The Redemption of a Dissolute Earl by Julie Johnstone

close.
    The duke smiled. “I can see you’ve changed,
grandson. Last time I saw you, you would have jumped to do my
bidding. I’m pleased to see you’ve finally become the man I
suspected you could be.”
    “Thank you,” Drew said, squeezing
Charlotte’s waist.
    “And you, Miss Milne, I saw you several
times at the theatre, and now up close I can see even clearer that
you’re strong enough to be part of this family and to stand up to
Hardwick’s boorish father.”
    Charlotte gaped at the duke for a moment
before her head cleared enough to actually speak. “You mean you want me to marry Drew?”
    The duke came to her and took one of her
hands. “My dear, I want nothing more. Had I been here and not
abroad when my son made such a mess of your lives, I would have put
a stop to the fool’s meddling. As it was, you were both gone and
all the damage done by the time I returned. It took me awhile to
locate you both. And I couldn’t have done it without Edgeworth’s
help. You both owe him a great debt.”
    Charlotte smiled at Lord Edgeworth. “It
seems I truly did misjudge you.”
    “Don’t fret, Charlotte. May I call you
Charlotte, since we’ll soon be related?”
    She quickly nodded, pleased that it didn’t
seem to bother Drew’s cousin or grandfather in the least that they
would soon be related to a butler’s daughter.
    “I’ve been misjudged before, and I suspect
I’ll be misjudged again.”
    Drew stepped towards his cousin. “Have you
been spying on Charlotte and me this entire year and sending
reports back to Grandfather?”
    “See what I mean?” Lord Edgeworth asked
nudging Charlotte. “I’m being misjudged again. Spying is such a nasty word, Drew. When I finally located you, and in turn
your illustrious soon-to-be wife, I superbly watched over you and kept an eye on her while biding my time until you got
your head out of the bottle. I should have known we’d have to
concoct a plan to come fetch you. Lucky for you I came when I
did.”
    Drew snorted. “I’m not sure I would call
your self-declared guardianship role superb. Charlotte almost
married another man.”
    Lord Edgeworth shrugged. “Entirely your
fault. I cannot be everywhere at once. I do have my own life, sad
as it may be, to live. Appearances to keep and so forth. Some
things did slip by me.”
    “Say,” Drew growled at Lord Edgeworth. “Did
you know Charlotte had not married Salisbury?”
    “Of course,” Lord Edgeworth replied.
    Drew’s eyes narrowed. “I should punch you
for allowing me to believe she had married Salisbury.”
    “You should thank me. You too,
Charlotte.”
    “Me?”
    Lord Edgeworth nodded. “I doubt Drew will
ever fail you again after having truly believed he lost you because
of his own foolhardiness.”
    “That’s true,” Drew said simply. “Thank you,
I suppose. But it’s funny that you of all people saw fit to teach
me a lesson on love and loss.”
    “Not so funny as you’d think,” Lord
Edgeworth murmured.
    Charlotte glanced sharply at Lord Edgeworth.
There it was again―that hint of something more beneath the man’s
indifferent or rather rakish attitude. He cared about something
greatly, and she suspected that something was a woman.
    “Someone ought to inform Miss Marchinson
that Salisbury is not married after all,” Drew said.
    “I told her when we saw her home.”
    “Seems you thought of everything.”
    Lord Edgeworth winked at Charlotte. “I’m a
good dog. All I did was take commands from grandfather and
Milne.”
    Charlotte sincerely doubted that was all
Lord Edgeworth did, but she let his self-effacing comment pass and
instead turned an accusing eye toward Lord Edgeworth, then her
father and lastly the duke. “You three worried me sick.” She faced
her father, with her hands on her hips. “Could you have thought of
something less dramatic to bring me to heel besides telling me you
were dying ?”
    “We did try to think of something else…” Her
father trailed off looking