One: The Hill
A man without a good hat, she would say much later when asked what she saw when she first looked at him.
She was picking up mushrooms with Dinah, the housemaid. She saw him on Dropping Hill. He was climbing it with the dexterity of a small child. He seemed to be talking to himself.
The rain was falling like a gentle powder. Dinah opened the umbrella.
The man had only his hat to keep him dry, which was barely enough. The old, black thing looked tattered and miserable.
'Good Sir! I say – are you in need of assistance?' she shouted across the hill.
He stopped shortly, looked around confused and squeezed the rim of his hat between his fingers.
Charlotte waved her arms.
His eyes fell upon her tall figure.
'Ah, no, much obliged, no, no,' he said quickly and turned his back.
He kept muttering to himself as his feet swam through the pools of mud and dirt. He slipped and he dropped his weight on his hands.
He half-crawled, half-walked to the top of the hill and collapsed there, next to a heavy boulder.
At first, Charlotte thought she was hearing things, but when she stopped to listen carefully, she realized he was crying.
His sobs shook his body like a terrible chill. He was crying with his face in his hands. He was wringing his eyes.
Charlotte put down the basket of mushrooms and ran towards the foot of the hill.
She was going to ask him why he was crying, but he looked so forlorn that she decided against it.
So she waited patiently, watching him without stirring.
After a while, his crying stopped. His wet face was covered by his large, red hands but he was very quiet.
She thought he had fallen asleep, but he was watching her through his parted fingers.
He could not move until she did, because he risked exposing himself. He was trapped. He had to stay there until she left.
The afternoon was passing between them. Every minute was punctuated by a strong drop falling on his hat.
After a long time, Dinah called her mistress.
'Miss Charlotte, it is getting very late! We ought to leave. Lady Lucas will be awaiting.'
'Miss Charlotte!'
She was obliged to leave, despite her wishes. She had not said a single word, and now she regretted it.
She left with her head bent down.
After a quarter of an hour, the young man rose and looked around him indifferently. He had climbed up the hill, but he did not wish to get down.