"Growth in love comes from a place of absence, where the imagination is left to it's own devices and creates you to be much more then reality would ever allow." Jamie Weise

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Chapter Five

Charlotte had wanted to thank Nate properly. Regardless of what had happened in the past, he'd still saved her life with his quick thinking. Without him, she might've suffocated.

"Not that I'm unhappy," Emmett said as he pushed the wooden cricket stumps into the green. "But I find it interesting that you would be the one to invite Nate for lunch and a cricket match." Once the three stumps were in the ground, he placed the bale on top.

"Would you be quiet?" Bess snapped, comically slapping her husband's chest. "If she wants Nate and Maggie as guests then she shall have them."

Charlotte placed her hands on her hips, now free from any restricting corset, and stared at her. "I know what you're doing, I hope you realise." Bess' interferences had suddenly all made sense. She had been delaying Charlotte while Nate was returning. Why he was returning, she still did not know. Perhaps he'd tired himself of America? Regardless, Bess was trying to stall her wedding and reunite her and Nate. But there was nothing really to reunite. All they'd had together were a few stolen moments and some shameless flirtation. He'd never promised her anything. He'd never kissed her, nor touched her. He'd just called her a child and dismissed her.

"What am I doing?" she asked innocently.

"Yes, what are you doing?" Emmett questioned.

"I have a fiancé if you haven't forgotten, Elizabeth," Charlotte reminded her icily. "My silly obsession with Nathaniel Swift is over. Eric can give me a life." He could give her a wonderful life. He had a wonderful home in London and a glittering circle of friends. She'd never have to think about Nate again with all of those distractions.

"There, you see," Emmett said to Bess. "They can just be good friends now. I finally have my brother back. I don't want any mention of the goings on two years ago."

Of course he didn't. It was his fault. Charlotte reminded herself not to be bitter. It had taken Marie twenty years to let go of her bitterness. Even now she could still be a little moody. She could be pleasant.

"Fine," Bess agreed. "Maggie is awfully cute, isn't she?" she said, changing the subject. "I'd had no idea he'd taken in a child. He'd never mentioned her in his letters."

Maggie was indeed a very pretty girl. "She is." Charlotte nodded. "She'll add some much-needed entertainment to some of the bland parties we attend when she's older." There were some, Charlotte knew, who would ridicule Maggie. People didn't like, nor understand, people who were different from them. It was ignorance. She just hoped that Maggie's skin was thick enough to ignore it.

"Do you suppose he knew her mother?" Emmett asked.

Charlotte pursed her lips at the mention of something that had crossed her mind several times. Had Nate been intimate with Maggie's mother?

"Emmett," hushed Bess.

"No, it's something I've thought also. Her mother must have been exceptionally beautiful to produce a girl like Maggie," Charlotte replied. One would not find a woman with such a skin tone as Maggie's in England. She had to have some sort of exotic background. Perhaps Spanish or South American?

Bess looked at Charlotte apologetically. "Come now. Let's go inside and make sure everything is set for luncheon. I do hope Maggie is pleased with our spread. Thank the Lord Mrs Weston had those recipes."

***

An hour or so later, Nate and Maggie were announced by Mr Hartley and entered the dining room. Nate was smartly dressed in a forest green coat which complimented his lovely emerald eyes brilliantly. His waist coat, cravat and slacks were all ivory and his boots were shiny and polished. Charlotte noticed that he'd shaved the beginnings of his beard and his jaw was bare. She was now able to see properly his deep dimples that made her want to swoon. Maggie bounced in at his side, dressed in a frock that seemed to be made from the same pattern as the grey one she'd worn the day before. This time she wore a lilac colour. Her brown hair once again hung straight down her back and it swished from side to side as she moved.

Emmett and Nate hugged immediately while Maggie clumsily curtseyed to Charlotte. Perhaps Nate had been teaching her proper etiquette?

"How was your first sleep in your new bedchamber?" Charlotte asked her.

"Oh, awful nice!" she gushed. "The bed is the size of my house in North Carolina!"

Charlotte chuckled. "I suppose I've taken my own bed for granted." She spied Nate watching their little interlude with a small smile on his face. "Shall we sit?" Charlotte asked the whole room. "I'm sure the footmen will be serving soon."

Sure enough, a few minutes after they'd taken their seats, the footman opened the servant's door and entered the dining room carrying platters of American food, or what Mrs Weston could order on such short notice.

A haunch of pork had been roasted with stewed vegetables and apple sauce. Mrs Weston had even located a recipe for Maggie's favourite, cornbread.

