Charlotte: The Practical Education of a Distressed Gentlewoman (22 page)

“
But, I can, I mean I want to make
your life easier.”

“
No, I want to do this. See if I
can. I get room and board, a new dress in the fall and a few pence.
Besides that, I get to keep the tips. I'm saving up for my
trousseau.”

The innkeeper coughed again, and
Charlotte replied, “What else have I forgotten?” He tapped on the
table.

“
Freddy, that'll be tuppence.” He
put a threepenny bit on the bar, “Keep the change.”

Willis came in and saw Freddy in
close conversation with the bar maid. “Freddy, has she seen
anything? We've ridden through this entire parish and no one knows
anything.”

Freddy handed him his mug and
introduced him. “Mr. John Willis, this is Miss Charlotte De
Vere.”

“
Damn me Freddy, you pick them.”
Then, remembering his manners, he bowed, “Miss De Vere, I'm pleased
to make your acquaintance.” He took a deep pull on his beer and
continued, “So Freddy, what now?”

“
If you'll keep an eye on Miss De
Vere over the next few days, see that no harm befalls her. I'll go
find that worthless brother of hers. We'll need to serve him the
papers.”

Willis replied, “No. You're not
looking for him. That's my job.”

“
What?”

“
Sir, with respect, you can't go
and look for him.”

“
Why not?”

“
You're too much a target, he
won't associate with honest men, will he?”

“
No.”

“
Does he know what you look
like?”

“
Yes.”

“
He doesn't know me from Adam
which will make it easier to find him. He won't know he's being
sought, where if he sees you, he will.”

“
Still, I'd much rather find him
myself.”

“
Don't want you harmed, do we?
Besides Sir, that's what you pay me to do. I'll find him, easy.”
Willis drained his mug. “Good pint that Miss. Sometime when you're
the high and mighty Lady Staverton, I'll remind you that you once
pulled a pint for me. Now if you'll pardon, I'll be off.” He bowed,
then left for the stables. As he was leaving Freddy reminded him,
“Pick up the papers for 'my Lord Staverton' at the hall, Miss
Elizabeth will know where they are.” In a few minutes, he could be
heard riding off.

Freddy looked at Charlotte, “Lady
Staverton?”

She blushed, “Didn't you know? If
John dies without issue, my husband becomes Lord
Staverton
^iv
.”

“
No I didn't. Not that it matters
to me. This is all the more reason that you should stay with the
Answorths again.” He paused and said in a low voice, “Or you could
stay with us at the Hall.”

“
Freddy, I can't. You may see
nothing in it, but I'm ashamed to be a burden. Let me make my own
way for once. Besides, this way I get to know my tenants much
better than I would just staying at the vicarage.”

“
Charlotte, it's not right. Please
let me care for you.”

Mr. Hobbes spoke up, “Mr. Talbot,
Sir. I'm looking after Miss De Vere. Just like she was my own
daughter. She'll be safe here. The Mrs. and me, well since Betsy's
gone back to the hall, it's been a bit lonely. So Charlotte here,
she is no bother. Besides that, she's shaping up to be a good bar
maid and I'll be sorry to see her go. We've sold so much more beer
in the last week that I've had to brew my next batch a week
early.”

“
Freddy,” Charlotte added, “The
word's gone out that you're foreclosing on me and John, you'll have
to explain it to the tenant farmers. They'll be worried by the
rumors that are flying around.”

Freddy drained his mug which gave
him time to think. “Charlotte, you're right about that.” He gave
her a quick peck on the check, to which Mr. Hobbes didn't object,
and added, “I'll be back this evening. I can, at least, tell the
farmers from Holt what is happening.”

Charlotte smiled at him and said,
“That would be good. The rumors have been a major topic of
conversation at the bar recently, and there hasn't been much I
could say.”

“
No you couldn't, but I can. We'll
soon settle down the rumors.”

The busy and buzzing tap room at
the Royal Oak went ominously silent when Freddy entered in the
evening. He smiled and walked up to Charlotte at the bar. “A pint
of bitter, my love.” He put down two shillings, and added, “and
keep them coming for my friends.” Charlotte's smile at his greeting
and truly cheerful reply of, “With pleasure, Freddy,” made it clear
that they were once more on good terms. The buzz of conversation
didn't resume immediately, as all eyes watched Freddy. One of the
more prosperous farmers came over to Freddy and asked, “With
respect Mr. Talbot.”

“
Call me Freddy.”

“
With respect Mr. Talbot,
Sir
. What's this we hear of your foreclosing on the
Staverton estates?”

“
It's true, unfortunately. It is
the only way to clear up the mess that Lord Staverton and Mr.
Cruise left.”

“
And you're not planning to send
Miss De Vere to debtor's prison?”

“
My affianced wife? Do you think
I'm heartless?”

“
I know you're a hard man, all you
Talbot's are. Even your father, chummy as he is, I'd not want to
cross him.”

“
What happened is simple, though
I'm ashamed of it. I thought she was part of a fraudulent scheme
involving that man who claimed to be her brother.”

“
Was her brother.”

“
Her brother died in Paris. Don't
you forget that.”

The farmer replied, “He sure looked
like John De Vere, and I ought to know.” Then he caught sight of a
hard expression flickering over Freddy's face and continued, “Good
impersonation, wasn't it?”

“
Yes it was. I lost my temper with
the pair of them. I shouldn't have doubted Miss De
Vere.”

“
So if she's your fiancée, why
doesn't she move back to the hall?”

“
Ask her, I have. I think she
likes it here.”

Charlotte interjected, “I've always
been cosseted and looked after. I want to see if I can survive on
my own. Yes, Freddy's asked me, several times, to go back to the
hall, but not until this mess is cleaned up, and I can go freely as
Mrs. Talbot.”

