The Unwanted Heiress Read Online Free Page B

husband is Mr. Archer?”
    “ I am the eldest daughter of a marquess, my dear. I have always been Lady Victoria.”
    “Then Mr. Archer is a—” Charlotte stopped in consternation. She’d been about to call him a commoner. How revolting. She was starting to sound as starchy and class-conscious as the rest of the British.
    Laughing, Lady Victoria picked up her tea cup and took a sip before shaking her head. “My family was quite upset, I believe, when I married Mr. Archer. However, I am not entirely sure it was his lack of a title which disturbed them. He was, after all, the fourth son of a duke.”
    “Oh?” She waited for Lady Victoria to explain why her family had not wanted their daughter to marry the fourth son of a duke. Was it just because he didn’t have a title himself? How very British.
    Then the oddity of her situation struck her. Surely, Charlotte would have heard if her family was in any way related to a duke?
    Lady Victoria, however, didn’t elaborate. “Why don’t you get some rest? We have an invitation to a soirée this evening. We will not stay long if you don’t wish to, but I always find it best to have some activity of that sort right away when I am settling into a new place. It prevents you from worrying over events that inevitably turn out for the best.”
    “But, I am not worried,” Charlotte protested.
    “Nonetheless, we’ll dragoon Mr. Archer and attend.”
    Charlotte smiled at her. “Thank you, Lady Victoria. You are very kind.”
    “Nonsense. I am simply bored. Now that you are here, our prospects have brightened enormously. I’ve always wanted a daughter.”
    “ I am afraid I may not be precisely what you had in mind.”
    “ You are wrong, Miss Haywood. It seems to me you are exactly the kind of girl I hoped my Mary would become, if she had lived. I couldn’t be more pleased.”
    “Thank you,” replied Charlotte rather doubtfully. “I only hope you don’t have cause to change your mind once we become better acquainted.”

Chapter Three
    If a person annoys another by abusive language or constantly following him, whereby a breach of the peace may occur, such person can be proceeded against and summoned by the party aggrieved. — Constable’s Pocket Guide
    “That’s a very attractive dress, Miss Haywood,” Lady Victoria said. She fingered the heavy white silk of Charlotte’s skirt and smoothed the gathers in the back.
    “Thank you. It’s one of the few advantages of being an heiress,” Charlotte replied, staring in the mirror and feeling unaccountably depressed by her image. The long length of gleaming white silk just made her appear even taller, towering over Lady Victoria’s delicate figure.
    Lady Victoria laughed. Reaching behind her neck, she removed her beautiful pearl necklace and stepped behind Charlotte.
    “What—” Charlotte tried to turn, but Lady Victoria held her shoulders.
    “You should wear these tonight,” she said as she fastened her pearls around Charlotte’s neck.
    Touched by the gesture, Charlotte dropped the string of jet beads she had planned to wear onto the dresser. The ladies had not worn bright colors for months, not since the tragic death of Princess Charlotte in November. Sharing the same name, Charlotte felt a deep sympathy for the princess and had always admired the woman for standing up and refusing to marry for any reason except love.
    Princess Charlotte knew what it meant to follow her dreams instead of simply settling for heavy duty. If only plain, ordinary Charlotte could do the same and escape from the cold mists of England to the blazing sands of Cairo , perhaps she could finally find happiness and independence under the baking, desert sun.
    “This necklace is beautiful—too beautiful,” she said, catching Lady Victoria’s gaze in the mirror. She was afraid to assume too much.
    However, her fingertips ran over the satiny pearls, still warm from Lady Victoria’s skin, and Charlotte felt her throat tighten. The necklace