Charlotte could have sworn she saw Maggie's eyes dance as the footmen brought the meat and vegetables over with serving spoons, ready for the family to choose what they wanted to eat. While Emmett was usually the first served, he directed them to Maggie.

She carefully helped herself to pork, vegetables, a generous dollop of apple sauce and a decent serving of the cake-like cornbread. Her eyes were definitely larger than her stomach when she'd finished serving herself but she couldn't wait to tuck in. While everyone else was still being served, Maggie had picked up her fork and had started to eat. Nate cleared his throat, capturing her attention, and she put the fork back down guiltily. Not one to dwell on anything, Maggie quickly smiled deviously and placed her elbows on the table. Nate just rolled his eyes with an amused expression on his face.

"So this is cornbread?" Charlotte said, stabbing her small slice with her fork and inspecting it. "I'd imagined it as ... well ... bread." She placed the cornbread in her mouth and she found that she enjoyed the crumbly, grainy cake. It was sweet, but not too sweet, and it had a pleasant texture. "I don't mind that," she said to her family.

Maggie's eyes rolled back into her head as she tasted the cornbread. "Good Lord!" she exclaimed. "This is better than Momma's!" She quickly shovelled some more into her mouth so her cheeks were bulging. "I haven't had this is a long time!" she slurred, her words distorted by the food in her mouth.

"Maggie, don't talk with your mouth full," Nate scolded.

Maggie obediently closed her mouth and chewed until she could talk. "Thank y'all for making this for me. I'm sorry I was rude about your green soup."

"I think we should Americanise our menus more often," Rose announced. "I'd take this over green soup any day," she said, winking at Maggie.

***

The rest of the meal was reasonably uneventful. Maggie informed them of several other American dishes that were worth trying. Charlotte was very interested in trying custard with rum stewed fruit.

After a quick run-through of the rules of cricket once they'd finished their meals, they stepped onto the green. The cricket bats were on the ground next to the stumps and a small, hard ball was lying next to the far stumps.

Giselle hadn't emerged from her bedchamber since the corset incident and Marie had retreated to the drawing room with a book and a pot of tea, so they had six players.

Emmett fetched the ball and tossed it up in the air. "I'll bowl," he volunteered. "Who wants to bat and field?"

Charlotte and Rose linked arms. "We'll bat," Rose announced.

"We'll field then," Nate said. "I'll field behind the stumps. Maggie, you can be what's called a slip." He positioned Maggie in between the two sets of stumps, but far back enough that she wouldn't get hurt. "Your job is to catch the ball if either Lady Charlotte or Lady Rose hit it into the air in your direction," he explained.

Bess took a position opposite Maggie and Charlotte and picked up a bat, ready to face Emmett's bowl. Nate stood behind her, ready to catch her out if he could. "Don't miss, Charlotte," he teased.

Charlotte gripped the handle tightly and tapped the ground. "I'd watch your mouth, sir, as I could accidentally swing this bat into your jaw," she threatened, half serious. She'd probably enjoy that. At last, a little revenge for leaving her high and dry two years earlier. That would definitely be closure.

"Touché." He chuckled.

Emmett began a steady jog up to the far stumps and then bowled the ball towards her. The speed was not terribly significant, but it was fast enough for her only to defend with her bat, rather than hit for a run.

Nate fetched the ball and threw it back to Emmett who retreated to run up again.

Women didn't typically participate in sports, but Charlotte and Rose had been brought up by Emmett, and later Nate, who both enjoyed playing games outside. She and Rose had enjoyed spending time with the boys, which, in turn, brought to them a liking of masculine sports.

This time, Charlotte was able to hit the ball past Bess. Both she and Rose hiked up their skirts and took off running towards the other set of stumps.

The party rotated positions every so often. Charlotte was able to make ten runs before Maggie had triumphantly caught her out. She and Nate eventually ended up fielding together, standing next to each other as slips while watching Maggie swing the bat.

"She'll be properly English before the year is out," Nate commented, smiling.

"She's a wonderful girl, Nate," Charlotte complimented. "You make a terrific father."

"Thank you," he said gratefully. "It was hard in the beginning, believe me. But we've come together. I couldn't imagine parting with her. I feel as though she's been with me for a lot longer than a year."

"If you ever need any advice on how to handle little girls then do not hesitate to ask. I was one once." The memory of the night she'd gone to his bedchamber at Montrose had suddenly re-entered her mind. She wondered if he still saw her as a little girl.

"I'm sure I'll need it," he remarked.

