Deserter And Coward

Charlotte gripped the armrests. ‘He has just been reunited with his family. You better leave him alone. If you dare do anything to hurt him, I swear to god I’ll kill you!’ Henry chuckled, amused by her empty threat. ‘You?’ ‘I mean it.’ Charlotte’s eyes were cold. She rose to her feet and drew herself up to her full height. ‘Don’t forget, I am a Carline. My family made you who you are today.’ Henry knitted his brows, displeased by the mention of a name he never wanted to hear again. ‘You are a McCarthy now.’ Charlotte raised her chin, defiant. ‘My name is Charlotte Carline. You, Henry McCarthy, would still be a nobody without my family’s help.’ She shook her head. ‘No, not a nobody. You’d be a nameless prisoner languishing in jail.’ Henry McCarthy was a deserter. He would have been court-martialled and imprisoned if not for the Carline family’s intervention. Charlotte’s parents opposed the match vehemently, but she was young and foolish and blinded by love. Now she realised, belatedly,