Free The Unwanted Heiress by Amy Corwin

again. Words had tumbled out of her mouth of their own volition, words she could not take back, words that had flown right into the arrogant ears of the Archer’s nephew, a duke.
    A footman rushed forward to open the carriage door and let down the steps. After Mr. Archer descended, the servant glanced into the carriage and waited, hand outstretched.
    “If you could just what?” Lady Victoria asked as she let the footman help her down.
    Mr. Archer, in what looked oddly like a fit of jealousy, glared at the footman. Mr. Archer grasped his wife’s other wrist and swept her toward the door.
    Relieved that she might not have to answer that awkward question after all, Charlotte let the servant hand her down. He caught her eye and winked before turning back to fold up the steps. Then, he closed the carriage door and slapped the side of the coach to indicate to the driver that he was to drive away. With amazing cockiness, the footman grinned at her again over his shoulder.
    When she noticed the white rag tied around his hand, she realized it was Tom Henry, the footman she had asked the Archers to hire after Lady Beatrice’s brutal treatment.
    When he caught her glance, his smile widened and he winked. Flushing, Charlotte stared resolutely into the hallway, pretending not to notice.
    What a dreadful error ! Not only did the Archers believe she had asked them to hire poor Mr. Henry because he was handsome, but the servant himself suffered from the same delusion!
    One of her previous guardians had warned her about this exact situation. Mrs. Edgerton’s word nipped into Charlotte’s mind : never allow liberties from the servants, it can only lead to trouble.
    Charlotte entered the entryway feeling rather embarrassed. If she had not been so distracted, she might have kept moving toward the stairs and thus escaped the inquisition awaiting her in the foyer.
    “Now, Miss Haywood, what possible objection could you have to a small, select group of young people joining us here for a light supper and dance?”
    “I simply don’t want to cause any trouble,” Charlotte replied, startled into stopping at the foot of the stairs.
    “But, you would not! Truly, we often host such small entertainments,” Lady Victoria replied.
    “Oh, well then….” Charlotte gave up fatalistically.
    There wouldn’t be enough time for them to arrange a large supper and dance, anyway. They’d be sending her to another set of relatives just as soon as the Duke of Peckham told the Archers their ward had insulted him. Repeatedly.
    He’d had such nice, laughing eyes, though, that she had not been able to resist tugging the lion’s whiskers. And now the lion turned out to be related to her current guardian.
    “You are exhausted.” Lady Victoria gave Charlotte a hug and light kiss on the cheek. “Get some rest. We will talk tomorrow.”
    Charlotte nodded. She was exhausted. A strand of hair fell forward to curl around her throat like a noose and as she swept it away, her fingertips brushed over the pearl necklace. She unhooked it and held the pearls out to Lady Victoria.
    “ You will want these back,” she said. In the fluster of packing tomorrow, the necklace might be forgotten. She liked the Archers too much to cause even more ill will by keeping such a valuable item. They’d probably think she was a thief as well as impossibly rude.
    “Keep them, at least for now. You can wear the necklace to our dinner party. They look so much better on you than they ever did on me.” Lady Victoria’s voice sounded puzzled, and a small flicker of pain appeared in her gray eyes.
    “I sincerely appreciate it, but I have this terrible tendency to lose things. Would it be awful of me to ask you to keep them safe? You can always lend them to me again, if you wish to do so.”
    “I suppose,” Lady Victoria said slowly. She held out her hand and Charlotte dribbled the strand of warm beads into her palm. “Are you sure?”
    “Oh, yes. No doubt by this time tomorrow,