“Charlotte!” Mrs. Tilton snapped, much like a lapdog might. Her jowls were still wobbling beneath her chin after she snapped her mouth closed when she smiled most disingenuously around the room. “Shall we have some refreshments?”
And so the conversation turned incredibly dull, with Lina and Charlotte meeting each other’s eyes as they sat politely through it. Lina knew, then, that when Charlotte asked the room if anyone might be up for a stroll to take in some air, that she wanted Lina to volunteer.
Which was fine because Evangeline was not one to engage in sport of any kind. Lina squeezed Anna’s arm to give her the secret message they shared when they could not speak: she wanted to go alone, but she promised to tell her everything.
Anna understood.
Elizabeth very nearly rolled her eyes as her sister—making Lina second-guess her own instincts—when Charlotte practically begged her to go with them.
“In this heat, absolutely not,” Elizabeth sighed. “I have a fair disposition and fair skin, and I shall swoon.”
And so, they were free to go together.
“I do hope you aren’t put off by my beastly sister,” Charlotte said to Lina, as soon as they were outside. She had linked her arm around Lina’s as soon as they reached the street.
“I thought you wanted her to come,” Lina said dubiously.
“She’s a mule. You must always tell her the opposite of what you wish her to do, and she shall do as you wish. I do hope you don’t think poorly of me speaking about her like this, but she is quite the beast. Stay away from her, and you shall have a lovely time in London.”
Lina smiled, still unsure of how much to trust Charlotte, as she seemed one of those people simply too nice to be true.
“They say you’ve come from Paris,” Charlotte said. “This way, to the promenade, where there is some shade. Is it true? Do you remember it at all, or have you forgotten? They say you speak French perfectly. I do hope you might tutor me if that’s the case; mine is pitiful and my tutor is at her wits’ end, perhaps you can meet her. Is your name really Caroline?”
Lina smiled, trying to keep track of the dizzying questions, for the girl really did seem to want to know the answers. She was quite endearing, and Lina was so happy to have a possibility of friendship with someone likable, that she felt she was flying.
“My name is Carolina,” she said, “But the people I like call me Lina.”
“Then I shall call you Lina, for I know we’ve only just met but I am a very good judge of character and I know that I want to be dear friends with you,” Charlotte cried.
“Just don’t call me Lina in front of Mrs. Harlowe.”
“Or, I imagine, in the presence of any stodgy, purple-haired ladies. They aresosilly. The French are having ever so much more fun, and I think they’re jealous.”
Lina had never heard anyone talk like this, and she could tell that she would very much enjoy Charlotte as a friend and ally.
They went on a very long stroll, round and round the park, talking excitedly about every aspect of their lives that they could think of. Charlotte wanted to know everything she could about Paris, for she wanted to visit someday. She tried out her French, but it was, unfortunately, so poor that Lina was relieved when she gave up and began to speak English again. Lina, for her part, had endless questions about London, and society there, and so much more.
But, a very annoyed driver, wiping sweat from his brow, appeared before them. “Miss. Tilton. Miss Blanchet. I have been... looking for you everywhere. Your mother, Miss Tilton, wishes to remind you that a stroll is no longer than one hour and that anything more is a hike, and unseemly for two young ladies lest someone get the wrong idea.”
“I suppose these are her words, not yours, Mr. Pratchett?”
The driver stood up, straightening his collar, and did not answer.
“We shall return forthwith,” Charlotte told him, in a mocking tone. “We have only twice more around the square until we have walked four miles.”
The man began to draw in a breath, when Charlotte swatted at him playfully. “I say so in jest, Mr. Pratchett. Surely you know that.”
Mr. Pratchett did not seem to know anything of the sort, and he did not turn to leave them until Charlotte promised to return, truly, that moment.
And that was how Lina met Charlotte, and felt much better about her time in London for it.
