Annie Burrows - Four Regency Rogues

An hour later, they were sitting together in the small dining room enjoying a repast of roast lamb, pork cutlets and every kind of vegetable imaginable, followed by exotic fruits from Mandeville’s own hot houses. Charlotte had changed into a green taffeta evening gown trimmed with bands of velvet and Meg had forced her hair into some sort of order, so that her aunt had looked at her with more approval.

‘That is much better,’ she said. ‘I cannot think why you must wear that strange garb you had on when I first saw you. It was not even clean.’

‘I only wear it for business and it was clean when I went out this morning. A mill is a dusty place, Aunt, and anything better would be ruined in no time. My workers would not respect me if I arrived in silks and furbelows.’

‘Do you mean you actually go into the mill?’

‘Of course. I must keep track of what is happening to the orders and oversee the work.’

‘Nonsense, of course you don’t. I never met a lady yet who would stoop so low.’

‘I am not thought of as a lady.’

‘Then it is about time we changed that. Why, you will never make a good marriage going on the way you do.’

‘I am not thinking of marriage, Aunt.’

‘Of course you are. Every young lady does,’ her aunt contradicted firmly.

‘No, Aunt. I simply want to give a ball, here at Mandeville, which is why I asked for your advice.’

‘And I shall be pleased to give it, my dear, but surely you have had balls here before now?’

‘I have been told Mama used to give grand balls, but it has never happened in my lifetime. I do not think Papa wanted to entertain after she died.’

‘Have you not been brought out?’

‘Not in the usual sense, no.’

Her aunt sighed heavily. ‘I knew your father was an eccentric, but I did not realise he had so thoroughly neglected his duty as a father.’

‘He did not neglect me,’ Charlotte said, fiercely defensive. ‘He simply had different ideas about how I should be brought up. I think he was disappointed I was not a son.’

‘He should have married again and begot himself an heir.’

‘I do not think he could bring himself to do so. In any case, he was always too busy.’

‘Then we must set about a remedy. How old are you now, two and twenty?’

‘Twenty-three, Aunt.’

‘Almost at your last prayers! There is not a moment to lose.’

‘Aunt, I am in no haste to marry.’ Charlotte was beginning to wonder if she had been wise to ask her great-aunt for advice; she was liable to be given far more than was wanted or needed. ‘I have yet to find the right man.’ Even as she spoke, her mind’s eye presented her with an image of Roland Temple, Earl of Amerleigh, sitting on the little nursery chairs, making signs at Tommy Biggs and laughing. That was the man she liked, not the arrogant youth, nor the proud owner of a failing estate. She could marry the gentle, caring man. She shook the picture from her. Whatever was she thinking of? She was not going to marry anyone, least of all Roland Temple, who had called her a hoyden!

‘Nor will you, the way you are going on.’ Great-Aunt Emily’s voice broke in on her reverie. ‘But I am here now and we may yet save the situation. Let us repair to the drawing room. You can tell me all about yourself over the teacups and we will devise a plan.’

Charlotte sighed and led the way.

Chapter Six

Lady Ratcliffe was decidedly put out when she discovered next day that Charlotte intended to go to the mill as usual and she was again wearing the strange dress that had so appalled her. ‘I will try to come home early,’ Charlotte said. ‘We can talk over our plans for the ball then.’

‘What am I to do all day?’ Her ladyship was still in bed, sitting up drinking a dish of hot chocolate that Charlotte had brought herself. It was, she averred, an indecent time to be woken. ‘Surely you can give the mill a miss until we have come to some decisions. You will never pass muster as a lady while you insist on racketing about in that dreadful outfit.’

‘I must go, but I will be back in time for nuncheon and then I will change and take you round the village. We will call on Lady Brandon and the Countess of Amerleigh. I am persuaded you will deal well with them both.’

‘You are on calling terms with a Countess! Charlotte, you never told me that last night.’

‘It must have slipped my mind. If you want something to do this morning, you could make shopping lists of everything you think we need for the ball and there is no necessity to spare my purse.’ And with that, she kissed her great-aunt’s cheek and left to drive herself to the mill.

They were getting low on some yarns, but as everything seemed to be working smoothly, she did not stay long. Instead of going up to the mine as she would normally have done, she went to Amerleigh Hall to take her place in the schoolroom alongside Tommy and Roland. Both expressed delight that she could join them again.

She knew she was being inconsistent. From doing all she could to avoid the Earl she now seemed anxious to seek his company. It might have been her interest in Tommy and the lessons, but that was not the whole of it. She had had a change of heart. She wanted to get to know Roland, to discover the man beneath the aristocrat, to delve below the facade and understand why he was the man he was and how much he had changed in the course of six long years of war. The lessons were a means of doing that; they had at least one thing in common and that was a love of children. When she was with children she felt different; she could relax with them and forget business for a little while. Roland Temple gave every appearance of feeling the same. He was not above sitting on tiny chairs or even squatting on the floor to be closer to them and they were not overawed by him.

‘We are learning the signs for some useful daily phrases, Miss Cartwright,’ Miles told her. ‘Things like “I am hungry” and “Hurry up” and “It is time for dinner”.’

‘And “I am pleased to see you”,’ Roland added, pointing at his own eyes and then at her and smiling broadly.

‘We will not speak aloud at all,’ Miles admonished.

The lesson continued amid much hilarity, but they did not forget that it was Tommy who was being taught and he was included in everything they attempted. His mother had not stayed with him today; one of the little ones was unwell and she had returned to the sickbed.

‘I will take him home,’ Charlotte said when the lesson ended. ‘I can ask after the sick one at the same time.’ She turned to Tommy and successfully made him understand he was to go to the stables and have her curricle brought to the door. Grinning from ear to ear, he sped off to do her bidding.

‘We are making great strides,’ Miles said. ‘Far better than I had hoped for, but I wonder at you both treating it so lightly.’

‘You said yourself we must make it seem like play,’ Roland said as they made their way down to the ground floor. ‘He is happy about the lessons and learning fast. We shall soon be able to move on to teaching him to read and write. That will open a whole new vista for him.’

‘You would make a scholar of him?’ Charlotte queried.

‘Why not? Every child, however poor, deserves an education. I know you agree with that, for you teach your workers.’ He paused and gave her a smile that found its way to treacly brown eyes and crinkled the corners of his mouth. ‘I am persuaded we have more in common than we have in dissent, Miss Cartwright.’

They had arrived in the front hall and she did not point out that he was the one causing dissent by insisting on continuing with that lawsuit. If he would only hint that he might drop it, she would gladly come to some accommodation with him, give him the title to the land and retain the mining rights perhaps. But he had to make the first move.