Chapter Eight
Charles rose early the next morning. During a sleepless night, he decided to ride early enough that Arthur and Daphne wouldn’t be up. Walking straight to the stables, he waited as a groom saddled the bay.
He headed to the lake. While there on his and Arthur’s ride a couple of days earlier, he noticed there was a wide stream that fed into the lake, surrounded by woods. For some reason, he had been drawn to it and imagined perhaps he played there.
Once he arrived at the lake, he began to walk his horse on the bank.
He was looking for something but had no idea what.
The farther he went, the more his surroundings changed.
He urged the bay on. Finally, they came upon the opening to a cave.
It wasn’t a deep cave, if you could even call it that.
The entrance was hidden by vines and overgrowth.
He dismounted and took a look inside. It was dark inside even with pushing aside some of the vines.
It wasn’t huge and didn’t seem to go anywhere but he could make do.
What he needed to do was gather supplies and some food.
Always be prepared, and if things didn’t go well later, he would have a safe place to go.
Luckily, it was warm out during the day and the nights were not bad to sleep outdoors.
When he walked into the house again, he noticed a carriage sitting out front. Their guests had arrived. Early, but they’d arrived nonetheless. Rather than go and change, he walked into Arthur’s study where four pairs of eyes regarded him. Daphne was the only one not present.
“Did I have the time mixed up?” he asked, looking at his brother. Arthur was standing by the fire, and his look was not a happy one.
“No, you don’t have the time wrong.”
“Yes, come and join us, Lord Charles,” Lady Agnes trilled. “May I present our solicitor, Mr. Brown.”
Charles glanced at his brother for an explanation. Not getting one, he spoke on his own. “Why would you need a solicitor?”
“To represent Lady Cathryn and our family.”
“The only male relative lives in America, and her father and brother are on the Continent,” Mr. Brown said.
“So their parents left them with no one to act as their protector?” Arthur inquired.
“That is correct.”
“I find that odd,” Charles said.
“That’s not important,” Lady Agnes said. “We need to finalize this while we’re here.”
Mr. Brown, their solicitor, cleared his throat. “Lady Cathryn has accused Lord Charles of inappropriate behavior and as such has ruined her for any other man. Is this correct, milord?”
Charles sat there in disbelief. He still couldn’t believe he was being used like this. He would never ruin a woman’s reputation. Looking Mr. Brown in the face, he shook his head. “No, that is not correct. She took a fall while jumping and her horse threw a shoe. The rest is a fabrication.”
“My lord, I do not understand why you won’t own up to what you did to my sister. She has sworn you touched her in inappropriate places on her body,” Lady Anges seethed.
“I did no such thing.”
“So how are we going to fix this?” Arthur asked, clearly frustrated by the accusations being thrown at his brother.
“Really, Your Grace. There is only one solution to this dilemma. Your brother will marry my sister.”
“Lady Cathryn. Please. Tell them the truth; that I didn’t do any of the things I’m being accused of.”
She said nothing but instead stared at her folded hands.
“All right. I think this has been decided,” Mr. Brown said, looking at Charles and then Arthur. “I trust you will get a special license and this marriage can be finalized in the next few days.”
“There is the matter of where they will live,” Lady Agnes said. “I assume they’ll live here?”
Before anyone could answer, Charles stood up.
He’d had enough. He was going to have to disappear, at least for a while.
Perhaps some of these people would grow tired of their charade.
He quickly looked at everyone in the room.
Lady Cathryn looked as though she would cry and everyone else appeared angry. He walked to the door and opened it.
“Charles, where are you going?” Arthur asked.
“I need some air.”
As he bolted across the room to the door, he heard Arthur tell them he’d be back in a few minutes. Not a chance. If he were going to have to go through with this, he would do it when he was ready to give in. By the look on Lady Cathryn’s face, he was sure she didn’t like the position she was in.
He made it to his wing of the house and went directly to the master suite.
Heading over to the sitting room, he moved a panel, opening it with a hidden lock.
In the past it had been used for servants to come and go, mainly to check or light the fires.
