AN: Lady Charlotte was influenced by a close friend of mine, and her name is in honour of her, so to Charlotte, thank you for being a wonderful friend.
Cora does appear on the character list but she doesn't actually appear until the last chapter, sorry to disappoint, but I thought I'd add her anyway. I hope you like this, and Charlotte. I must admit I rather fell in love with her and cried when I came to write the last chapter. Enjoy.
The castle was stunning, beautiful. Set in the untamed hills of Northumberland there was nowhere else Robert would rather spend the last couple of weeks before his arrival in London and his dreaded season. The word had hung in their house for the past few months, ever since his father's financial situation had been explained to him. His mother was constantly exclaiming to him to do this or to do that 'a woman doesn't like a man who slouches' or whatever her latest criticism of him was. His father kept much to himself only occasionally dropping hints as to the seriousness of the whole situation and then giving Robert tips on marriage and such like. Robert was fed up with it and relieved at the change of scenery however, he knew he wasn't far from trouble. He wasn't stupid enough not to realise that this trip was no coincidence. His mother had arranged it all with her dear friend Lady Hexham and it was common knowledge the Hexham's had their niece, Lady Charlotte, a very wealthy heiress, residing with them since her parents untimely death a few months before which had made her heiress of all; her fortune in short was massive. And it was her fortune that brought Robert and his parents into this part of the country. Robert was to secure her hand in marriage. His mother was so sure of the plan, Robert's grandmothers engagement ring sat in his breast pocket.
As he entered the hall at Brancaster castle his mother stepped forward to greet her friend and his father greeted Lord Hexham. Behind their hosts stood a young man, who Robert knew to be Thomas Stanley and the most beautiful woman Robert had ever seen. Lady Charlotte, for it must be her, had honey blonde hair curled into the latest style balanced upon her head, she was petite but quite tall, with jade green eyes and two rosy cheeks. Robert stood still for a moment lost in her beauty but then quickly remembered himself and stepped forward to thank his hosts for their invitation. They then presented their niece and Lord Stanley, one day destined to be the Earl of Derby, to their guests explaining that the latter was a family friend who stayed with them on regular occasions. Robert knew this fact to be true as he'd known Thomas on and off for most of his life and the man had always been going to see the Hexham's, more often than he was going home usually. His mother obviously thought otherwise about his presence because as they ascended the stairs she whispered to him: 'You must remove the competition.'
After he'd washed off the journey and returned downstairs he was unsurprised to see Lady Charlotte waiting for him at the bottom of the first flight of steps, parasol in hand.
"Lord Downton, my-"
"Please do call me Mr Crawley or Robert, if you would like."
"Very well, Mr Crawley, Aunt wondered if you would like to take a tour of the house, or the surrounding countryside."
"And seeing as you have collected your parasol you wish to go outside?" She looks down and a small blush warms her cheeks.
"Aunt would not like it if she thought I had forced you into that decision."
"You have not Lady Charlotte, I assure you, I am very fond of the great outdoors. I take a daily walk when I am at home with or without the companionship of the family dog."
"You have a dog, that is wonderful. I had one when I was at home but then when I came here I left her with the very capable agent."
"And you miss her, or am I wrong?"
"You are not wrong, I miss her greatly, but I have company here. Thomas...I mean Lord Stanley, is the most excellent company." Robert doesn't miss the way she looks down, her eyes twinkle and an admirable blush covers her cheeks, before she reaches up to her collar and rubs her hand there as if she is too hot. Perhaps Mama was right, he muses, Thomas may be competition.
As they step outside the surrounding countryside enraptures Robert once more and he struggles to keep his attention on the delightful companion at his side while faced with the splendid views. Little does he know Lady Charlotte's mind is quite occupied, studying not only the gentleman beside her but the figure on horseback in the distance, who she knows form this far away is Lord Stanley. In her study of the figure in the distance she quite forgets where she is placing her feet and after tripping over nothing but her own feet she is grateful for Mr Crawley catching her before she hits the ground.
"Are you quite alright?" He was only just able to catch Lady Charlotte as she tripped and the hem of her dress is obviously quite muddied where she stepped on it. He's relieved when she laughs.
