“I believe she does piecework at home so she can look after her little ones.”
He was right. She’d forgotten about that. Obviously, they were too young for school.
“I wonder where the children were when she was at Covent Garden before?”
“If she left them here alone, that’s dangerous, and you wouldn’t want to encourage such a thing,” he pointed out.
Charlotte didn’t want to let that stop her from helping Edward’s mother out of poverty and give her the ability to stand on her own two feet without relying on the duplicitous Mr. Tufts.
“We shall figure it out,” she vowed. “If you can find her a place to live, hopefully a bit farther west of the pump, we can think of a place her children can stay while she works There must be many a mother in a similar situation.”
He nodded. “I’ve sat on that council for two years and felt useless. They always have a member of the nobility on the board to help with fundraising. But this will be the first time I’ve been able to help someone directly.”
“You’ve already helped me and my family,” Charlotte pointed out to him. She didn’t know how she would have managed without all his assistance. Moreover, without him knowing, he’d mended her wounded heart, too. It had happened almost without her realizing it, and now, she had a bright, brilliant love in her heart.
“You are a different case altogether,” he said, his tone soft, but then his gaze flicked to Delia, leaning in the corner with her eyes closed, and he smiled instead of saying more.
When his adorable single dimple showed, Charlotte smiled back.What a truly decent man!She admired everything about him, and seeing his expression, her heart opened like a rose in the sunshine.
Wishing they could have a moment alone — no, that wasn’t true! She was now wishing for a lifetime with Lord Charles Jeffcoat. However, she needed privacy to tell him she’d fallen in love with his intriguing nature — alternately calm and serious and then excitingly passionate.
“You seem thoughtful,” he said.
She shrugged. “It has been an interesting few days, to say the least. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?”
“Hopefully a new carpenter,” he joked.
“When you say something in jest, you seem about a decade younger.”
He looked taken aback. “Am I usually so stern and off-putting?”
“You are often reflective and intent,” she said, hoping those words soothed him.
“So a serious, grim-faced toad?”
She couldn’t help laughing. “Absolutely not, my lord. Your steady, sincere manner is a wonderful trait. One knows what you are about and where one stands.”
After a moment, he nodded. “I think I know what you mean.”
She wished Delia wasn’t leaning against her arm. She wanted to tell him she wouldn’t trade him and his earnest, dependable ways for anything, certainly not for the flamboyant and fickle manner of Lionel Evans. She cringed at recalling how she thought him admirable for being sometimes loud and joyful, other times sullen and even cruel. She’d labelled his as having an artistic disposition, and thought his immersion in the Aesthetic movement to be interesting and exciting.
In comparison to Charles, he was a willful child.
THE FOLLOWING DAY, Charlotte intended to be first in the shop as usual, but when she approached, she could see the door was ajar and the noise from inside told her someone was at work.
Pushing the door wider, she witnessed a miracle. Her father stood by the counter, which was draped in a tarpaulin as was the floor. He was chatting with Charles! The two looked up at her entrance, both smiling, although only one had the devastating dimple that made her stomach do a queer little flip.
Over to the right were two men with heavy aprons and caps, tidy toolboxes at their sides, crafting a staircase.
Shaking her head in wonder, she approached her father and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Then she wished the viscount good day before giving voice to all her questions.
“How long have they been working? When did you both get here? I wondered where you were when you missed breakfast.” She paused. “Are you sure this is a healthy environment for you, Father, what with the sawdust and all?”
“It’s probably not a healthy place for anyone,” he said looking cheerful. “But I’m fine. Don’t fuss like your mother. His lordship wanted to meet me here early so we could make sure the men his valet referred to us were on the up and up.”
Beaming at the workers who hadn’t even lifted their heads from their tasks, “ Armand Foure added, “They were waiting at the door ready to work an hour ago.”
She smiled at Charles. “Thank you, my lord.”
