The Duke's True Love: Stenwick Trilogy, #2

By Kirsten Osbourne

Charlotte, younger sister of the Earl of Stenwick, is tired of the endless round of parties that are part of the London Season, yet she wants to marry, so feels she has no choice. Her special abilities make her feel that most members of the ton are liars and unfit for anyone to live with. When she makes a wish on the fountain by the lake at her ancestral home, she laughs at herself, knowing it could never come true.

Anthony never felt much for his first wife having only married her to please his parents and refill the family's coffers. During her life, he remained true to her in every way, but after her death, he feels free to pursue the woman he is most interested in -- Charlotte, his closest friend's sister. Will he be able to convince her he's not like other men and earn her trust? Or will she pass up her chance at true love forever?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Unlimited Dreams
• Release date: Mar 27, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393219750

Book preview

Chapter One

Charlotte, daughter of the late Earl of Stenwick and sister of the current Earl of Stenwick, wandered the grounds of her childhood home, Stenwick Manor.  She really hadn’t wanted to spend any time rusticating in the country this close to the Season beginning, but her mother had insisted she needed to see how Diana, Charlotte's new sister-in-law, was faring.  Now that Diana was pregnant with the first of the next generation of Stenwicks, Horatia was doting on the girl.  This was their third visit in as many months, and they stayed for three days at a time.

She would rather be anywhere in the world than near her sister-in-law, but she knew that her feelings wouldn't be taken into account.  They never were.  She was just a daughter, made for nothing more than making a good match. 

She wished she could love their visits to her ancestral home, the home where she'd grown up and had so many memories, but with Diana around, everything seemed to be annoying to her.

Charlotte shook her head.  Lucy, her younger sister, spent all her time getting to know Diana while they were in the country.  Charlotte had always been close to her younger sister, and it seemed that their new sister-in-law was coming between them.  Why had everything gone to pot ever since Diana had married Percy?  Why had he been willing to marry the title grabbing little merchant's daughter anyway?

Charlotte still wasn’t fond of her sister-in-law.  She’d been kind to her, because she didn’t want to anger her brother, but there was just something that struck her as odd in the older woman.  She couldn’t put her finger on it, and if she mentioned it, she was immediately hushed.  The whole family liked her, and Charlotte felt pushed to the side.  She wanted to force her sister-in-law out of the picture, but what difference would it make?  It's not like she would suddenly start mattering if Diana were gone.

She wandered to the small lake that was on the property and sank onto the bench that was in front of it.  She liked the bench, an addition since Diana arrived, but she would never admit it.  It seemed everything was always changing these days.  Even her home wasn’t the same because of Diana.  Why she still resented her, she wasn’t even certain, but she knew she did.  She thought back to the night she'd first met the other girl.  It was a party during the Season two or three years before. 

Charlotte had been with the Viscount of Burgess, Miles.  Miles was everything she'd ever hoped to find in a man, and she couldn't believe her luck.  He was on the verge of proposing.  Everyone said so. 

Charlotte had seen Diana walking toward them, the other woman focusing all her attention on Miles for a moment, before smiling at Charlotte and introducing herself.  At first, Charlotte had been intrigued by Diana, because she'd heard so much about her, but that had changed in the twinkling of an eye.  As soon as Diana had started talking, Miles had watched her like a lovesick fool, asking her to dance, trying to get her to go for walks with him, and generally forgetting Charlotte was alive.

When questioned about his behavior the following day, he'd said he couldn't explain it.  He'd felt such an outpouring of love for Diana, he couldn't stop himself.  He'd even gone so far as to propose to her right there on the dance floor.  Of course, Charlotte had refused to see him after that, but she'd secretly hoped he'd come back, begging forgiveness.  He never had, though, and Charlotte was still alone, while Miles was now married with a son.  She was practically on the shelf now, and it was all Diana's fault!

Charlotte looked to her left and saw a huge fountain sitting beside the lake.  She pulled her cloak closer around her to fight off the winds coming across the lake as she studied it.  It was a chilly winter day, and she wanted to be anywhere but where she was, but she didn’t have a choice.  Why was it that choices were taken from women so often in life?

She wandered closer to the fountain to take a look at it.  There was something compelling about it, and she wasn’t certain what it was, but it seemed to call to her.  She stepped toward it and ran her hand over the stone work.  It was beautifully done.  Someone had painstakingly pieced the rocks together and created a work of art. 

Charlotte put her hands on the fountain and closed her eyes.  Make a wish.  The voice sounded like her sister-in-law, Diana's, but Charlotte knew she was in the house with Lucy and her mother while Percy did whatever work he always did to support the family. 

She jumped back and looked around her.  There was no one anywhere near her, so who had said the words?  Who wanted her to make a wish?

She put her hands back onto the fountain, and again heard the words, Make a wish.

She laughed at herself as she gazed at the fountain.  No matter how beautiful it was, it couldn’t really be telling her to make a wish, could it?  She put her hands on it once more, and again heard the words.  This time, she closed her eyes and wished with all her might.  I wish that I would find the man that was created for me alone.  Please help me to find and marry my true mate before the end of the Season.  She knew tacking on before the end of the Season was asking a lot, but another failed Season just might be the death of her.

She didn’t say the words aloud, but they were there pulsing around her just the same.  She heard the words, Your wish will be granted, filling her mind.  She chuckled as she walked back toward the house in better spirits than she’d been in for days.  Her wish would be granted.

Everyone needed to have a wish granted every now and then.  Right?

*****

Charlotte was still laughing at herself when she got back to the house.  She found her brother, Percy, doing something with rocks.  She had never really cared to know what he did to support the family, so they could keep their place in Society, but suddenly it seemed to matter more to her than ever before.  Stopping beside him, she looked at what he was crafting.  Is this how you support us? she asked, her voice obviously interested.

Percy nodded.  Some consider me an artist, but really?  I'm just a stonemason, doing what I do to pay for your pretty dresses.  He didn't sound like he begrudged her the work, though.  He was never rude about the fact that he supported all their parties.  He was simply matter-of-fact.

Charlotte blushed slightly.  She spent a great deal more on dresses than she really needed to.  Her mother and Lucy were much more frugal, constantly aware that Percy was working for every thread.  You do beautiful work.  She touched the birdbath he was creating, in awe of the detail he put into it.  Why do you still work, though?  Diana brought so much money into your marriage that it makes no sense to me.  He'd told her he would never touch the money, but she had a hard time believing that.  Why marry a tradesman's daughter if not to use the money she brought to