Lina’s heart soared, for Charlotte had become such a dear friend in such a short time, and possessed the same cleverness and curiosity as she herself did. Most importantly, Charlotte possessed a secret that Lina desperately needed to know.
Charlotte had a difficult time containing herself when Lina, very theatrically, pretended to swoon as they made for the drawing room with the ladies after dinner.
“Caroline,” Charlotte cried, taking her by the arm with an admiring smile that only Lina could see. “Whatever is the matter?”
“I feel a bit unwell,” Lina said, holding her hand to her forehead as she had seen Evangeline do on so many occasions, though it nearly made her burst into laughter.
“You must be exhausted,” Charlotte had said, with false bravado.
“I think I shall retire early,” Lina said, eliciting a glare from Mrs. Tilton, whose sharp eyes missed nothing and whose suspicion seemed to know no bounds.
“Shall someone accompany you?” Charlotte asked, giving Lina a sharp look and a small shake of the head. She was ever so clever, Lina thought. They needed to throw the terrible Mrs. Tilton off the scent.
“I’m quite all right. No, no, do carry on, I think it has just been all a bit too much,” Lina said. “I shall take my leave.”
Mrs. Tilton remained suspicious, but accepted a tea when Charlotte returned to be seated next to her on a chair after kissing Lina good night.
She did not know how Charlotte planned to break away from the group, but it mattered not: she was a clever girl and Lina had faith that she would see her soon.
* * *
The knock came almostan hour later, and Charlotte was quite flushed when Lina opened the door.
“How did you—”
Charlotte brought a finger to her lips to silence Lina, and pushed into the bedroom hurriedly. When the door was closed, she turned to face Lina, and smiled. “I said I was using the water closet, which as you know, can take a great deal of time. I locked the door from the outside,” she said, giggling with mirth, and unfolding her hand, palm-up, to reveal the key to the water closet.
Lina smiled, and then her face fell as she remembered the reason for this clandestine meeting, and it was not all fun.
Charlotte pursed her lips, seemingly understanding the dismay on Lina’s face. She flounced onto Lina’s bed, careful to keep her skirts spread so they wouldn’t wrinkle. She extended a hand to Lina, and pulled Lina toward her when she took it. She clasped Lina’s hand in both of hers.
“I shall tell you what I’ve heard about Mr. Blackstone,” she whispered. “But you must promise not tell another soul that you have heard this from me. It is quite...inappropriate.So much so,” she said, with one of the quick, spontaneous smiles that interrupted nearly every one of her sentences, “that I can scarcely bring myself to say it.”
Lina cocked her head. She put a hand on Charlotte’s arm and squeezed. “Charlotte, I should be forever grateful if you will tell me what you have heard.”
“They say,” Charlotte said, leaning close to whisper, her pulse throbbing rapidly in the hollow of her throat, “that Mr. Blackstone is never seen in public because he is hideously disfigured.”
Lina leaned back, her lips pressed together. She tried to image a hideously disfigured man, but because she had never seen one, she could not conjure a picture that made the idea of a man so repellent that she might risk her opportunity at security and fortune for it.
“I suppose that is unfortunate,” Lina said quietly. “Is that what they mean by ‘monster’?” She looked at the ceiling. “Oh, but how terrible could it be?”
Charlotte leaned toward her again and pressed her arm. “But that isn’t why they call him a monster, at least not... not the only reason.”
Lina met Charlotte’s eyes, which had grown dark and troubled, and her mouth, forever forming smiles that seemed beyond her control, was serious and trembling. “They say also that... that...”
Lina leaned in closer.
“That he is... this is quite indiscreet, Lina, you must promise not to utter word of it...”
“I promise,” Lina said hastily, squeezing Charlotte’s arm again, lest she never reveal the secret.
“They say that he is a man who... who subscribes to... to...depravity.”
“Depravity?” Lina repeated.
Truth be told, she did not honestly know what the word meant, for examples of “depravity” were never provided. She suspected, naturally, that it had something to do with the very naughty acts performed by a married couple in order to procure children.
“Sexual,” Charlotte said, her whisper so soft it was barely audible. “Depravity.”
