Chapter 16

Chapter 16

"Is my mother at home?" Charlotte asked, when she was greeted by the butler in the entrance hallway at Thrushcross Grange a short while later.

"No, Miss Davidson. She's gone out to dine with the Spencer's at Alderhey," the butler replied.

Charlotte breathed a sigh of relief. She had been dreading dining alone with her mother. With her father away, there would have been no one to intervene in their inevitable arguments. Charlotte loved her mother, and she knew her mother loved her. But the two of them had never got on well, and Charlotte did not think that would change, whether or not she married.

"I'll have dinner upstairs, then," Charlotte replied, for she was eager to continue with her writing.

"But Lord Baxter's here, Miss Davidson. He came to call on you specifically," the butler said.

Charlotte's blood ran cold. She had no desire to see Lord Baxter or to entertain him. Had he not realised there was no possibility of a match between them? He was persistent, but his attentions were becoming boring.

"Oh! Where is he, Langley?" Charlotte asked, and the butler turned towards the drawing-room door.

"I showed him into the drawing room, Miss Davidson," he said, and Charlotte looked fearfully at the door, knowing she would have no choice but to face the Earl of Chester, come what may.

"Shall I come with you, Miss Davidson?" Sara asked, but Charlotte shook her head.

"No, it's all right. Just wait out here, Sara. There's no point in us both suffering the same fate," Charlotte replied.

Sara nodded, and taking a deep breath, Charlotte approached the drawing-room door. She was determined to tell the earl just what she thought of him. It was not proper for him to arrive uninvited, and when her mother was not at home. What did he expect of her? After opening the drawing-room door, Charlotte was met by a surprising sight. The room was empty.

"What's wrong, Miss Davidson?" Sara asked, as Charlotte turned to her in surprise.

"He's not here. I thought Langley said he was in the drawing- room," she said, and Sara nodded.

"He did say so. Perhaps he's left," Sara said, but Charlotte shook her head.

She did not believe Lord Baxter would not have waited. He would not have passed up the opportunity to see her, even as he might have known his reception would be frosty.

"No, he's here…" Charlotte replied, for she was now struck by a sudden thought, and beckoning to Sara, she led the maid along the corridor towards her father's study.

The door was slightly ajar, and from inside, Charlotte could hear a rustling sound, as though someone was rifling through her father's papers. Sara looked at Charlotte nervously, but Charlotte now stepped forward, and opening the study door, she caught Lord Baxter in the act.

"Miss Davidson," he exclaimed, straightening up, and brushing back his hair, a nervous smile playing across his face.

"I was told you were waiting for me in the drawing room," Charlotte said, and Lord Baxter nodded.

"Ah, yes. I was, and then I remember your father told me he was intending to leave me some important papers to sign. I thought I'd come and look for them. I wasn't sure when you'd be back, you see," he said, and Charlotte raised her eyebrows.

Her father had said nothing about any papers to be signed, and he would never have left important documents out on show.

"Is that so? And have you found them?" Charlotte asked.

The earl shook his head.

"No, sadly not. Perhaps he took them with him," he said, and Charlotte nodded.

"Yes, perhaps he did. But if you can't find them, you won't need to remain here, will you?" Charlotte said.

She was angry with Lord Baxter, and her suspicions of the previous weeks and months were now confirmed. He was no friend of her father's, and certainly not a man to be trusted.

"No, and I was just coming to find you. The butler said you wouldn't be long," Lord Baxter said.

But Charlotte had no reason to be polite to him anymore. She did not like him, and she had no intention of spending the evening with him after he had so blatantly violated her father's trust.

"No, and I wasn't. But I'm rather tired now. I think I'll go to bed," Charlotte said.

Lord Baxter looked disappointed.

"But… I thought we could have dinner together. Wouldn't you like that?" he asked.

Charlotte could have politely refused, offering a headache or some other excuse. But in returning to Downside, she had found herself emboldened by her confrontation with Olivia. No longer did she need to play the shy, retiring, bookish spinster. She could be Isabella, rather than the prim and proper Miss Davidson.

"No, I wouldn't. I don't want to marry you, and I don't want you here now. I don't know what you're doing in my father's things, but I don't believe a word of your explanation. Now, if you'd kindly leave, I can get on with my writing," Charlotte said.

