The hours turned into days, and the days turned into a week. Charlie kept herself busy, and if she needed something more to fill her time,

there was always someone able to help out with that.

Teresa took her into town a couple of times. Once, to buy her more jeans, and then another time to introduce her to Lucy Stone, the younger sister

of one of Teresa's friends. Charlie had been convinced to wear a dress, and the four females met at the Stone home, where a somewhat tea party

had been prepared.

Teresa kept an eye on Charlie, and saw that, while she was polite, she and Lucy did not seem particularly impressed with one another.

She tried to broach the subject on the drive home in the buggy, observing that Charlie seemed subdued.

"Did you enjoy yourself?" she asked Charlie.

"I liked the tea they made. It was really sweet," Charlie responded.

"Yes," Teresa agreed. "Mrs. Stone likes her tea with plenty of sugar."

Charlie nodded, and began to undo her shoes, her obvious intent to remove them.

Teresa started to say something in faint protest, then let it go.

As Charlie pulled off her shoes, and then began to peel her stockings down, Teresa tried again. "What do you think of Lucy?" she asked.

Charlie hesitated, and then said, "It's hard to say, when you've only just met a person."

"You can at least know whether you like a person, Charlie," Teresa said. "Even if it was only a short while."

Charlie placed her rolled-up stockings on the buggy seat between them.

"She has a lot of nice books," Charlie said then, stretching her bare feet out in front of her.

Teresa gave Charlie an impatient sigh. "I'm not asking about her books, silly. I'm asking if you think you might want to be

friends with Lucy."

"I could try," Charlie said, and then pointed. "Look! There's Scott and Murdoch!"

They were spotted by the two men, who approached them on horseback, riding up beside the buggy, Murdoch on Teresa's side,

and Scott on Charlie's.

"Hullo, lovelies," Murdoch greeted them with a smile, as Teresa brought the buggy to a halt

"How was your tea party?" Scott asked, smiling at Charlie.

"The food was wonderful, as it always is at their home," Teresa said.

"How about you?" Scott asked Charlie. "Did you have a good time?"

"It was nice of Teresa to take me," Charlie said, in answer, and then said to Teresa, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Teresa said dryly.

"Can I ride with you?" Charlie asked Scott, standing up in the buggy.

"May I," Scott corrected.

"May I?" