Perfectly Flawed (4 page)

"I shan't have a chance with her ... not with those
others paying her court" Lord Carlton Wingate dropped
onto his knees before Muriel. It was not a romantic gesture but one that spoke of pure desperation. "I cannot see
how I am to have a chance with her unless I am the first to
tell her of my devotion and how much I adore her. I must
convince her to become my wife before the others arrive."

From her bedchamber, Charlotte looked at the scene playing out below. "I do hope Moo is not being too
harsh with him."

"I really should have been the one speaking to Lord
Carlton," Aunt Penny confessed, not sounding particularly proud of herself.

"If Moo were here and you were there, she could tell
me exactly what is transpiring," Charlotte noted.

"I am not always pleased when she eavesdrops," said
Aunt Penny, keeping a firm hold on Charlotte's arm,
"but there are times when her talent is quite valuable."

"But then, one need not know his exact words. It is
quite apparent that he is in great distress." Charlotte
could not help but empathize with him.

Lord Carlton knelt before Muriel, his fingers intertwined in a tight grip.

"Poor Lord Carlton." Charlotte's words were heartfelt.
"He is not enjoying their tete-a-tete."

"But I can understand your sister's point in discouraging him." Aunt Penny must have felt sorry for him as
well.

Muriel drew out linen from her sleeve and offered it
to Lord Carlton. His chin dropped onto his chest, and it
was quite clear that again he had broken down into tears,
which seemed to be a common occurrence.

Aunt Penny remarked, "Honestly, the man really must
learn to carry his own handkerchief."

Out of the corner of her eye, Charlotte spied Muriel
and Aunt Penny standing at her window not long after
Lord Carlton's departure. They seemed obsessed with
the long line of travelers nearing the estate grounds.

"They came all this way to see me." Charlotte remarked, sitting at the dressing table while their abigail,
Lydia, fussed over her toilette.

Charlotte had planned to wear a blue spencer over her
lovely Vandyke-lace-embellished, petal-colored morning gown. Lydia insisted she make a special effort with
her hair since more than a dozen callers would soon arrive.

All of them wished to catch her eye. How was that
possible? The thought of so many gentlemen calling on
her was nearly overwhelming; that she should disappoint
any one of them caused her to fret. She must do something to ensure each one had an equal chance to have a
word with her, to exchange glances or a smile.

"The least I can do is make time for them," Charlotte
announced, coming to a decision.

"Well, of course you will, dear," Aunt Penny replied
with no notion what Charlotte had in mind.

"I do wonder how the other gentlemen will tolerate
such an arrangement," said Charlotte, sitting perfectly
still, allowing Lydia to complete the final touches with
the hot iron.

"What are you talking about, Char-Char?" Muriel
stepped away from the window and stared at her sister.

"I wish to give each of the gentlemen who calls ten
or so minutes of my undivided attention." Charlotte was
completely serious. "Allow them some time when they
do not need to compete with one another for my attention. It is the least I can do for them."

"It will require a good portion of your day if you
were to allow each time of their own." Muriel must have
quickly tallied the sum. "That will take hours!"

"I am well aware of that, Moo." Charlotte, who would
not move from her decision, stared into the mirror at the
reflection of her sister, standing behind her. "Do you not
see that these gentlemen have given up their Season to
come here? And I cannot possibly encourage all of them"
Lydia stood by with the straw bonnet in her hand while
Charlotte pulled on her pale lemon-colored kid gloves
and announced, "It is something I must do"

The gentlemen reached Faraday Hall at approximately
two o'clock in the afternoon. Huxley admitted them one
after the other. Soon the Grand Foyer was brimming
with suitors for Charlotte.

"This is ridiculous," Muriel complained to Aunt Penny, who had led Charlotte belowstairs to welcome her suitors, and then retreated up one floor to observe the entire
mass. They stood at the railing on the first floor, looking
down. "The whole lot of them will be smelling of April
and May, including Char-Char."

