Perhaps a day in the sunshine would improve the woman’s health or even help her recollect something of her past.
***
“Did you see the food basket?” Charlotte called to Walter as they raced down the steps to the carriage the next morning.
“I did!” Walter exclaimed, licking his lips.
George and Joseph joined them from behind, each carrying a fishing pole over his shoulder.
“If we run out of food,” George called, “I expect you to catch us a feast!”
Walter turned, his eyes fixating on the long poles. “I do love fishing!”
Charlotte laughed and transferred her closed parasol to her other side as she pulled the small boy into a half hug as they stood beside the carriage. “It shall be splendid.” She looked from Walter’s wide eyes to Joseph’s gangly frame and then to George’s broad one and motioned them a little closer. “We shall also have another guest.”
Walter’s nose scrunched up in disgust. “It isn’t a girl, is it?”
“Well, a young lady,” Charlotte said softly. “My friend Margaret is in need of some sun and a pleasant day free of worries. Will you be your best selves around her?”
George placed a hand on Joseph’s shoulder. “Of course!” Charlotte had explained her plan to him yesterday, and he had assured her they’d make the day enjoyable for all parties.
Dressed in serviceable light-blue muslin, Margaret approached them from inside the house. George gallantly walked to her and extended an arm, and then he handed both ladies into the carriage.
Once everyone was situated, tight though it was with the five of them, Charlotte smiled and explained to her brothers, “The carriage will take us to the lake on the other side of the trees, and we’ll walk home when we are finished. The servants will collect our catch, if there is any, and the remaining materials then.”
“Ifthere is any?” Joseph shook his head. He dashed his hand across his knee. “Have some faith, sister!”
“I am going to catch at least three!” Walter cheered in his high voice, raising his clenched fist into the air and in the process knocking Joseph into George.
At this sudden outburst, a faint smile graced Margaret’s lips. She said nothing, and shortly after, her face clouded, but Charlotte triumphed that the woman’s burden might have lessened a degree. Her brothers—at least, her younger ones—often had that effect on her too.
Once the party had eaten, on the part of the ladies, or devoured, on the part of the boys, the cold meats, grapes, cheeses, bread, and glasses of cordial punch, Charlotte sought for a way to speak with Margaret. “Margaret, would you care to take a walk with me while the boys go about their fishing?”
“Indeed, miss,” Margaret responded, rising from her blanket.
George, ever aware as usual, called his brothers near and started preparing the tackle and hooks for their fishing. Charlotte couldn’t help but grin as Walter hung on every movement of his strong, capable older brothers and chattered incessantly, asking every question imaginable about angling.
The two women walked in silence a little while around the edge of the lake, until Charlotte inquired, “How do you fare? Do you still have headaches?”
“Less, miss. Me ’ead is feelin’ almost right again.”
“I am glad to hear it. And do you find you have any more memories about where you came from?”
Charlotte watched Margaret’s eyes dart from side to side. “I, um...” She coughed. “No, miss.” Her shifty mannerisms, with her pursed lips and trembling hands, weren’t lost on Charlotte.
“You can tell me the truth,” Charlotte urged. “I won’t hold any of it against you.” Even as she said it, however, she wondered at her words. Could she be loving enough to accept anything Margaret might say? What if there was some dreadful secret this woman was keeping? The reminder that Charlotte ought not to associate with anyone unworthy rang in her mind. Christopher would certainly expect as much. But he wasn’t here today, and she need not answer to him.
Margaret persisted in her silence. They walked farther, making it all the way to the other side of the pond, near a small hill and the main road that led toward Newcastle.
Finally Charlotte could endure the silence no longer. “Is it, perhaps, that you are unhappy with your past? If you are wanting a change, I am willing to help you.”
Margaret swallowed. “Not unhappy, miss.”
“Then, what is it?”
“I’m scared.”
A cold shiver penetrated Charlotte’s limbs. “Would you feel comfortable telling me more?”
