Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Charlotte had just come to a gate leading into a meadow on the far side of the parkland close to Downside. She was lost in her thoughts of the memory of the happy afternoon she had spent with the earl and the prospect of reading her manuscript to him.

It was exciting, and despite the strange circumstances of the match, Charlotte was beginning to think it could work. Arranged marriages happened all the time, but it was not always the case one found so much in common from the start.

"I really didn't expect him to have any interest in my work," Charlotte thought to herself, smiling as she climbed over the stile by the gate, where the path would lead back to Thrushcross Grange.

Sara, who had been following at a distance, now caught up with her.

"Wasn't it a lovely afternoon?" the maid said, and Charlotte nodded.

"Unexpectedly so, yes," she replied, for she had really not thought they would find so much to talk about and share.

"I'm happy for you, Miss Davidson. It's what you deserve. Happiness," Sara replied.

"I don't want to get too far ahead of myself, Sara. I still haven't made up my mind about marrying him. But the prospect of it no longer holds any far for me," Charlotte replied.

She had resigned herself to one of two possibilities: a loveless marriage of convenience with the earl or a marriage to Lord Baxter, who would treat her as a prize to be paraded. But now the choice was certain. She could marry the earl and be happy. It was a burden lifted, and the prospect of sharing a literary life appealed to her a great deal.

"I'm glad to hear it, Miss Davidson, I…" Sara began, but before she could finish, Charlotte interrupted her, pointing from the stile back towards the house.

Emerging from her carriage was Olivia.

"The thorn in my side," Charlotte said, shaking her head.

Would Olivia be a constant presence in their marriage? Her presence was enough to entirely alter the earl's persona. He was a different person with her, and if he and Charlotte were to have any hope of happiness, the matter of Olivia had to be resolved.

"Oh, dear…" Sara said, shaking her head.

"I won't have three people in this marriage, if that's what it's to be. I'm going back," Charlotte said.

She would not be angry, nor would she give in to jealousy. But Olivia had no right to behave in this way. No right to treat Jacob as she did, and to do the same to Charlotte, too.

"Do you think that's wise, Miss Davidson?" Sara asked, but Charlotte's mind was made up, and now she climbed back over the stile and hurried back towards the house, followed by Sara.

Olivia had already gone inside, but Charlotte went boldly up the steps and knocked at the main door. It was opened a few moments later by the housekeeper, Mrs. McDonald, who looked surprised to see Charlotte returned so soon.

"Miss Davidson… his Lordship has a visitor at the moment," the housekeeper said, and Charlotte nodded.

"Yes, I know. It's Lady Olivia. I saw her arriving. But I…" she began, faltering over words and not knowing quite what to say.

The housekeeper looked at her sympathetically.

"Would you like a cup of tea, Miss Davidson?" she asked, and Charlotte nodded.

The housekeeper led Charlotte across the hallway and down a back staircase to the servant's hall. A corridor led off it, and at the end of it was the housekeeper's sitting room next to the butler's pantry. It was simply furnished, and Mrs. McDonald offered Charlotte a seat by the hearth. Having made the tea, she sat down opposite, smiling at Charlotte, who felt a sudden urge to unburden herself of her feelings.

"I know I was foolish to come back. But I don't understand what he sees in her. Nor why she's always here," Charlotte said, shaking her head and sighing.

"Believe me, Miss Davidson. It's a question I've often asked myself, too," the housekeeper replied, and Charlotte looked at her in surprise.

"But… wouldn't Lady Olivia be a better match than I? Why haven't they married already?" Charlotte asked.

The housekeeper raised her eyebrows and tutted.

"Because she won't ever marry him. He's a fool to keep pursuing her. She has no love for him, but she has a jealous streak to her. That's why she's here, and that's why she's making life difficult for you, Miss Davidson. His Lordship fell in love with her at a young age. But there was never any reciprocation apart from her using him to her advantage.

You might wonder why I'm telling you all this after his parents died. The servants became his family. I want him to be happy, Miss Davidson. And let me tell you something. I haven't seen him smile as he smiles at you for a very long time," she said.

Charlotte blushed. She had not thought anything of the earl's smile, but to hear the housekeeper say such a thing raised the question of what the earl intended to do.

"But can he ever break free from her?" Charlotte asked.

Mrs. McDonald shrugged.