Charlotte's answer satisfied most
of the questions and the buzz of conversation gradually recovered.
Freddy's shillings were soon used up, and he found himself in the
unusual position of being stood a few beers himself.

A few days later an express came
from Mr. Willis. He'd tracked one John De Vere to the races near
Newbury. Unfortunately, he didn't have much more to report, other
than John had 'left town between two thunderclaps' to avoid paying
gambling debts. He finished the letter with a few portentous
sentences.

“
I talked with one 'Gentleman
Jack', who told me you would already know about my discoveries. It
will be a race between me and the bookies for who finds 'My Lord
Staverton' first. For his sake, I hope it's me because we won't
find him if they get him first.”

A few days later, Mr. Willis sent
another express.

Devizes

Mr. Frd. Talbot,

Sir.

De Vere was lying drunk and staying
low in Hungerford. It must have been an epic bender, since he went
through a fair bit of the fifty pounds he lifted from the turf
accountants in Newbury. Sorry to say that, once again, I just
missed him.

He has shipped as a hand on the
inland waterway. A couple of the lock keepers and toll houses on
the canal remember him. He seems to be working his way west, so I
thought it best to warn you as Staverton is close by the canal and
he may show his face again.

Sincerely,

Yr. Servant

John Willis.

Shortly afterwards a franked letter
arrived from Chalfield manor, a few miles to the north of Holt. It
said, once Freddy cut through the extraneous, indirect and flowery
language, that there was an opportunity for their mutual advantage
should Mr. Talbot care to visit. He found Elizabeth and Sam as they
were returning from a stroll, chaperoned by her maid, and showed
them the letter.

“
Sam, what do you make of
this?”

“
I don't know Lady Chalfield well
enough to advise you, but it sounds dashed smoky to me.”

Elizabeth added, “That old soak
must have some hidden plan. If I went, I wouldn't go
alone.”

Freddy responded, “I'm sure of
that. A bit curious what she's about, though.”

Sam looked at Elizabeth and said,
“If you can spare my company for a few hours, perhaps I can
accompany Freddy. It's not a long ride, is it?”

“
Ten miles or so.”

“
Let's go, if she's planning
mischief it's best soon out.”

Freddy could not help but notice as
he and Major Travers rode to Chalfield Hall, that the farms were
more impoverished than those near Holt. “Sam,” he said, “Lord
Staverton may have been a thriftless man, but these farms are in a
far worse state than his.”

“
I've noticed.”

“
I feel we may have to do
something about it.”

“
It's your blunt Freddy, but I'd
be wary of throwing good money after bad.”

“
You're right on that, but I still
wonder. The farmers here are so cash-poor that it wouldn't take
much investment to yield a good return.”

“
You'll be following in your
father's footsteps. Where will the piggery be?”

“
Sam, you're jumping miles ahead
of me.”

“
I can just see it. An acre big
and steam-powered. Food and coal go in one end and pigs fly out of
the other.”

“
It's not a laughing matter. We
could do that. Except, perhaps, for the flying pigs. I'll have to
think about it, there's probably a catch.”

Given the state of the farms, it
was no surprise to either man that Chalfield hall was partially
ruined.

“
I can see that Mi'lady hasn't
been wasting her blunt on the estate.”

“
Don't know, Freddy, it has its
capabilities. It will take a fair pile of the ready to fix it,
though.”

When they knocked on the door, a
scruffily dressed retainer opened it and admitted them to the hall.
Freddy asked, “I'm Mr. Frederick Talbot. Is Lady Chalfield
available? She sent me a letter requesting I visit her.”

“
This way.” He led them to a front
parlor that clearly had seen better days, but at least had glass in
the windows and seemed dry. “I'll tell Lady Chalfield that you have
arrived.”

It took a few minutes, but Lady
Chalfield arrived in the room.

“
Ah Mr. Talbot, or perhaps since
we're such old friends, I should call you Freddy.”

“
I'd prefer Mr.
Talbot.”

“
Formal are we,
Freddy?”

“
What is it?”

“
I was going through Lord
Chalfield's papers the other day and found something that may be of
interest. It's an old letter from Charlotte's mother to my
husband.”

“
Can I see it?”

“
Not until you pay me, but I'll
read the relevant part. It starts about halfway through.” She
began, “I'm breeding again, my love. There's only one possible
father, and he isn't my husband. I haven't been with him since he
caught the pox. It's signed by Lady Staverton.”

“
You're implying that Lord
Staverton isn't Charlotte's father?”

“
What do you think? Yes. The
letter could cause you some interesting difficulties if it were
published, even if Lord Staverton publicly acknowledged Charlotte
during his lifetime.”

“
I see. How much?”

“
Since we're old acquaintances,
one thousand. I'll only go higher if you argue. Tomorrow it's two
thousand. Supply and demand, you know.”

“
I don't carry that much on me,
will a check do?”

“
That will be fine, but don't
think you can stop it.”

“
I won't.” Freddy wrote out a
check and took the letter in return.

“
I have another letter, I'll let
you have it when the check clears, maybe.”

As they rode back to Staverton
Hall, Sam asked Freddy, “What are you going to do?”

Freddy told him in the calm and
uniform voice that his friends knew presaged danger, “Break
her.”

“
How?”

“
You'll see. I'll send an express
to Bayliss. If she's not mortgaged to the hilt, I'll eat my boots,
uncooked and unwashed.”

“
What about Charlotte?”

“
What about her?”

“
Doesn't it make you change your
feelings about her?”

Freddy halted his mount and stared
at his friend. “You don't know me very well, do you, Sam? Of course
not.”

“
That's the Freddy I thought I
knew. Good to see that you haven't changed.”