Lord Baxter stared at her in astonishment. Indeed, he appeared so shocked by her words he simply stepped past her and left. Charlotte was left standing in her father's study, surprised by her forcefulness and glad she had found the words and conviction to dismiss him.

"Are you all right, Miss Davidson?" Sara asked, when Charlotte emerged from the study to find her maid waiting for her in the corridor.

"Yes. I am," Charlotte replied, for in truth, she had never felt better.

***

"Don't you want to see your mother, Miss Davidson?" Sara asked, when Charlotte announced the next morning they would go into the village to the coffee house, rather than wait for breakfast.

"We'd only end up arguing, Sara. You know that as well as I do. I love my mother, but the more time we spend together, the more I realize our differences," Charlotte said.

She was fearful of what her mother would say after the encounter Charlotte had had with Lord Baxter the previous evening. He was bound to have communicated his displeasure, but Charlotte had been certain there was more to his being in her father's study than an innocent search for lost papers.

"Very well, Miss Davidson. Will we walk to the village or take the carriage?" Sara asked.

Charlotte wanted to walk. She preferred it to riding in a carriage, and since the day was a pleasant one, she saw no reason why they should not walk across the meadows and along the brook. This, they did, arriving at the village square just as the church clock was striking ten. It was market day, and there was a hustle and bustle about the place with stall holders laying out their wares and cattle being driven to auction.

"Let's go into the coffee house, Sara. Then we can walk back," Charlotte said, and she led the maid into Peterson's Coffee House, where the heady aroma of the ground beans filled the air with a delightful scent.

They took a table by the window, allowing them to look out at the church. Charlotte smiled at the thought that she would soon be walking beneath the lychgate as a bride. The bride of the Earl of Swadlincote. The arrangement no longer made her afraid. She liked the earl. Charlotte felt she had made her position over Olivia clear.

"What will you have to drink, Miss Davidson?" Sara asked, and Charlotte looked up to find one of the serves standing ready to take their order.

"Oh, with plenty of sugar and cream," Charlotte said, for she did not like the bitter taste of coffee. It had to be heavily diluted for her to stomach it.

The server nodded, and Sara said the same, ordering hers with sugar and cream, too. Charlotte looked out of the window again, observing the goings on in the village square and watching one scene in particular of two women bartering over a prize looking pig.

It made Charlotte smile to think she and Olivia were doing much the same over Jacob. But her thoughts were interrupted by a clearing of the throat behind her, and looking up, Charlotte was surprised to find Olivia herself looking back at her.

"Miss Davidson… I suppose I should call you Charlotte, shouldn't I? What a pleasant surprise. We keep meeting, don't we?" Olivia said.

Charlotte nodded, forcing a smile. And Olivia sat down, uninvited, at the table.

"Olivia, what a pleasure," Charlotte replied, as the coffee was now brought, along with a jug of cream and a bowl of sugar.

"I saw you sitting in the window, and I knew I just had to come and speak to you," Olivia said, narrowing her eyes as she spoke and holding Charlotte's gaze.

"Did you stay long as Downside yesterday?" Charlotte asked.

"Long enough, yes. I know what you're doing, Charlotte," Olivia said.

Charlotte had just picked up her cup to take her first sip of coffee, but she put it down again and looked at Olivia in surprise.

"I don't know what you mean," she said, and Olivia glared at her.

"I know all about the arrangement between you and Jacob. But it won't work. He only has eyes for me," she said, and a smug look now came over her face.

Charlotte nodded. She was not about to make a scene in the middle of the coffeehouse. Though she would gladly have told Olivia what she thought of her if they had found themselves in a more private setting.

"Is that so? Then perhaps you don't the full extent of our arrangement. It's merely a matter of business. That's all," Charlotte said, and Olivia tutted.

"What else would it be? He's not in love with you, and he'll never be in love with you," she said.

Now was the time Charlotte had been waiting for, the chance to ask the question foremost on her mind.

"I don't know what he sees in you. I mean… I don't know why a man of his estimable qualities would continue pursuing a woman so obviously uninterested in him. At least romantically," Charlotte said.

Her words had been chosen carefully, even as she had adopted an apologetic look after the first sentence. Olivia looked offended.

