Page 3 of A Brooding Christmas Promise
There is but I need not express it to you.“I am merely keeping up with my correspondence,” she said, turning back to her writing table and taking out another piece of paper. “Do excuse me.”
Her stepmother did not move but, instead, came directly beside Charlotte’s writing desk, her hand, in a tight fist, slamming down on the table and making Charlotte jump. “How dare you speak to me with such disrespect? You do not ask me to leave your presence!”
“Yes, I do.” Charlotte, irritated and fatigued, looked up at her stepmother. “And I ask you again to excuse me, for I have some further letters I should like to send.” She chose her words carefully, refusing to give Lady Barcsay any reason to rail at her though it was difficult not to lose her temper. This was how her daily life was, a constant struggle against all that Lady Barcsay said and did.
Her stepmother leaned forward, her eyes narrowing. “To whom are you writing?”
Charlotte closed her eyes, blocking out the sight of her stepmother’s furious expression. “To many people. Now, if – ”
“You are the most impolite, inconsiderate creature!” Lady Barcsay cried, her face going scarlet. “How dare you refuse to answer me? What is it that I must say in order to have you speak to me civilly?”
“I am not speaking unkindly in any way. However, some of these affairs are my own.”
Lady Barcsay laughed harshly, one finger coming out to shake in front of Charlotte’s face. “You are meant to be my companion, meant to be a support to me and all you do is leechmy strength from me. You enjoy causing me pain, do you not? I think your father would be ashamed, should he see you as you are now.”
Anger flared hot in Charlotte’s chest and she could not hold herself back. She had done nothing wrong and yet her stepmother was insisting thatshewas the one causing pain and suffering? Using her father in an attempt to make her feel even smaller and more belittled than she was already fired Charlotte’s upset all the more and, in a sudden show of strength, she pushed herself to her feet, the chair’s feet scraping on the floor behind her.
“I am going to go to London for Christmas,” she said, the words rushing out of her now. “I have accepted the invitation and expect to go to spend time with my sister at the very beginning of December. I have no expectation of when I shall return but I shall certainly be away for some weeks.”
Lady Barcsay’s eyes narrowed into dark slits, her face going scarlet. “You have no right to do such a thing. You have no right at all!”
“Yes, I do.” Charlotte drew herself up, folding her arms over her chest in the hope of filling herself with confidence. “I am of age. Therefore, that is what I have decided.”
“And you would leave me here alone?” Lady Barcsay pressed one finger hard into Charlotte’s chest, words spitting out of her mouth. “You spiteful, inconsiderate, selfish, arrogant little – ”
“Might I suggest that you step back from my sister, Lady Barcsay?”
Lady Barcsay let out a shriek of surprise and Charlotte caught her breath, only to turn and then run into her brother’s arms, overwhelmed with relief upon seeing him.
“Thomas, whatever are you doing here?” she whispered, tears beginning to splash onto her cheeks. “I did not think that you would be coming to call.”
Her brother held her tightly for a few moments and then released her. “I received Amelia’s letter yesterday and thought I would come to make certain that all is well,” he said, quietly, before sending an angry look towards Lady Barcsay. “But now I see that my sister is being treated poorly, that she is being spoken to cruelly simply because she has decided to go to London for the Christmas Season? I presume that is why you thought to call her such names?”
“I… I did not mean… ” Lady Barcsay went a trifle paler than before, moving back from Charlotte and her brother, her hands raised as though in defense of herself. “I became upset at the thought of being alone at Christmas time.”
Thomas stood tall, his presence filling the room. “That does not mean that you have any right to speak to Charlotte in such a way, especially when she has given up a great deal already. You ought to be encouraging her to have some time with her sister, ought to begladto see her enjoy herself in that way.”
“Of course.” Lady Barcsay suddenly seemed very humble, her eyes downcast, her head lowering just a little. “Forgive me, Charlotte. I did not mean to say such things.”
Charlotte cast a glance to her brother, seeing his scowl darkening. It was just as obvious to him as it was to her, it seemed, that there was nothing genuine in what her stepmother said. The only reason she spoke so was because Thomas was the new Viscount and could, very easily, reduce Lady Barcsay’s circumstances, should he so wish to. That was a great fear, Charlotte knew, having heard Lady Barcsay say that very thing to a friend who had come to call – though her stepmother did not know that she had overheard her. It was one of the many reasons that Charlotte disliked her stepmother so greatly, for the falseness and the pretense was more than her heart could bear at times.
“You have decided to go to London then, yes?” Thomas’ tone warmed as he looked to Charlotte, now ignoring Lady Barcsay entirely. “I am glad to hear it. I was afraid that your remarkable sense of duty would prevent you from doing so.”
Charlotte smiled. “I have decided to go, indeed. I would very much like to see Amelia again.”
“Though you must not forget your commitment!”
Looking again to her stepmother, Charlotte caught the flash of anger in her eyes, aware that she was dampening down her true emotions in front of Thomas. “I have no intention of stepping away from that commitment.”
“You cannot decide you have given it up,” Lady Barcsay stated, firmly. “You cannot simply turn your back on me.”
Thomas took a step forward and instantly, Lady Barcsay fell silent. “I wish I had witnessed this will with my own eyes,” he uttered, his tone filled with bitterness. “I find it most difficult to credit that our father would ever have uttered such sentiments.”
Lady Barcsay lifted her chin. “It is hardly my fault that the mail coach the will was in came under attack and that the will was lost in the dark and the discontent of that,” she answered, a little too sharply. “Besides, your sister saw those words and read them carefully.”
Charlotte glanced to her brother and gave him the smallest nod, seeing his frown only deepen. There was something about this situation that unsettled him and, were she honest, Charlotte would admit that she too felt the same. Nonetheless, she had already decided to do as her father had asked of her, regardless of her feelings on the matter. It was her duty, just as it had been her brother’s duty to care for their father’s holdings on the continent. He had not returned until his duty was complete and she, in the same way, would not return to her own freedom until her duty came to an end.
Thomas snorted, his lip curling. “Whether or not father wrote those words, I stand by the fact that it was not an order and not a demand. Charlotte, if you should choose to find yourself in a happy and settled situation, then I will not think the worse of you.” He held up one hand, palm out towards Lady Barcsay, silencing her before she had even begun to splutter. “However, it is good that you are to go to London. I am pleased to hear that. And you, Lady Barcsay, I was to invite you to spend your Christmas with Hannah and me but given how you have treated Charlotte, I am not in mind to extend that invitation any longer.”
