Page 5 of Falling for a Footman

Three

Great Farleigh Hall, End of July 1811

Her mother had not needed to warn her so fervently before the start of the season, Charlotte thought as their carriage pulled into the long drive to Great Farleigh Hall. She had not met a single man that she felt any magnetism towards.

She had received two offers of marriage which was always pleasant to be able to say when she was gossiping with her friends in the ladies retiring room. But it was not something that gave her any sense of joy. She had been on friendly terms with both gentlemen, and they had both been titled and wealthy but there had been nothing more to their interactions than that. One was even an earl that was considered quite the catch of the season and yet, Charlotte had felt nothing.

Great Farleigh Hall’s familiar four stories tall and at least three hundred feet long sandstone façade came into view when the road turned, and Charlotte sighed in unison with her parents and Lucy. Charlotte liked their town house in London, but Great Farleigh Hall was what truly felt like home.

"I always forget how much I miss this place until I see it again and am reminded," said Charlotte's father.

He was sitting opposite Charlotte, which was a mistake since they were the ones with the longest legs of the four in the carriage, but for some reason they always arranged themselves this way. Charlotte supposed that it was due to both her mother and Lucy’s ability to easily fall asleep in a carriage while Charlotte and her father could never. They would chat in low voices or silently pass each other the different newspapers that her father bought for the journey or simply read a book. Her three youngest siblings were in the other carriage with the nanny and the governess, while her thirteen-year-old brother Henry was at Eton.

"Charles, that statement makes absolutely no sense," Charlotte's mother said softly and placed her hand on his arm.

The two of them looked at each other with a warm look that made Charlotte uncomfortable to be present. She remembered how her mother had talked of the magnetism between them – and what that led to. Apparently, it was not simply a matter of wanting children, but also of something else. Charlotte would have asked her mother about it if the subject was not so horrifyingly embarrassing.

"No, you're right," her father allowed with a small smile and rubbed his face. "It's been a long journey."

Their mother hmphed with mirth but did not say anything as the carriage drew up in front of the house at that moment. Her father stepped out first, then helped her mother out. He half turned to help Charlotte out, but his attention was then caught by a fight between her two youngest brothers Archie and Gregory. They had apparently already escaped the carriage.

"Stop it you two, stop it right now," she heard her father shouting as he ran towards them. "Will you behave with dignity?"

Charlotte heard him scolding her brothers as their mother was fussing over Charlotte's youngest sister Hester and talking to the nanny about how she had handled the journey from the inn, where they had spent the night, to the estate.

Lucy moved to the bench that her parents had occupied and peeked out the open door of the carriage.

"Do you think that anyone will appear to help us down?" she joked.

At that moment a footman appeared and held out a hand for her. Lucy alighted the carriage with his help and started walking up the stairs following their parents and younger siblings.

The footman extended his hand to help Charlotte down and she had every intention of doing so with all the grace that she had shown all season, but when she briefly glanced into his deep blue eyes, she lost her footing and practically tumbled out of the carriage.

She only avoided hitting the stone steps because the footman reacted swiftly and caught her in firm arms. A swirl danced in Charlotte’s stomach as she looked into those blue eyes again underneath dark brown hair that was tied in a cue at the back of his head. He had high cheek bones and a square jaw and was at least half a head taller than her, despite her being a tall woman. She was only too aware of how close his hands in her armpits were to her bosom. She could not help but blush at the touch even though his fingers were only brushing her breasts by accident. Had he been holding her for a long time? Or was there some matter with her perception of time all of a sudden?

"Careful, Lady Charlotte," the footman exclaimed good-naturedly as he helped her stand on the stone steps and quickly walked towards the last carriage carrying their luggage.

"Thank you," Charlotte murmured.

"Are you alright, Charlotte?" her mother called from the top of the stairs.

"Yes, Mama, I'm fine," Charlotte answered and forced herself to walk up the steps and into the hall without looking back at the footman. Even though she felt the pull to turn around as if there had been a physical string between them.

"What happened?" her mother asked, standing with three-year-old Hester on her hip in the doorway.

"Nothing, I just missed a step,” Charlotte told her mother and followed her family inside the grand entrance hall.

Charlotte’s great-great-grandfather, the second duke of Camborne, had been financially incompetent in the extreme, meaning that both Charlotte’s great grandfather and grandfather had had to labor hard to make the dukedom solvent and prosperous again. Her father however enjoyed the fruits of their labor and that they after almost a hundred years where finally able to do the renovations necessary on the property. The entrance hall had been redecorated while they were in London and Charlotte joined her parents and Lucy as they took in the new splendor around them.

It was all done in the newest style with black and white marble tiles on the floor, white stucco on the walls and ceiling and the old staircase had been changed with one in white painted wood that matched the floor and walls.

“This was just how I imagined it,” Charlotte’s mother announced with emphasis. Hester squirmed in her arms, and she let the girl down. She immediately ran to an old medieval looking armor standing along one wall.

“Careful with that, Hester,” her parents called in unison, and both ran towards her.

“This is so beautiful, don’t you think?” Charlotte asked Lucy, who was standing next to her. Her head was tilted back as well to take in the room.

“It’s too white for my taste,” Lucy mumbled and lowered her head to look Charlotte in the eye.