Charlotte House Affair 01 - My Particular Friend

our hostess. In fact he was so animated that he upset his cup, luckily only staining his clothing and not our hostess’s.
    ‘I think his chances are quite good, assuming he does not spill anything further,’ Mrs Fitzhugh said. Then she added, ‘Poor Mr Worcester, however,’ and nodded in that man’s direction. I saw him slumped forward in his chair, his chin supported in his bridged hands, with an expression of suffering on his face.
    ‘Yes, poor Mr Worcester,’ I agreed.
    ‘Oh please, will you two stop saying that,’ Charlotte said.
    ‘It was very mean to alarm him like that.’
    ‘But it produced the proper effect, Margaret. Sir Walter now holds him in even lower contempt than before.’
    ‘It was also very irresponsible. Suppose he had more seriously wounded Mr Cuthbertson? You acted rashly and did not stop to consider the consequences beyond that it furthered your interests.’
    I marvelled at this conversation and the effect Mrs Fitzhugh’s words had on Charlotte. I had never seen her chastened before and I suddenly recognized the nature of their relationship.
    ‘Yes, ma’am. I will do better in future,’ Charlotte said meekly.
    ‘You were her governess!’
    ‘What? Oh, of course, Jane.’
    ‘I thought you were a family friend.’
    ‘She is,’ Charlotte said. ‘She is a very old—well long time—and dear family friend. But she was my governess first. My only governess and my only teacher because my father respected her abilities so.’
    ‘And because you threw fits whenever he thought of replacing me with another instructor who better matched your needs.’
    ‘You always seemed capable of instructing me.’
    ‘Ha!’ she said with a laugh like Charlotte’s. ‘One minute a question about anatomy, another something about Lysander’s strategy at Notium and then a question about polyphonic motets. And I knew nothing of these matters.’ #
    ‘And yet you answered them.’
    ‘In due course, yes. I would always say, “I’ll explain later.” Luckily your father kept an excellent library. Although I always knew you used that library to ask me the questions in the first place.’
    Charlotte now smiled in a way I had never seen before, a smile of simple happiness, untinged with any design or purpose. It frankly unnerved me. I coughed and said, ‘Perhaps we should do something to improve Mr Worcester’s spirits.’
    My words broke the spell and Charlotte returned to her more familiar self. ‘Mr Worcester’s spirits are not my immediate concern. We have certainly improved the situation where Mr Potterthwaite is concerned, but now we must turn our attention to Mr Cuthbertson. His entrance to our party was hardly auspicious and certainly did not improve him in his standing with Sir Walter.’
    I could not help but smile at remembering the tumult caused by his appearance, but my reverie was interrupted by the approach of Mr Worcester.
    ‘Mr Worcester, please join us,’ Mrs Fitzhugh said.
    ‘Thank you ladies, I think I have worn out my welcome with the Stiltons and the Blankenships.’
    ‘I apologize that my outcry caused you to shoot wide,’ Charlotte said, ‘but it was all in a good cause.’
    ‘Yes, what cause was that exactly? “The make Worcester look like an idiot cause?”’
    ‘Precisely. You have fallen even further in the estimation of Mr Stilton and Sir Walter. They can hardly countenance the idea of you as a son in law.’
    ‘What! Hey, that’s right. Do you think they’ll want to issue the old
nolle prosequi?’
#
    ‘That is my hope. With luck, we may have disentangled you from your obligations.’
    ‘That’s fine, but it still leaves Stephanie and Evie in the soup. What they see in two fatheads like Potty and Blotto are beyond me, but still, love is blind as the man said, and I’d like to see them holding the bluebird in the end.’
    Charlotte laughed and said, ‘How very curious is your speech, Mr Worcester, but I understand your meaning. I too would like to see the couples united. And with your help, I believe we can make that happen, although it might entail no little risk to your person. We must stir the pot with the aim of bringing it to a boil.’

Stirring the Pot
    ‘Oh, excuse me, Mr Potterthwaite, I did not know you were here,’ I lied, after I entered the library and began the campaign Charlotte had outlined. He stood quickly, failing for once to produce any damage.
    ‘Miss Woodsen, I could leave.’
    ‘No, sir, that is not necessary. I will