"An entire houseful of men in love with Charlotte?"
mused Aunt Penny, appearing light-headed at the thought.
"I'm not sure exactly what we can do about it. We certainly cannot choose a husband for her."

"I suppose we must make the best of this situation."
Muriel could not bear the thought of her sister choosing
the wrong man.

"There are simply too many men," Aunt Penny said
bluntly. "If we do not gain some semblance of order,
there will soon be bedlam."

"Perhaps Char-Char's idea is a sound one, after all."
Muriel knew she was not the only member of the family
who could come up with resolutions to their problems.

Aunt Penny descended the stairs, stopping three steps
from the ground floor, which put her a good head taller
than the tallest man in attendance.

"Excuse me, gentlemen! Gentlemen, if I may have
your attention." Aunt Penny waited until the crowd quieted before continuing. She held up a sheet of paper. "If
you all will be so good as to add your name in the order
in which you arrived, Lady Charlotte would like to
stroll with you through the back gardens. Yes, that's right,
sirs, each and every one of you, if you will all be so kind
to wait your turn."

The gentlemen stepped toward her aunt, following her instructions, lining up to add their names to the list.
Muriel noticed Charlotte's attention was sidetracked by
local baronet Sir Nicholas Petersham, who took the opportunity to make introductions for two young men who
had accompanied him.

"Lady Charlotte, may I present to you Lord Irving
and Sir Hugh Linville?"

"How do you do? If you two gentlemen wish to add
your names to the list my aunt presently amasses"Charlotte indicated behind her, off to her left-"over by
the round table, I would gladly take a turn through our
lovely family gardens with each of you as well."

"Yes, of course," Lord Irving agreed at the same time
that Sir Hugh replied, "I shall gladly do so at once."

Charlotte graciously made her exit to collect her
straw bonnet and confer with Aunt Penny.

"Did I or did I not say that Lady Charlotte was the loveliest creature upon this earth?" Sir Nicholas intoned.
Clearly he had been talking up Charlotte's virtues to these
two gentlemen.

Muriel waited for Sir Nicholas' payoff. It seemed to her
he never approached matters in a straightforward manner.
For him there always seemed to be some wager involved.

"Yes, absolutely. Rightly so," declared Sir Hugh. Lord
Irving stood there, remaining as silent as he had upon
making Charlotte's acquaintance.

"Pay up, gents." Sir Nicholas held out his palm, into
which they each slipped a coin.

Muriel huffed with indignation. Sir Nicholas Petersham was one of the most unscrupulous cads she could ever imagine. Then the notion came to her that he might
prove useful.

Three and three-quarters of an hour later, Charlotte swept
into the Citrus Parlor fatigued from her numerous turns
about the grounds.

"Sukey, see our Char-Char has arrived," Muriel called
out, rising from her chair.

"Char-Char, have you finished, finally?" Miss Susan
Wilbanks leaped up to collect Charlotte's straw bonnet
and lead the latecomer to her seat. Susan, the younger
sister of Richard and Emily, grew up on the neighboring
property, Yewhill Grange.

"Oh, do sit," said Muriel, quick to pour Charlotte a
cup of tea. "Perhaps what you truly need is a bucket of
warm water to soak your feet"

Charlotte eased into her chair and relaxed.

"Do not tell me you accompanied each and every one
of those gentlemen through the rear gardens." Susan
settled onto her seat next to Charlotte.

"Very well, I shan't say it if you do not wish to hear."
Charlotte accepted the teacup from Muriel with a pleasant smile. "Thank you so much, Moo. I am certain this
will make me feel just the thing."

"Is it true you are not going to Town? Not at all?" It
seemed Susan could not make sense of what had happened that afternoon, nor of what changes were to be
made because of it. "That is where your cousin Miriam
found a husband, and he's an earl!"

"That is beside the point. There is no need for Char- Char to travel to London when all the men are here,"
Muriel told Susan, who was much closer to her age than
Charlotte's.