"I don't know. I hope he can. He has to, for both your sakes. But it's her; she's the jealous one. She doesn't want to marry him, but she doesn't want to see anyone else marry him, either," she said.

"Then I'm forever to have a thorn in my side?" Charlotte replied.

"Not necessarily. The more his Lordship comes to see how much the two of you have in common, the more likely he is to leave behind his feelings for Lady Olivia. I don't think he really feels anything for her now except a residual sense of what was a clinging to the past," the housekeeper said.

Charlotte nodded. It would not be easy. But as she thought of the earl's smile, she realized the same could be said for her, too. In his company, she felt different. She felt a sense of happiness and contentment she had not known in the company of other men, or even her parents. It was as though he understood her, and she hoped she was beginning to understand him, too.

"Thank you, Mrs. McDonald," Charlotte said, rising to her feet.

"You're welcome, Miss Davidson. Shall I show you into the drawing room? It's the lion's den, of course. Lady Olivia won't be pleased to see you," the housekeeper said, but Charlotte shook her head.

"No, but she needs to see me, and I need to see her," she replied.

Sara had been waiting in the servant's hall, and as Charlotte emerged from the housekeeper's sitting room, she came hurrying down the corridor.

"Is everything all right, Miss Davidson?" she asked, and Charlotte nodded.

"Perfectly so, yes. I'm going up to the drawing room," Charlotte replied, and Mrs. McDonald now led the way.

In the hallway, outside the drawing room door, Charlotte could hear raised voices, or rather a raised voice, that of Olivia.

"You're just being foolish, Jacob. You're always foolish," Olivia was saying.

Mrs. McDonald now knocked and opened the door, announcing Charlotte into the room.

"Miss Davidson," she said, and Charlotte stepped over the threshold.

Olivia was standing by the window, and as Charlotte entered the room, she turned to her and scowled.

"Couldn't you stay away? You've been here all day," she said.

The earl was standing by the hearth, and he looked both surprised and embarrassed at the sight of Charlotte entering the room.

"Miss Davidson…" he said, as Charlotte smiled at him.

"I saw Olivia's carriage arriving. It seemed rude to not come back and greet her," she said, knowing just how much her words would infuriate Olivia, who now glared at her.

"Well… aren't we glad of that," Olivia said.

"Won't you sit down, Miss Davidson?" the earl asked.

Mrs. McDonald had been right; this was the lion's den. But Charlotte was determined to hold her own against the woman who had so readily set herself against her as a rival. Charlotte did not want conflict, but nor did she intend to be treated badly, either.

"That's very kind of you, thank you. I thought the three of us could talk. If I'm to be mistress of this house, I'm sure we'll come to know one another very well," Charlotte said, still smiling, even as Olivia scowled at her.

"Yes, well… that remains to be seen. But you're right, if you do become mistress of this house, we'll come to know one another very well," Olivia replied.

There was a mild threat in her voice, and Charlotte felt as she had in their previous encounters. Olivia was possessed with jealousy; one she hadn't decided what to do about yet. If she had been in love with Jacob, it would have made sense.

But this was a jealousy born of a desire for power and control. Olivia did not have Jacob's best interests at heart, that much was certain. She wanted him for herself for the simple reason of her own desire to control. Reading lots of books had its advantage. Charlotte knew just what to expect from human nature.

"You intend to continue your visits then," Charlotte said, and Olivia glared at her.

"Why wouldn't I? I've been coming to Downside my whole life. It's where I belong," she said, and Charlotte nodded.

She was not about to force the matter or insist her marriage to Jacob would mean the ending of the friendship between him and Olivia. But Charlotte still did not understand the nature of that friendship. She could not discern what Jacob saw in the rude and self-centred Lady Olivia.

She had shown no alternative side to her. There was no vulnerability Charlotte could discern. Olivia was as she appeared, and it was not an appearance Charlotte could merit in at all. Unless one counted pretty looks as the only measure of a person's worth.

"Yes, I can see that. You're certainly a frequent visitor," Charlotte replied, glancing at the earl, who blushed.

"I wasn't expecting you to come back," Jacob said, and it was not clear who he was making the excuse.

"Oh, I just saw Olivia arriving, and I thought I'd walk back. I can leave if you want me to," Charlotte said, but politeness demanded the earl protested her words.

But he was a different person when it came to Olivia, and as the conversation progressed, there was no mention of books or reading, no further enquiries as to her writing, or love of the written word. Olivia led the conversation, talking arrogantly of those she knew in the district, and of the various scandals occurring around them.

