the plate out to her.
    “No, thank you.” Charlotte took a deep breath and then put off her confession for another minute by draining her teacup. Lady Victoria refilled it, although she kept her gray eyes on Charlotte’s face. “Well,” Charlotte started again. “My mother and father passed away when I was three.”
    Lady Victoria nodded, but didn’t offer any embarrassing expressions of sympathy.
    “My mother’s sister lived with us in Charleston, that is Charleston, South Carolina,” Charlotte said. “So I lived with her for a number of years. Unfortunately, she died of influenza during the winter of eighteen-ten. That is when I was sent to England.” She shivered involuntarily, remembering the freezing weather and the long, cold voyage. Her ice-stiffened cloak never seemed to keep out the chill on the ship, and after she arrived in London, the cold permanently settled around her. “My father’s brother had estates near Brighten. So, he invited me to live with his family.”
    She didn’t mention that two months after her arrival, her uncle had sent her to the first of a series of Swiss boarding schools for well-bred young women. There had been three in all.