"If Papa and Aunt Penny think it best I remain in the
country, then I shall." Charlotte sighed and glanced from
the rim of her cup to the plate of small cakes sitting on
the table just to the right of Muriel.

"Allow me," said Muriel, retrieving the dish and offering Charlotte a cake. "I believe Papa is on his way home
to manage the influx of gentlemen who have descended
upon us."

"Yes, there are so many." Apparently Susan continued to have difficulty with the concept of London gentlemen inhabiting their small village of Bloxwich. "His
Grace, yes, he could set things to right"

Charlotte placed her teacup upon its saucer ever so
lightly, so as not to risk injuring the fine Dresden china,
and then selected one of the cakes. "Thank you, Moo. I
honestly cannot believe I am this famished."

"I expect you really need not travel to Town. The
country is also where both our beloved Gusta and Em
found their husbands," Susan declared. "I suppose it
must be possible for you to do so as well."

Aunt Penny entered, appearing as fatigued as Charlotte, and joined the gathering. Muriel moved to fetch
her a cup of tea.

"Not right now, dear," said Aunt Penny, staying
Muriel's effort with the wave of her hand. "I need a few
moments to just sit. What an afternoon it has been!"

"I am sorry to have put you through that ordeal, Aunt Penny." Guilt swept through Charlotte. Not only had she
endured the long afternoon, but Aunt Penny had as well,
remaining until the last gentleman departed.

"Do not feel as if you have caused me any pains at
all, my dearest Char-Char. I had no knowledge of it
then, but now that the day has played out, I believe your
solution was most sensible. There was not one disagreement among all your gentlemen callers. Not one fist or
voice was raised all afternoon. All of them behaved
like ... gentlemen. I am quite amazed and pleased at
their behavior."

"I, too, am pleased." Charlotte gazed into her teacup
and a smile came to her lips. The gentlemen were delightful company. "I abhor quarreling above all and I will
not abide their fighting."

"Do not say they were actually striking one another?"
Susan looked from Muriel to Charlotte.

Charlotte nodded.

"You cannot like that," Susan agreed. "Tell me, CharChar, is there not one or two that you favor among them?"

"No, I do not believe I do." Charlotte tilted her head
and seemingly gazed toward the window to find her answer. "How can I possibly? They each have unique admirable qualities to recommend them and each one is a fine
gentleman indeed."

"You see, that is the difficulty." Muriel needed to point
out the obvious because, until someone came up with a
solution for the dilemma, they would continue to have too
many men at Faraday Hall.

"How shall we occupy them tomorrow?" asked Aunt Penny, appearing to welcome anyone to voice an answer. They needed a solution.

"Tomorrow? You don't expect them all to return, do
you?" Muriel looked from her aunt to her sister.

Both Charlotte and Aunt Penny shrugged and neither
commented.

"We cannot allow pandemonium," Muriel stated emphatically. "That is what could have happened today."

Those were exactly Charlotte's thoughts.

"I think it best if we limit the number of suitors,"
Muriel suggested.

"I won't have to choose, will I?" Charlotte's eyes widened and grew moist. She hated to think of the others
she would disappoint. "I do not think I can possibly
manage that. How can I possibly choose among them? It
would be most unfair."

"I wasn't thinking you should need to," said Muriel.
By the look on her face, she had a plan in the works.

"Why would it matter?" said Susan. "Choose a half
dozen or so-Char-Char likes them all."

"Yes, we can invite six for tea," Muriel continued. "Instead of us choosing, each of the gentlemen will have to
earn their spot"

"Earn? How?" Charlotte straightened, interested in
her sister's plan. "I must admit it would be a great help
if there were a way to limit the number of callers."

"If we could have them perform a task that would
make a few of them stand out ... " Muriel fell quiet for a
few moments and then burst out with excitement, nearly
frightening them. "Fruit tarts, biscuits, and scones!"