Charlotte House Affair 01 - My Particular Friend

with the release of a single clasp. She then helped me as I struggled to put on the headdress and outer garments that were the double of Miss Winslowe’s costume. Charlotte also produced another candle, lit it from the first and then lit two more candles in the room, only slightly relieving the gloom.
    While we were engaged, the door opened and I heard Miss Winslowe say, ‘He has seen me and is right behind me.’ I stepped out from behind the screen while Charlotte shepherded Miss Winslowe behind it, and then doused her own light and Mrs Fitzhugh’s candle.
    ‘Who is that?’ I heard Mrs Ashby ask from behind the screen, at least this time in a hushed tone. Mrs Fitzhugh quieted her.
    I arranged the veil that should conceal my face and then the door opened again and Mr Hickham entered, his body framed against the light without. He softly closed the door behind him and as he did, I wondered,
Where is the footman? And Mr King?
    ‘Is it you, Catherine?’ Mr Hickham asked softly with a coldness that drew me back.
    ‘It is, Frederick,’ Miss Winslowe answered for me from behind the screen.
    Mr Hickham walked toward me, forcing me to take another step until my back was against the screen.
    ‘Take another step and I scream,’ she said, her tone also cold.
    He stopped and drew himself up to his full height, and I felt very small.
    ‘Why do you accuse me with your letters? You have nothing to fear from me, Catherine. ’
    ‘You are right, for you have taken everything from me already, my maidenhood, my father’s life, but you have kindly left me a scar that reminds me every day of my foolishness.’
    I heard a small gasp, hastily smothered, from behind me, but luckily Mr Hickham did not notice. I, however, saw him take a slow step toward me that went unnoticed behind the screen. And I was powerless to say anything for fear of betraying our imposture.
    ‘Catherine, I am truly sorry for what has happened between us.’ He took another step. ‘Upon my honour as a gentleman, I wish that I could atone for what I have done.’ Another step.
    I heard an almost inaudible whisper behind me and then Miss Winslowe said, ‘A real gentleman … would not need to beat women … to summon his manhood.’
    Mr Hickham stopped again and said very quietly. ‘You will pay for that, you little bitch.’ Suddenly he lunged for me and I felt his hands around my throat. I fell backwards into the screen, which also fell. From behind the screen I heard Mrs Ashby cry out as if from far, far away.
    And suddenly an aromatic sting brought me awake.
    I realized I was on the floor being supported by Mrs Fitzhugh and I saw Charlotte before me holding a vinaigrette. ‘Thank God!’ she said.
    I also saw Miss Winslowe kneeling before me and as I said, ‘What happened?’ she flung her arms around me and embraced me. ‘Dear Miss Woodsen, I am so sorry.’
    ‘You were unconscious, Jane,’ Charlotte said in answer to my question, ‘but only for a second.’ She helped disentangle Miss Winslowe from me. ‘She might still be wanting for breath, my dear.’ Her words made me realize the pain about my neck where Mr Hickham’s hands had choked me. Charlotte then brought Miss Winslowe to her feet and I looked back upon a room that now seemed filled with light and people.
    I saw to my surprise Mr Hickham being restrained by a footman and … a confused looking Mr Wallace. I also saw Mr King attending to Mrs Ashby, who had sustained a small cut to her forehead. ‘Your actions reveal you, Mr Hickham,’ Mr King said while staunching her wound. ‘You are no longer welcome here and if I had any say in the matter, you should be run out of Bath altogether.’
    ‘And you will never marry my daughter,’ Mrs Ashby added.
    ‘Pray God he will never hurt another,’ Miss Winslowe said.
    Mr Hickham said nothing to all this as he continued to struggle. Suddenly he broke free of the footman’s grasp and then Mr Wallace’s, who found himself holding a empty sleeve of the Harlequin costume. Mr Hickham seemed unsure of which direction to turn and then bolted toward the open door. Then I saw Charlotte step forward and place a foot before his path, over which Mr Hickham stumbled, almost falling to the ground.
    I yelled, ‘Stop him!’
    He regained his balance and continued his run for the door but Mr Wallace had placed his hand on Mr Hickham’s shoulder. That man turned sharply about and I saw his fist fly toward Mr Wallace’s face. But Mr Wallace was