"What he sees in me? How dare you! He and I have always… well, he's felt the same way about me for many years, since our youth," Olivia replied.

"Then why don't you put him out of his misery? Why do you lead him in a merry dance and raise his hopes, only to dash them with your cruel words and actions?" Charlotte asked.

She felt angry for Jacob's sake, and now Olivia smiled.

"One can never have too many admirers. Don't you think? I like his attentions. And I've no intention of giving them up for the sake of a merchant's daughter. Do you understand?" she asked, leaning forward with a threatening look on her face.

"It's a business transaction. I know why he's marrying me, and he knows why I'm marrying him. Both of us benefit from the arrangement," Charlotte replied.

Olivia now rose to her feet, dismissing the server, who had just brought her a cup of coffee with a wave of her hand.

"Be careful, Charlotte, you're playing with fire. If you marry Jacob, you'll find he won't ever love you. He loves me. And that's that," Olivia said, and turning on her heels, she marched out of the coffeehouse, leaving Charlotte shaking her head.

"What an odious woman. For all her title and airs and graces, she's just a common…" Sara began, but Charlotte interrupted her.

"I know she is, but she could also prove a foil to the whole thing. If Jacob still loves her, what hope do I have?" she asked. Despite her words and reminding herself of her conviction, Charlotte could not help but realise her feelings for Jacob were changing.

***

"Set me down here, driver. I'll walk the rest of the way," Jacob called out, leaning from the carriage window and shouting to the driver, who raised his whip in response.

"Yes, my Lord," he said, and the carriage now came to a halt on the outskirts of the village.

Jacob would be glad of the walk. He needed time to clear his head about his current situation. He and Olivia had parted ways the previous evening after an argument. There was nothing new in that, but the argument had been about Charlotte. Olivia had called her a "silly little merchant's daughter," and had expressed her horror at the thought of Jacob marrying her.

In turn, Jacob had told Olivia he had no choice but to marry Charlotte, even as his feelings for her were growing ever more confused. Jacob had enjoyed the afternoon they had spent with one another in the library at Downside, and he was looking forward to hearing Charlotte read to him. He enjoyed her company. She put him at ease, and there was something he found entirely conducive in her conversation. She was charming, and very pretty, too.

But what about Olivia? he said to himself.

Every time Jacob's thoughts turned to Charlotte, he found Olivia's image looking back at him. It was as though he could not see past his feelings for her; the feelings he still insisted he held. Jacob was in love with Olivia, or rather, he clung to the feelings he had once had for in the hope she might one day reciprocate.

But the passing of time had told him this would not be the case. Olivia would never feel for him what he felt for her. But her jealousy was obvious, and in discovering the arrangement between Jacob and Charlotte's father, Olivia had made her feelings very clear.

"If you marry her, you'll be the laughingstock of the county, Jacob. Everyone's going to know it's for financial reasons. You can't possibly fall in love with her," Olivia said. Her parting shot as she had left Downside the evening before.

But Jacob did not see it in that way. As for falling in love with Charlotte…

I don't think… well, I'm not going to, am I? he told himself, as he walked the last quarter of a mile into the village.

It was market day, and the village square was busy with the hustle and bustle of the livestock auction. Jacob had always been interested in farming, and now he looked around him with a keen eye, comparing the prices of the heads of cattle and watching as the bartering took place. He had just watched a particularly lively exchange when he noticed Lord Baxter, the Earl of Chester, talking to a man by the pump in the center of the square.

Jacob watched, interested to see the exchange, particularly when several papers were handed over, and the man the earl was talking to nodded and hurried away. Jacob did not care for the Earl of Chester. He found him a dubious and questionable man whose morals were hardly those of a gentleman.

How curious, Jacob thought to himself, as the earl hurried out of the village square and disappeared into the stable yard behind the inn.

At that moment, Jacob was surprised by a tap on his shoulder, and turning, he found Charlotte and her maid standing behind him.

"We saw you from the coffee house," she said, smiling at Jacob, who smiled back at her.

He was glad to see her, even though it was unexpected, and he offered her his arm.

"Shall we go for a walk?" he asked, and Charlotte nodded.

"Yes, I'd like that. We've just seen Olivia," Charlotte replied.

