A carriage ride trough Willingden

A new houseguest

"So Charlotte, hope you like it."

"Oh, of course... I never had a room all to myself." Charlotte said to Mary, somewhat overwhelmed by the luxury.

"Come in first and then come down for tea."

"Thank you."

Mary touched Charlotte's arm briefly and then left her alone.

After Charlotte had admired the room, with the silk bedspread and looked out the window, she freshened up and put on a clean dress. She pulled a coarsely knitted scarf out of her travel box and laid it next to the door.

"Come here, my darling." 

She said to Grumpy, pointing to the scarf to lay on top of it. The little puppy tiredly toddled over to her and lay down on the scarf. Charlotte tickled him just behind his ear until he fell asleep, and then laid out the room as best she could with the newspaper the maid had brought her.

Charlotte walked down the stairs, and heard the loud voice of an elderly lady from afar, and was curious to know if it was the great Lady Denham. She had just entered the room when Tom Parker explained

"Miss Heywood is a very fine young lady...."

"Oh, is that her?" The old lady seemed annoyed.

"Lady Denham, this is Miss Charlotte Heywood."

"How do you do?" 

Charlotte asked nicely and curtsied. She felt a certain presence that made a warm shiver run down her back, but she couldn't turn around to look. Inside, she knew who was behind her anyway. Lady Denham seemed to pierce her with her gaze.

"Well, a healthy looking girl, but nothing remarkable about her."

Far too surprised to be hurt, Charlotte took her words in, but also the annoyed sigh that could be heard from the corner of the room behind her. Lady Denham glanced briefly past Charlotte in the corner but said nothing.

"Where are you from?" asked the lady rather ungallantly.

"My father owns a small estate in Willingden, ma'am."

"Ah a farmer then, the dying breed..." She remarked that industrialists were the future, but Charlotte's ears could hardly hear it. She had the urge to turn around, even though she knew exactly who was standing in the corner.

"How many brothers and sisters do you have?" asked the lady.

"Eleven, ma'am."

"Eleven? Eleven? Well, then, you must find yourself a fortune."

"I didn't..."

"Your parents sent you here to find a fortune."

"Oh, they didn't, ma'am."

"Of course they did." Her words left no room for an argument.

"Lady Denham." said Mary vehemently, and Lady Denham only hinted that Charlotte should sit down with a young woman on one of the sofas, as she had business to discuss with Mr Parker.

Whether Sidney was also sent away, she did not really know, because his gaze prevented her from thinking clearly. She smiled at him to show him that she appreciated his gesture and thanked him for it. Had anyone ever thanked him for an annoyed sigh? Hardly ever.

If Lady Denham wasn't the biggest investor in Tom's Sanditon project, he would have said something, but his hands were tied. However, with her insolence, he couldn't suppress the perturbed sigh. There were many remarkable things about Charlotte. Two were looking at him right now.