"I also wanted to thank you," she continued. "For saving me. I was suffocating and you saved my life." She felt a little embarrassed at the fact that he'd seen her in her undergarments but she'd rather that then to be dead.

"I did what anyone would have done," he replied with a smile, flashing his dimples. "I notice you, too, have taken after Bess in abandoning those restrictive things."

Did she really look that much wider? She hugged her sides self-consciously. "I'd not realised it was so noticeable," she mumbled.

"Charlotte, do you remember what I said to that stupid woman last night? You're perfect. You don't need to alter yourself in any way." His voice was ever so sincere, and she did believe him, though accepting that she was perfect just as she was proved a little hard to take in.

"Thank you." She smiled slightly and released herself.

"Look out, Charlotte!" called Rose from in front of the stumps.

No sooner had she looked up and seen that the cricket ball was hurtling towards her forehead then she was whipped out of the way by Nate, so that the ball passed them both.

His arms were still around her as they stared at each other. Charlotte was in shock, but Nate just appeared concerned.

"Thank you," she breathed as she brushed his hands away from her. His touch panicked her, bringing back feelings she had long since repressed.

"Look who's here," Bess remarked, and all attention turned to the man who was exiting a dormeuse carriage that had come to a stop outside the front of Ascot House.

As soon as he saw the party gathered on the green, he began to approach them.

Eric's familiar smile was comforting, and Charlotte couldn't help but smile back at him. She was glad he'd returned. He'd be able to smooth things over with Giselle. Giselle wasn't a horrible person, she was just a little dramatic.

Eric was a tall man with a slim build. His hair was fair and was combed neatly underneath a grey top hat. His eyes were chocolate-coloured and were quite warming when one looked into them. "Hello," he called out to them. "Do you need another fielder?"

Charlotte left Nate's side to join Eric. She was glad he'd come back to her. He'd give her something to focus on. Their wedding plans, now that Bess' crazed plans were to be abandoned, could begin properly.

Charlotte hugged Eric tightly and he kissed her on the cheek. They'd not yet properly kissed. Charlotte was a little timid when it came to that sort of thing. Eric never pushed though, and she appreciated him all the more for it. "Have you returned indefinitely?" she asked him.

"So long as you'll have me," he replied, smiling widely at her. He looked up at the rest of her family. "I've secured a few month's holiday from the business. I thought in that time Charlotte and I could pull a wedding together."

The cricket game collapsed and her family joined them at her side.

Eric looked at Nate curiously. Nate had a blank expression on his face as he looked Eric over. Maggie took Nate's hand and pulled on it, drawing his attention away from Eric. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Eric Mornington," he said in a friendly tone.

"Nathaniel Swift," Nate replied bluntly. "My daughter, Maggie."

There was a moment of awkward silence as nobody knew what to say. Charlotte just looked at the ground, trying to avoid eye contact with either Eric or Nate. She'd never told Eric about Nate and she still didn't want to.

"Nate is my oldest friend," Emmett said, breaking the tension. "We met at Eton ... what was it? Seventeen years ago, I think. Lord, that's frightening." He laughed nervously.

"Oh?" Eric raised his eyebrows. "Well, you don't look nearly as old as you are."

Charlotte bit her lip. She knew Eric had meant that as a compliment but it hadn't come out as one.

"It appears you've inherited your mother's tact," Nate sneered.

Eric didn't take offense. He simply groaned quietly. "What did Mother do now?" he asked Charlotte quietly.

"She nearly killed your fiancée, that's what," Nate said icily.

"What?" Eric said, alarmed. Charlotte shook her head to quash his shock.

"Thank you for today, everyone. Maggie and I will take our leave now, I think," Nate said hurriedly as he scooped Maggie up into his arms.

"What? No!" Bess protested. "Stay, please," she implored.

Charlotte knew what Bess was up to and it wouldn't work. "If he wants to go, then let him," she interjected. He was good at leaving.

Nate didn't look at Charlotte. Instead, he carried on walking back towards the house so that he could order his carriage.

She knew one thing for sure. He certainly hadn't come back for her. If he had, he wouldn't have left so abruptly.

"What did I say?" he asked Charlotte quietly, looking a little offended and hurt at Nate's departure. "I didn't mean that he looked old. Good Lord, is that what he thought? I should apologise ..."

"Leave it," Charlotte told him firmly. "Let him have his tantrum." She put on a fake smile and took a deep breath. "How was your trip?" she asked. "I want to hear all the news from London. And when you're finished we shall take a carriage into the village and speak to the vicar about organising a date for our wedding."