AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Twenty-Two
Charlotte had never changed her clothes and washed her face so fast in her life. Thank the heavens that powdering one’s hair had gone out of fashion, or she never would have been ready for the committee’s meeting before they ended.
As it was, the meeting was well under way when she pulled up to the building. As a woman, she didn’t usually attend meetings; only her proxy did. But today was too important to leave to another.
Charlotte didn’t wait to be announced, but pushed into the room, Seth directly beside her. She looked over the faces as she marched across the floor and made her way toward the head of the table. Though she couldn’t make out every face, the room was quite full. Lord Windham was nowhere to be seen. The coward—now he’d been caught, he didn’t even dare show himself.
Lord Finch, who stood at the front of the table, stopped mid-sentence.
In the stunned silence that filled the room, Charlotte simply smiled.
“Good day to you all,” she said.
“Lady Blackmore, Sir Mulgrave,” Lord Finch said, quickly recovering, “now that you are here, I believe we’d best move to the most serious topic we must discuss today.”
“But sir,” Lord Campbell said, an uneasy smile on his face. “What of the new teacher?”
Apparently, that’s what they had been discussing just before she and Seth had walked in. “I am confident we can find a new teacher soon,” Charlotte said, “but what Sir Mulgrave and I learned yesterday is far more urgent.”
Lord Finch leaned across the table toward Charlotte and Seth. “When I spoke to Windham yesterday, he denied everything. I hope you bring proof.”
“Don’t worry, sir,” Charlotte said, “we’ve seen evidence with our own eyes.”
He gave her a nod. “Well then, would you care to explain, or shall I?” Lord Finch asked Charlotte.
“I am more than happy to,” she said, then delved directly into a detailed telling of the previous day’s events. She told of why and how Lord Windham had been able to find Emma a new position so quickly—by using her to buy Lord Baxter’s vote—and then of how he’d threatened Jane to keep Emma silent.
Lastly, she explained that she and Seth had rescued Jane the night before and that both Tilbury sisters were now at Blackmore House. She may have glossed over the part where she’d hit the innkeeper over the head, but she didn’t suppose the committee would much appreciate knowing that particular detail.
Most of the committee seemed as horrified as Charlotte had been, though a few of the gentlemen looked either doubtful or almost complacent. Perhaps the committee needed to remove more than just one gentleman from its members.
Lord Finch spoke first after Charlotte finished her tale. “We are all most relieved to hear that you are safe, as are both Emma and Jane.”
“Yes, quite so, quite so,” Lord Campbell muttered from directly across the table.
“Thank you,” Charlotte said. “I move that we dismiss Lord Windham from the committee posthaste.”
A murmur ran through the group. Best Charlotte could tell, though they were all glad everyone was safe, dismissing a gentleman from their ranks was not a popular notion.
Charlotte shared a look with Seth. She knew he agreed with her—they could not allow such a blackguard as Lord Windham to continue in a position where he could put other girls in harm’s way.
But before she could say more, a new voice joined the group. Lord Linfield leaned in, resting his elbows against the table. “Come now, Lady Blackmore. We know you mean well, but don’t you think it’s time to let this one go?”
What was he doing here? He wasn’t a member of the committee. The only purpose for his presence, then, that she could think of, was that he’d come to inform the committee of her recent activities. Retaliation for snubbing him the night before.
“Are you telling me, Lord Linfield, that as a near stranger to the asylum, you know what is best for it and for the girls here?”
“I’m telling you that after knowing you for years, as of late, you have changed.”
A gentle murmur of agreement rolled through the group.
“You knew me years ago,” Charlotte corrected him, though she spoke for the benefit of everyone. “Of course I’ve changed in the last twenty years—I’d be immature and foolish not to. For all of us, age offers wisdom, only some don’t take the opportunity to seize it.”
She may have eyed a few members of the committee a bit more pointedly at that.
“As for myself,” Charlotte continued, “I will admit to changing as of late since meeting Sir Mulgrave. But in ways that I am not proud of. I let your gossip make me afraid to be friends with the best man I’ve ever had the privilege to know. We have disagreed in public, avoided being seen together, and all that so this committee might continue to listen to sound reasoning. All this I have done in addition to the many hours I routinely volunteer to the support of this organization. If that isn’t enough to prove to you all that I have nothing but the best interest of these girls at heart, then I would venture the problem doesn’t lie with me.”
Charlotte took in a deep breath. But now the floodgates were open, there was no holding the words back.
