Choosing Love Over Honor [Agents of the Crown #2]

Chapter 2 - Picture of Charlotte

6 years later
Winter Ball 
Earl of Winchelsea Ballroom

"May I have this dance, Lady Charlotte?"

The voice alone had Charlotte freezing in her act of turning to join her brother to face the Earl of Greystoke and his mother. From the snippets of conversations she had caught and her artful deduction, Charlotte could sort of guess that there was something between the Greystoke's and the lady her brother was completely smitten with, yet as curious as she was, the second she saw Lionel Chadwick all thoughts flew out of her mind.

As they always did.

Charlotte internally cursed, as she always did whenever her mind and body reacted the same way to his presence. She instinctively scowled, coating her body's traitorous delight at his presence with a facade of irritation. But Lionel was having none of it.

Before she could respond, he had taken her hand and half-dragged her to the dance floor. With a glance over her shoulder, Charlie saw the situation get heated, and decided that she didn't want to add on to her brother's worries for the night by causing a scene and stalking away from the infamous Lionel Chadwick. And so she kept a mutinous silence as he led her into the steps of a quadrille, pointedly averting her gaze from him.

But nothing could distract Leo from her, as long as they were both in the same room. The moment he had entered, it took all of nothing for him to  notice the proud, gregarious presence that was Charlotte Rothesay, right next to her brother. In her beautiful navy blue gown, trimmed in a paler blue fur for the cold winter air. The golden trimmings around her waist simply enhanced her elegant figure. Charlie no longer did the debut coiffure, and instead had her hair elegantly curled and pinned up, with the strawberry blonde locks falling like a cascade over her left shoulder. Every time she turned in time to the dance, the locks would glimmer with the chandelier lights. 

Again, it didn't take much for Leo to have his full attention on her. And he knew it wasn't supposed to be that way.

"If anything happens, at most I know she'll be safe in your care."

Fabian had expressly repeated the same sentiment, after the very first time he had said it the night after his father's funeral had been over and done with. Out of the two, Leo had always held his drink better, and as Fabian slept off into his drunken stupor, Leo never stopped drinking, even as the sun broke the horizon. Take care of her? They had grew up together, how could he have such inappropriate thoughts over his best friend's youngest sister? 

So Leo had avoided her, as much as he could. She wanted it that way anyway.

"Charlie, at least talk to me. Fabian's worried. Your mother's worried."

His voice echoed down the hallway, adding on to the already gloomy and mourn-filled halls of the Avondale estate in the countryside. The sudden death of the Duke had left the whole household in a state of disarray, and with the Duchess in grief, Pippa busy comforting her mother, and Fabian left with a whole load of accounts and estates to takeover upon his father's death, only Leo had noticed just how morose and quiet Charlotte had been. 

Fabian had just returned from the Highlands a day or two ago to takeover the reins, and upon his return, Charlotte had retreated into her rooms.

And she hasn't been seen since.

Worry swirled in his chest. She had ran off after seeing him with his most recent companion in his quarters just a couple of months ago, and had barely spoken to him since. He on the other hand, wasn't too sure how to broach the topic. What was he supposed to tell her, that he needed to get her out of his system? Not that it had worked. All he could think about was how gorgeous Charlotte had looked the night of her debut, and every other night since.