"And Lady Bagshot thinks no one knows of her affair with her husband's valet. I don't care if Lord Bagshot's dead. He only died three months ago. She should've dismissed the valet immediately. As it stands, everyone knows of her affections for him. She fawns over him and lavishes him with gifts. It's obscene," Olivia said, tutting and shaking her head.

Charlotte thought it sounded a rather excellent plot for one of her stories, and she imagined a possible future novel, where Isabella's husband dies, and she falls in love with one of the servants.

"Yes, terrible," Charlotte said, glancing at Jacob, who looked thoroughly bored.

The clock on the mantelpiece now struck five. Though Olivia showed no signs of departing, Charlotte knew she had to get back to Thrushcross Grange for dinner.

"And then there are the Creedy sisters, Daphne and Denise. Well, did you hear what they did?" Olivia asked, but Charlotte shook her head.

"No, I didn't. But I really should be going," she said, rising to her feet.

She would allow Olivia this minor victory. She could have Jacob to herself for the rest of the evening. Charlotte knew that was not a prospect the earl would relish. Or would he? If Jacob wished, he could be rid of Olivia in an instant. There was no compulsion for him to have anything to do with her, and certainly not now.

Charlotte was determined not to be jealous. She had nothing to be jealous of, but after the time she had spent with Jacob that day, Charlotte could not help but feel a certain growing affection for him.

"So soon…oh, well, I suppose the merchant classes eat earlier, don't they?" Olivia said as Charlotte rose to her feet.

She made no direct reply to this. Not really knowing what Olivia meant by that but, assuming there was an insult buried somewhere there.

"It was good of you to come," Jacob said, and Charlotte smiled at him.

"Thank you…especially for earlier on," she said.

Charlotte knew her words would elicit a jealous response from Olivia. She would demand to know what Charlotte had meant by "earlier on." But for now, it was enough for Jacob to simply smile and thank her again.

"I'll call on you as we discussed," he said, and Charlotte knew this, too, would give rise to Olivia's wrath.

Out in the hallway, Charlotte found Sara waiting for her, and the maid looked at her questioningly as Charlotte beckoned her to follow.

"Is everything all right, Miss Davidson?" she asked, and Charlotte nodded.

"Yes, quite all right. I think I've made my point," she said, and the two of them left the house.

Charlotte had not intended to make Olivia jealous or angry, or whatever other emotion she might now be displaying in the drawing room at Downside. But she had wanted to assert herself. This was not about control. But if Charlotte was to marry Jacob, and she was coming far closer to doing so now than ever before, she had no intention of allowing his feelings to be torn.

An arranged marriage could be businesslike, but it was not necessarily loving. Charlotte knew the earl was not in love with, just as she was not in love with him. But if Jacob persisted in his feelings towards Olivia, the chance of him and Charlotte being happy was non-existent. There could not be two women in a marriage, and Charlotte hoped she had made that clear in returning to Downside to interrupt Olivia's arrival.

"Oh, Miss Davidson, please be careful. We don't know what she's capable of," Sara said, glancing anxiously at Charlotte, who sighed.

"I know what you're going to say, Sara. I'm terribly na?ve and don't know the first thing about all this. You're probably right. But I've read enough books to know what a jealous woman looks like. But I just don't understand what he sees in her. What her draw is. She's awful," Charlotte replied.

It was genuinely confusing. She knew there were women who were attracted to rough-and-ready types. Isabella was one of them, and Charlotte had written the laird's character to match. He was a man of few words, who Isabella believed could be tamed. But the opposite was hardly an attractive proposition. Olivia was not about to be tamed. She was as she appeared, and if Jacob thought he could change her, he was surely mistaken.

"Perhaps there was something in the past–perhaps she was different then," Sara ventured.

"It's the only possibility. Perhaps he holds out hope for her changing, but she won't do. He's a strange character. On his own, I find him…well, I'm beginning to rather like him. More than that, I can see the two of us enjoying a happy marriage. But as soon as she becomes involved…" Charlotte replied, shaking her head.

It was a tale of two halves; the bookish earl, encouraging Charlotte in her writing and taking a genuine interest in her literary endeavours. And the man obsessed with a woman who was merely playing games with him. The contrast was extraordinary, and as Charlotte returned to Thrushcross Grange, she wondered if there could ever be a suitable resolution.