Jacob was surprised. Had it been a coincidence, or had Olivia deliberately sought Charlotte out? He was immediately suspicious, fearing Olivia was deliberately trying to drive a wedge between them. His feelings towards her were changing. He was beginning to see the ways she was manipulating him, and the situation, to her own advantage.

"Oh, yes. And what did she say to you?" Jacob asked, for he could not imagine it was anything pleasant.

"We talked about all manner of things," Charlotte replied.

It was a diplomatic answer, but Jacob knew better than to believe Olivia's intentions had been pure. He knew she was jealous, but for what reason? She had made it clear there was no future between them, and that any romantic feelings on Jacob's part would not be reciprocated. And yet she persisted in her jealous behavior and snide comments about Charlotte and her background. The implication of what would be thought of Jacob in wider circles if he went ahead with the marriage.

"I hope she didn't make you feel uncomfortable," Jacob replied, and Charlotte shook her head.

"No, she didn't. But I'm curious, and forgive me for asking such a direct question, but what do you see in her? Why did you fall in love with her?" Charlotte asked.

They had left the village square behind and were walking along a narrow street lined with a terrace of farm laborer's cottages leading out into open countryside beyond. Jacob felt suddenly uncomfortable, even as he knew it was a question he could not avoid answering. It was only fair to tell Charlotte the truth. She deserved to know. And now he paused, sighing and shaking his head.

"It's a question I often ask myself," he admitted, and Charlotte smiled.

"Why? Because you've changed your mind about her?" she replied.

Jacob thought for a moment. It was difficult to know what to say or how to explain his feelings for Olivia without sounding foolish. His persistence in them was foolish, and yet he found it difficult to deny they were still there, stubbornly refusing to go away.

He did not want to be in love with Olivia. He knew it was futile. And yet those feelings had provided a place of safety for him these years gone by. They served as an anchor by which to steady himself during the storms of the past few years.

"I fell in love with her the moment I first laid eyes on her," he admitted.

It sounded like the opening lines of a novel. In some ways, there was a romance from Jacob's perspective, at least. He had only been a boy when they had first met, and that feeling he had just described had been one of childhood innocence.

He had fallen in love with Olivia, but he had not known what it meant to fall in love, and as the years had gone by, those feelings had grown stronger and more familiar. That was what they were; a familiarity, a learned habit, something he did not want to let go of, as much as he knew it was for his own benefit to do so.

"And you're still in love with her now?" Charlotte asked.

Jacob shrugged. He did not know if he was in love with Olivia. It seemed foolish to think so, and yet he could not deny the feelings he had. The feelings he felt guilty for in the face of his promise to marry Charlotte.

"Well… I'm not sure… it's difficult," he said.

He felt embarrassed to admit it. What would Charlotte think of him?

"You either do or you don't. It doesn't matter to me. Ours is just a business arrangement. But I want to know where I stand. Am I to have a jealous woman breathing down my neck, or are you going to put a stop to it all?" Charlotte asked.

Jacob sighed. He knew what the answer had to be, and now he was resolved to do the right thing as difficult as it would be.

"I'm going to put a stop to it, Charlotte, I promise. I won't let her… well, I won't let her spoil things. I know her. It's not right, her behavior, I mean. And I'm sorry if she's made you feel uncomfortable," he said.

But Charlotte shook her head.

"It's not that. Well, I understand why she's jealous. But I'm just curious as to why you should possess such strong feelings for her. Particularly given the way she treats you," she said.

Her words came from a place of concern, or sympathy. Jacob knew how it must look and how ridiculous he must seem. He was grateful to her, and yet embarrassed, too.

"No, you're right. I've been a fool. I've clung to the past, instead of looking to the future. But that's all going to change once we're married," he said.

His mind was made up, and he was resolved to make a decision. His decision is Charlotte. But as for her feelings towards him, that much remained to be seen. As they walked out of the village and into the meadows, their talk turned to other things like books, art, and ideas. Jacob found himself relaxing into Charlotte's company once again, and he hoped she felt the same way about him, too.

I didn't ever imagine feeling like this, Jacob thought, after they had parted ways later that afternoon, and despite his continuing feelings for Olivia, there was no doubt in Jacob's mind as to his growing feelings for Charlotte, too.