Susanna suppressed a sigh. They would get nowhere like this—with each word, Mr. Sedley and Charlotte were moving further away from understanding one another. She needed to prove herself. To prove she could do this, that shehaddone this, that she was worthy of her position here.Prove it to yourself, or to him?a nagging little voice asked. She swallowed.
“Is that something you learned in the theater? Skills of observation?” Susanna asked.
That got Charlotte’s attention. She dropped the watch fob, which fell back against her chest, likely smarting a bit as the heavy bauble hit. She didn’t flinch, though; instead, she cocked her head as she regarded Susanna, like a black cat whose curiosity had finally been piqued.
“Do you like the theater, Miss Abbotts?”
Susanna smiled ruefully. “I have never been, not since my arrival in London a year ago. I always adored the pantomimes at Christmas back home, though. My sister and I would always attempt to replicate them afterwards, much to our parents’ dismay.”
“You have a sister?” Mr. Sedley interjected. She felt his gaze on her even as she held Charlotte’s.
“Yes, well. It’s not that important. I’m here to learn more about Miss Sedley, not speak of myself.” She wished she might will away the color rising in her cheeks. The last thing she wanted to do was talk about her family.
“You’ll have to reveal yourself eventually,” he said, adding in a joking tone, “That is, if you can get a word in edgewise with this one.”
Unfazed by his teasing, Charlotte’s eyes danced back and forth between the two of them. Susanna wondered if she should be concerned—was something amiss with her appearance? She tightened the clasp of her hands in her lap, worried at this new mirth in the girl’s expression. The caged birds tweeted in the distance.
Suddenly Charlotte sighed and turned to stare at the potted palms, a languorous movement that, for a brief moment, Susanna saw as a startlingly uncanny embodiment of Mr. Sedley. “I can do arithmetic, and I can read tolerably well. I know a fair number of plays, from the Greeks to Shakespeare. I know my kings and queens. Beyond that, I’m afraid I know nothing. But I am happy to learn.”
Her brief, dispassionate, and oddly mature speech over, Charlotte looked back to the pair of them. Before Susanna could open her mouth to respond with enthusiasm, her charge smiled once again; that small, privately pleased grin that was reminiscent of Mr. Sedley as well.
“Cousin Harmonia says you worked for the Earl of Clifton?”
Susanna visibly cringed, unable to catch herself in time. “Yes, that’s correct.”
“She said he’s a bad man.”
“Charlotte,” Mr. Sedley warned, inching forward in the seat.
“I wonder if that’s why you left?”
Susanna’s heart raced, her face flushing. But she held herself this time, and managed a smile. “Should we not call for tea or refreshment, Miss Sedley? This is your house, recall. We are your guests.”
“I don’t like to bother the servants,” she responded—a bit too blithely, as if she knew it would upset her father even more—before returning to the uncomfortable subject Susanna had tried to elude.
“I wonder if you’ll need to leaveusas well.” Charlotte leveled her gaze on Mr. Sedley, her face blank, but her words absolutely indelicate in what they suggested.
“Just what are you insinuating, Charlotte?” Mr. Sedley choked out.
Goodness, what is happening?Susanna reeled. This was as outlandish as those Christmas pantos. She had to stop it.
“Miss Sedley. That isnota polite topic of conversation, regardless of what you think you’ve heard. It’s imprudent and hurtful.” She sat up straight, her brows knit, yet kept her voice gentle even as her words were stern.
The girl snapped her huge eyes back to her, watching. Waiting for her to finish. Susanna cleared her throat, gathering herself. “Least said, soonest mended. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“I’ve upset you.” A statement, not a question.
How could someone so young keep their face so empty, so devoid of emotion? This was shaping up to be a monumental challenge. Susanna steeled herself. She would rise to the occasion. She had to; she had nowhere else to go.
“Yes, and you’ve upset your father as well. He only wants what’s best for you, and youwillneed to learn how to comport yourself, regardless of company.”
Silence ensued, and Susanna prayed that both father and daughter weighed her words and considered their import. The way Mr. Sedley had previously spoken of Charlotte betrayed a deep emotion—perhaps not the love and fondness of a parent whose heart had been bound to a child since birth, but a profound empathy for a child hurting. A compassion for someone suffering something he himself had suffered. And perhaps, one day, the pressure of time and the heat of emotion might transform that into a deep, paternal love. Susanna vowed to do her best to aid him, in whatever way she could.
“I see.” The girl’s eyes drifted over to Mr. Sedley. She reached for her necklace again, twirling it with her fingers as she considered her father.
Susanna allowed herself a hopeful smile. Perhaps she could salvage this introduction after all.
“Blast it, is thatTitus’swatch fob?!”