It had also been used as a place for family members to hide.
There was a hidden door giving access to the servants’ hallway to other parts of the house and a set of stairs which led up to a private room in the attic.
Once in the attic room, he looked around to determine what he would need to stay. He couldn’t very well go to the stream hideaway until there was a moon. He would have to work at night to make it inhabitable. For now, this would work.
He retraced his footsteps. He needed to inform Frazier what he was up to so his valet could be on alert when it came to his brother and Lady Cathryn and her family.
As he neared the hidden panel, he overheard Arthur and Frazier’s voices.
His valet assured his brother he’d not seen him and Arthur sounded frustrated.
“Lady Agnes has left her sister here. Said she was Charles’s problem and that she was not going to have the family name sullied.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever met someone so set on getting what she wants.”
“That’s all I wanted to tell you in case you hear from him. I know he goes for long walks that can last hours or longer, so he might be sighted.”
“That’s always possible. I’ll do my best to convince him to come back if I run across him,” Frazier replied. “How is Lady Cathryn getting along?”
“Heartbroken that her sister cast her aside. Her Grace has been doing her best to try to cheer her up, with little results.”
“Do you think Lady Agnes made all this up?”
“Absolutely, I do,” Arthur replied.
Upon hearing all this, Charles backed away from the exit. He went and sat down at a table just off to the left of the entrance. The idea that one’s sibling could do something to another was so heartless and went beyond comprehension.
“If I see him, you’ll be the first to know, Your Grace.”
“Thank you, Frazier.”
Charles heard the sound of a door closing and his valet mumbling to himself. A few minutes later, Charles heard the servant’s door open and close and suddenly it was completely quiet. He paced up and down the hall for a few minutes. He wanted to make sure Frazier was indeed gone.
When he did emerge, Charles quickly penned a note for his valet, grabbed his notebooks, pens, and some apples from a nearby table. He knew Frazier would know what to do. He’d see to it that he got food, some blankets, and other necessities to keep him sustained.
What bothered him now was Lady Cathryn being left by her sister.
Would she stay here to wait on him? Or would she find somewhere else to go?
From the few times he’d met her, she seemed docile.
When he found her during the hunt, his first impression was that she was capable of more than most young ladies.
Today really surprised him. He’d expected her to stand up for herself.
He wanted to believe it was all her sister’s doing, but something told him to keep his distance.
He headed back through the opening and closed the panel.
He would go up to the attic because the window was going to be the only source of light.
Once it got dark, he would have to rely on a candle, which he would have to use cautiously in case someone happened to look up at the house and saw light coming from the attics.
Entering the attic room again, he set the notebooks, pens, ink, and everything else he’d been able to carry onto a table under the window.
It was then he realized he had forgotten matches and a holder for the candle.
This was a conundrum. The only reason one could see in the hidden hallways and stairs was because there were lanterns near doorways for the servants to use.
They weren’t all lit but they were there waiting for use.
Realizing he’d be taking a risk, Charles thought he’d go down and try to find a lantern already lit and bring it back up with him.
The task was easier than he anticipated, and he even found some matches sitting nearby. At least he wouldn’t be in the dark all the time. So, before going back upstairs, he walked to the hidden door to see if Frazier had left him what he’d asked for just outside the door.
A couple of heavy blankets and other necessities along with a hamper were waiting on him, just inside the door. Frazier had figured out where he was. Not what he wanted, but it was probably better he did. He knew his valet would keep his secret.
The room had been where his father would lock him away whenever he had a major tantrum, as his father called them.
Back then he had a mattress and a couple of crates, nothing else.
His father was afraid he might try and climb up to the window and try getting out on the roof to escape.
When locking him away from the household, his father sent him first to a home which dealt in infirmities such as he had.
After that didn’t help, he sent him to live on Wight.
Opening the hamper, he found a note from Frazier, along with some fruit, a loaf of bread, cheese, and roast chicken. Two bottles of wine were to one end of the hamper.
Frazier mentioned he would leave him food once a day and would try to do more if he didn’t raise any eyebrows with the kitchen staff.