"Quite fine. Lord Stanley will tell you I fall over all the time, most of the time over nothing and frequently down the stairs. He teases that when I marry and am pregnant I shall have to move my bedroom downstairs so there is no chance of me tripping down, or up the stairs and harming the baby." Robert smiles at her, thinking she is joking but he quickly realises she is not and he begins to wonder how often Lord Stanley and Charlotte talk together, how well they really know each other. For a bachelor to tease a marriageable lady about being pregnant suggests a certain kind of freedom to their talk, a freedom that seldom exists between married couples let alone unrelated, unmarried friends of the opposite gender.
"Other than the countryside that you obviously share my passion for, what do you enjoy? Do you read? Hunt?"
"The latter naturally, for it takes part in the great outdoors. My uncle encourages me in it, but then he dotes on me at every turn. My aunt dislikes the thought of anything happening to me, but then that is largely due to her being convinced she will improve her social standing by marrying me off well." She chuckles to herself. "Therefore I spend much of my time alone or with Lord Stanley when he's here. Aunt and Uncle are very good and I do not wish to be the person they always argue over, so I try to do activities in balance to please them both."
"You are a very dutiful niece. I only hope my children will respect me so."
"I read also, but not the usual things that a lady of my standing usually reads. I like the classics and the ancient world. And enjoy reading Virgil and Homer."
"So, which hero do you prefer? Pious Aeneas or adventurous Odysseus?"
"Odysseus I think, I like the adventurous type who ride around and defeat all manor of obstacles before reaching their happiness."
"So, I suppose you wish me to ride and save you from terrible monsters, who in reality come in the form of men rather than other creatures, before you can decide if I am good enough for you or not?" She laughs openly at his statement much to Robert's pleasure.
"You know you sound quite like Lord Stanley in the things you say. But no, I don't wish you to go around saving me from men, I wish to save myself."
"An advocate for women's rights?"
"I've never thought of that before. No, not really. I'm just an independent person or at least I've learnt to be since my parents died and I'd rather rely on my own judgement than someone else's. After all, the majority of decisions you make affect mainly you, the big ones certainly do. Marriage for instance, I don't see the point in throwing people together in the hope of them deciding to marry, a woman should have a choice over the type of man she wishes to marry and why she wants to marry, as much as the man should." She looks up into Robert's face. "I'm not saying I turned you down the moment I knew my Aunt had chosen you, not at all. But I imagine you can sympathise with me over pushy relations who think it's their business, once they've told you that you have to marry, to then find you a suitable partner also, that part, in both our situations, should be our choice."
"I couldn't agree more."
"Why then, it seems if we shall be nothing else, we shall always be good friends." She holds out her hand to him in a gesture of friendship and he kisses her knuckles before tucking it into the crook of his arm."Will you hold my parasol a moment?" She doesn't wait for a moment before thrusting it at Robert and removing her arm from his. "Do excuse me." She sits on the ground and pulling her skirt to above her ankles begins unlacing her boot, Robert's watches in fascination, she really is very unpredictable. She takes the boot off, peers inside, shakes it upside down at which point the tiniest stone falls out before struggling it back onto her foot, relaxing it and standing. "All done." Robert smiles at her.
"Do you do that often?"
"What?"
"Take off your boot to remove tiny pieces of stone?"
"Yes, sometimes I dangle my feet in a stream near here and then I end up with stones in my shoe."
"And when you remove the stones do you often sit upon the ground."
"I do."
"So, you often come home with a small grass stain and pieces of foliage attached to your dress as you have now?"
"Mr Crawley, you naughty man, you've been looking at my bottom!" Robert turns beetroot at her accusation even if it is true, and turns away. "I'm teasing, yes I do often come home with parts of the countryside all over me. Aunt hates it."
"Well, for the record, I think it's rather adorable. But then I think you would always look quite adorable, to any man, all the time." She smiles a little at the compliment and turns to the sound of approaching horse's hoofs. Lord Stanley jumps down from his horse and Robert doesn't miss the grin that spreads over Lady Charlotte's face as she races into Lord Stanley's arms, like a sister would embrace a brother. Nor does Robert miss the fierce look of warning that Thomas gives him over Charlotte's shoulder, the look quite clearly says: 'Behave, she's mine.' It seems his mother was right, he did definitely have a competitor, and the worst kind, one who knew the Lady in question better than he did.