Charlotte House Affair 01 - My Particular Friend

employment. Charlotte, of course, merely remembered whatever she read, but I had not that facility. I often wondered aloud how troublesome it would be to retain so much knowledge, but she always said when information no longer was useful she promptly forgot it. I found difficulty believing her statement and asked her to give me an example of knowledge she no longer found useful. She countered that she could not because she had forgotten any examples. I countered that she could not cite an example because knowledge never becomes useless. She merely looked at me, blinked twice and said, ‘I’m sorry, what were we talking about?’
    ‘Jane, have you found anything? And what is that smile about?’
    ‘Sorry, yes,’ I said, and looked at my notes. ‘You have several clippings about Mr Worcester but apart from one notation—“mostly harmless”—you appear to have given him little thought. I find two engagement notices—one in fact to Miss Stilton, and he has appeared several times before a magistrate for assault and drunken behaviour.’
    ‘Hidden depths, indeed.’
    ‘Not quite as it seems, Charlotte. These incidents appear to involve the bad blood between Oxford and Cambridge.’ #
    ‘Oh that! I suppose we cannot hold that against Mr Worcester. Were you to go back a few years earlier you might find my brother involved in similar affairs of honour.’
    ‘And what of Sir Walter?’ I asked.
    ‘He is a baronet in Surrey of great wealth and unsavoury reputation, whose family has been supplying gunpowder to the Navy for generations. He has two daughters, of whom Miss Blankenship is the eldest. I do recall now that his daughter is outspoken and has caused him no little trouble.’ #
    ‘We should also find what there is of Mr Worcester’s aunt and Mr Stilton.’
    ‘No need, I know of Mrs Walthorpe, the aunt: a tyrant of an old lady but not genuinely unkind. And as for Miss Stilton’s father, he stands for parliament and should he ever be successful will doubtless experience a long and meaningless career. His daughter is also considered quite beautiful and spirited. For a man of little distinction, Mr Worcester seems fond of women of some notoriety.’
    ‘What is our plan of action?’
    ‘Our first step is to ensure the interested parties remain unaware of Mr Worcester’s competing claims, and to do that we need to be on hand.’
    I was sceptical. ‘How will we do that?’
    ‘Isn’t it obvious? Some time has already passed since Mr Worcester found himself engaged, and yet the families remain unaware. Undoubtedly some part of the delay may be attributed to preparation for their remove to Bath. But I think we may find there are other reasons for the delay. Come, we must collect our friend and call on Mrs Walthorpe. And it might be a good idea to have Alice prepare what you will need for a visit.’
    —&—
    Fortune smiled on us for we found Mrs Walthorpe very eager to welcome Charlotte. Despite a rather severe aspect, she did not seem quite the forbidding creature Mr Worcester had described and offered us refreshment to prolong our visit.
    ‘My dear Miss House, how is your brother? I do not see enough of him and he is just the sort of young man of consequence with whom Albert should be seen.’
    ‘My brother is well and often speaks of you and your nephew in glowing terms. He asked especially that I should call on you once he heard that you would visit Bath. I apologize for the timing of our visit. I did not know that you had only recently arrived and you’ve barely had time to settle.’
    ‘Your concern does you credit, Miss House, and I am very happy to meet you. I have heard so much of you from your brother. Such a polite young man. And he has always complimented you as a young woman of sense and perspicacity. If only my Albert … but where is he? He was to arrive to-day from London. We are planning such a party, Miss House. Mr Stilton, whom your brother has no doubt informed you stands for Parliament, is here with his wife and daughter, a charming young woman who … well, never mind about that, you will know shortly. And Sir Walter Blankenship and his family are to join us. He does me a very great honour in attending. Together our families have been very instrumental to the defence of our nation.’
    Salted cod and gunpowder are both equally important to the Navy,
I thought, as Mrs Walthorpe continued, expounding further on the importance of her guests. She directed no remarks to me or Mrs