Three Months Later

Charlotte walked down the steps of the house and onto the pathway that had long been hidden by crimson snow but was now becoming clear once more. 'Come on, Blake.' She encouraged.

Blake, who had grown quickly in his time at Allerdale yipped cheerfully as he followed his mistress, walking towards where the workmen and her husband were. Thomas saw Blake rushing to him before he ever saw Charlotte, upon seeing her, he smiled brightly. 'Lottie, what are you doing here?'

'You said to come to see the machine in action, so we said we would come and see it now, as I can see you are readying it.' She smiled.

'We?' Thomas asked. Beside him, Blake, as though he knew he was being referenced, barked again. The machine hissed steam, but he barely looked to the side, long used to the odd metal contraptions and their noises that infested the house and grounds of his humans. 'Of course, how foolish of me.' Thomas chuckled. 'Do you recall that coil I spoke about?'

'Yes, how it would mean that no one would have to manually turn the wheel once it was started?'

Thomas beamed brightly, elated, as ever, with his wife's ability to remember even the slightest details of his work. 'Exactly that. Lottie, you should see it in action.'

'I wish to, hence my being here.' She smiled.

Thomas began to speak to her about how it worked more, describing different parts as he pointed to them, Charlotte nodding and asking questions as he went. By the time he had started up the machine, Charlotte could have almost engineered it herself with everything she had learnt from him. Watching it dig into the clay, she smiled at Thomas. Beside the machine, Blake watched curiously before attempting to dig also, causing them and the foreman to laugh.

'It is amazing Thomas, you are so gifted.' Charlotte commended as they walked back to the house.

'You are incredibly kind, as per usual.' Thomas responded before looking at her and becoming concerned at the manner in which she appeared. 'Lottie?'

Of late, Charlotte was exhausted a lot of the time. Lucille's health was declining, after a few days of not eating after Blake arrived, Charlotte forced Lucille to eat by threatening to have her sent to the asylum as soon as Thomas went to Newcastle-Upon-Tyne again, something he was going to have to do in the near future. So under threat of such, Lucille conceded. Since then, because of her limbs not being in use, they weakened, and with little movement, required more work by Charlotte, who in turn was forced to do more for her. She found herself tired often and also eating whenever she could in hopes of assisting her deal with the added pressures with Lucille and her tiredness. The only issue was, that of late, she was starting to show signs of the tiredness and Thomas was becoming increasingly concerned for her. 'I am fine.' She dismissed with a smile.

Thomas was not convinced. 'Dr Thompson will come later in the week for Lucille, please, please Lottie, have him take a look at you also.'

'There is nothing wrong with me.' She insisted with a smile, but the smile never made it to her eyes as it usually did, and it did not pass by Thomas' attention. Even the ever faithful Blake, who adored his master, chose often to remain comforting his mistress of late as she felt herself become more and more drained healthwise.

'Please Lottie, I do not know why you feel you have to act as though you do not feel it but for me, please speak with Dr Thompson.' Thomas begged.

Looking at his blue eyes, filled with concern and upset at her current state, Charlotte nodded. 'I will speak with him come Thursday, he is due then. For you. Though, I think you are overreacting.' She smiled, the smile was smaller but more genuine.

Thomas took her hand in his and kissed it. 'Thank you, my Love.'

'Your hands are cold, get in and have some soup before you are the one in need of a doctor for pneumonia. I can assure you, you do not want such.' Charlotte ushered her husband inside. As soon as he was ahead of her, she inhaled deeply and pleaded silently with herself not to faint, feeling as though her body was getting weak.

As it stood, Edward was ill with the flu come Thursday, and could not attend to Lucille, instead, Dr Percival came and insisted on going through a thorough examination of her before coming to the conclusion she should indeed be in a sanitorium once more, and that it was not right to have her be so draining on Charlotte. It was as he spoke with Charlotte on the matter, the doctor, though getting old, realised Charlotte was suffering the consequences of her busy life dealing with Lucille. 'I think you in need of rest, Lady Sharpe.' The doctor commented.

Sighing, she recalled her promise to Thomas and inhaled deeply. 'If you have time, Doctor, I was hoping if you could actually check myself over also.'

'Of course, Lady Sharpe, what seems to be the issue?'

'Tiredness, persistently so. I sleep well, eat too well if I am honest, yet I feel like an animal yearning for hibernation.'

'I see, and any nausea?'

'None, bar if I get too hungry from caring for Lucille, but that was only once over a fortnight ago and is natural.'

'Yes, it is.' The doctor concurred. 'When did this start?'

