Heart's Desire

Prologue

August 22nd, 1807

The hall clock struck the quarter hour, causing Miss Charity Chadwick to start.

"Quit being such a ninny." Charity quietly admonished herself. The hushed sound of her voice seemed to help calm her fraying nerves. At the very least, the walls of her childhood home stopped closing in on her.

It was all in Charity's head, of course. Chadwick Hall did not possess anything so deliciously horrifying as walls that moved of their own accord. In reality, it was a boringly ordinary English Tudor structure in the midst of an unexceptional nobleman's estate.

However, in the dark of night, with but a single candle to light Charity's way, it seemed different. More ominous.

Shaking her head, Charity expelled the thought. It wasn't the house that gave her the jitters, but her mission. Were she to be caught out of bed at this hour by her father? She shuddered to think of the repercussions.

The sound of wood creaking behind her had Charity spinning. Her candle's flame sputtered with the sudden movement. Breath held, she prayed it wouldn't go out completely, leaving her in the dark with naught but a noisy old house and her active imagination. The new moon outside gave no light to help her navigate the halls or investigate what'd caused the noise.

Charity's free hand came up to lay upon her breast in an attempt to calm her racing heart. She peered cautiously into the shadows beyond her candle's meager light. Squinting, she tried to find what had caused the noise. After a few moments of tense silence, she was assured that no fiend or servant lurked in the dark, waiting to catch her out this night. Slowly, she let out the breath she was holding. 'Twas likely naught but the house settling which caused the walls to creak.

"You are a Chadwick." Charity's whispered words came out weak and unsure. She repeated them more firmly, if not loudly.

Courage somewhat restored, Charity turned once more and made her way down the dark hall. As the warm, metal loop of the candleholder bit into her forefinger, she made her grip loosen. Willing herself to calm, she took another deep breath and slowly released it as her soundless steps brought her closer to her goal.

"We are made of sterner stuff than most," Charity reminded herself. It was something she'd heard her father and older brother say often enough.

What Charity was currently doing was wrong in the eyes of society, her governess and sire. It was unacceptable for a mere Miss to be out of bed this late. Especially when the house was full of young, blue-blooded bachelors. But equal parts curiosity and boredom drove her onward.

The Honourable Charles Chadwick - Charity's older brother - had friends from school come home for a hunting party. Since she wasn't yet out, and her home had essentially become a bachelor's household after the death of their mother, Baron Chadwick ordered his only daughter to remain in her room. For the entire week! Not only was it unfair, but it was an unrealistic demand on her sire's part. The servants, recognizing this, helped Charity navigate Chadwick Hall during the daylight hours. At that time, her father was locked in his study and the rest of the gentlemen were out traipsing the grounds, no doubt looking for something at which to shoot.

Charity knew she would be severely punished were she caught. Unfortunately, a sense of urgency drove her to be daring since the party was only two days from ending. Just this morning she'd overheard a maid whisper that among the four visiting gentlemen, one was a viscount. Never had she had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of such an exalted peer. As she paced in her bedroom, before her door, she assured herself that after a single glimpse her curiosity would be satisfied.

It was Charity's fervent hope that she wouldn't be found out before beholding the dashing (for surely if he were young and titled, he must be handsome) viscount. With a hard swallow, she tried to reassure her pounding heart and the butterflies in her stomach that all would be well. Her step faltered on the stair, but her course was set. She'd come too far to turn back now.