Page 45 of Falling for a Footman

“It’s not going as fast as I would have liked,” he stated in a voice that sounded a bit grim.

Charlotte looked at the dog, that seemed to be laboring stoically.

“How so?” she asked.

She had heard tales of women bleeding out while given birth and had always assumed childbirth to be a rather bloody affair. Apparently the same could not be said about dogs.

“The pups should be out by now. At least the first one. I’m afraid they might die if they do not come soon.”

Charlotte felt herself shutter at the thought of the small blind pups that was at this moment struggling their way into the world.

“Is there not anything you can do for them?” she asked and heard a touch of panic in her voice. Even though James had never mentioned the dog to her somehow, she knew that it was important to him. She could only imagine that he would feel sad if the pups did not make it.

“I am helping her as best I can. When she is trying to push the pup out, I am trying to pull at it, but it is too big.”

Charlotte nodded and cast another look at the laboring dog, before looking at the bushes again as if James might appear from one of them this time.

“Well, I hope they make it,” she muttered, bid him a goodnight, and started walking back to the estate.

All the anxiety that had been coursing through her veins was fizzing out of her as she walked back again. Now that she and James had not spoken, she wished they had. At least that would have given her a sense of closure.

Butterflies swarmed her stomach as she thought of the possibility that if he had been there, they might be together now. She might be in his arms kissing him if he had been able to give an explanation as to why he had not revealed his identity. Heavens, she hoped he was able to give a plausible explanation that she could believe. She desperately hoped there was a good reason for his actions.

The dark contours of the stables came into view. She would soon be back at the estate. Perhaps she should have waited for him at the dog run, but Mr. Giles’s quiet calm had made it clear to her that he preferred to be alone with the laboring dog. She did not know where to look for James though. She could not simply walk to his room and look for him there. Now that she had set herself up to have an explanation, to demand an explanation, it felt hollow and unfinished if she simply retired for the night. Besides she doubted that she would be able to sleep before she spoke to James in any event.

A hushed conversation from the stables interrupted her thoughts. She could not make out the words, but it was clearly an argument. One person, a woman, was practically hissing, while the other person, a man, was pleading with her. Probably a lover’s fight between one of the stable boys and a girl. Perhaps one of the maids.

Charlotte had to admit she was a bit curious, but this clearly belonged to the couple’s sphere of privacy. She had almost passed the half open door to the stables when she heard the man cry out:

“You will not hurt him, Peggy. I will not allow it.”

William. Charlotte froze in her steps, her legs felt heavy, and her stomach filled with ice. She had assumed that William and Miss Walker had retired for the night. That they had used the precious time they had left before they were separated to be together. At least she would if it had been her and James...

Heavens, she was in love with him. Unless he told her he had simply used her, she felt certain that she could forgive him. That they could work through their problems.

“William, I told you, if he is not there, they will have no case against us,” Miss Walker’s voice cut through the silence of the night.

“I just confessed to the duke. There is no way he will simply forget this if James disappears. Please Peggy. His Grace has been very generous towards us. Please, if we let James go now, he might not ask the duke to turn us into the magistrate,” William pleaded with her.

Charlotte’s feet unfroze at the mentioning of James. She quickly blew out her lantern and tiptoed towards the stable doors as silently as it was possible in the gravel in the courtyard. Inside, Miss Walker and William was standing over James, who was lying on his stomach on the hard cobbled stable floor. Charlotte’s stomach clenched at the sight of his hands that had been bound behind his back. His head was turned to the side, and it was impossible for her to tell whether he was conscious or not.

She quickly took a step back as she had to stifle a gasp at the thought that they might have accidentally killed him when they had knocked him unconscious. If so, she swore that she, no matter how fond she had been of Miss Walker, would turn the other woman in to the magistrate and see justice done. She could not care whether Miss Walker would be deported or executed in that moment.

“It’s not a generous offer, William. Don’t you understand? You will not be there when our child is born, you will not see it or hold it or kiss it, until he or she is two years old.” Miss Walker sounded on the verge of crying.

There was a shuffling of feet and rustling of clothes, sounds that she suspected was William and Miss Walker embracing each other.

“I know, Peggy, but His Grace has been very generous. Killing James will only see us both hanged.” William’s pleading voice sounded more desperate with each word as he tried to make Miss Walker see reason.

Charlotte realized that she had to do something, anything, if William could not convince Miss Walker not to hurt James. She looked around in the dark courtyard outside of the stables, hoping that an idea would appear to her. She could not with certainty judge how desperate Miss Walker was, but she would prefer to have had a weapon to better her chances that she could make the two of them step away from James. There were no weapons in sight, however.

“You can’t be serious, William. That will only be a problem if we are caught. If we dispose of him now, we will be long gone before anyone discovers that we are gone. I cannot believe they let us leave His Grace’s study without a guard,” Miss Walker explained in a slow voice as if talking to a child.

It was time that Charlotte acted. No matter what she did, she had to do something, she thought as she willed her feet to take a step forward into the half open doorway.

“If you harm him in any way, Peggy...” she began but was not certain how to go on. What exactly would she do? Could she kill Miss Walker herself? Charlotte was not certain, but she hoped she could at least find the courage to pacify her.

There was enough light in the stables that she could see William and Miss Walker stiffen in their embrace at her words. Miss Walker tried to pry herself free from William’s grasp and launch herself at Charlotte, but William’s strong arms stopped her.