'Almost three months ago now, when Sir Sharpe was in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne last.'

'I see. I think it best I examine you fully, Lady Sharpe.'

'I understand, Doctor, but I must warn you as to my condition, I am not as people usually are, I am, among other things, quite scarred.'

'I see. And the age of these scars?'

'From my youth.'

'So not by the hand of Sir Sharpe?'

'Never, Thomas would never do such a thing to me.'

'I understand, I merely have to ask these things, Lady Sharpe, as my colleague has no doubt done if he has seen to your care since your arrival.'

'Yes, he has.'

'Very well, we will start from the top, and work our way through everything.' Dr Percival began.

It took the doctor longer to examine Charlotte than it had for him to check over Lucille and it was far more thorough after she revealed to him her state. With a nod when she asked him not to reveal too much of his health recommendations to Thomas, or even Edward, he left the room.

Thomas waited outside anxiously. He was terrified of Charlotte being unwell, he did not want any harm to befall her. He had sabotaged Lucille's attempts early in the marriage by either not giving Charlotte the tea, underdosing it spectacularly and on a few occasions, taking her tea for himself to stop her being harmed after he started developing feelings for her. When Lucille got ill, he dumped it all, every last grain so that no one could be harmed by it again. With Charlotte feeling so ill, he was terrified he missed a canister. Dr Percival merely nodded at him as he went to walk by. Shocked, Thomas rushed to him. 'Doctor, my wife?'

'I have said it already, Sir Sharpe, but I fear I must reiterate myself, Lady Sharpe is doing too much for Lady Lucille, she cannot continue like this, it is too draining and her health is suffering.'

'We had been offered assistance with my sister, if it is too great a task for Charlotte, if it tires her so, then I will insist we take it.'

'Good.' The doctor nodded. 'The Lady Charlotte cannot continue as she is, it is becoming dangerous to her health. She needs more rest.'

'I will ensure she gets it.' Thomas swore.

'Very well.' Dr Percival stated before stepping into the elevator, as he was not willing to walk down so many stairs. 'That woman is terrifying strong.'

Thomas frowned. 'How so, doctor?'

'To smile and care as she does, with all the wrongs against her...I have never seen such brutality in all my years.'

Thomas swallowed as he watched the doctor shaking his head solemnly while the elevator descended. He had, on occasion felt the scarring on her legs and backside as they were intimate, as well as seen the ones on her back, but he looked past them to his adoring and loving wife. To anyone who did not know her, he had little doubt they were terrifying. He turned and walked back to the room where Charlotte was still in bed, Blake, much to his dislike, was on it with her, his head on her feet. Thinking for a moment that she was after falling asleep, he went to leave.

'I need to ready dinner.' He looked around just in time to see Charlotte rising.

'You need to rest. The doctor has given the order.'

'I can rest when we are all fed.' She stated.

Thomas watched as she rose. It was clear she was lightheaded but she tried not to show it. He recalled how she reiterated time and again that Allerdale was his home, how he was master of the house. 'Lottie, we are taking the offer of a housekeeper.' He declared before rushing out of the room and running down the stairwell and to the front door in time to get to Dr Percival about to order his pony off. 'Doctor, Mrs Davies, Dr Thompson's housekeeper?'

'Yes?'

'She knows of another woman, a widow, her names eludes me now. Please ask the good Mrs Davies if the woman still seeks employment, and should she, to come here at her earliest convenience, we can even send a carriage for her if required.'

'I shall do so immediately.' The doctor promised.

Thomas nodded in gratitude and watched as the carriage pulled away.

Above them, from her art room, Charlotte watched, silently grateful to her husband for making such a decision. Of late, sleep is all she yearned for and she did not wish to allow the work she had done within the house go to waste. She had long moved everything incriminating against the Sharpe's into a chest and had locked it with a key from Lucille's keychain, but she had also hidden the key and placed the chest, along with everything else belonging to the previous women into a room that was by rights, far too dangerous to enter, the floorboards were rotten through in many areas, but it was safer at the edges. It was a tedious day for her, but she had done it, there was no chance they would be found anytime soon. Before the workmen would get to that area of the house, she would have them buried, she swore it.

She walked past Lucille's room to see Lucille looking at her with some satisfaction in her features. She was taking some joy in Charlotte's current ill state. Charlotte, however, simply walked over to her and took Lucille's hand in hers, noting the softness of her hands, before placing it to her side for a moment and waiting. When Lucille felt what she felt, a smug grin came to Charlotte's features as a horrified realisation came to Lucille's.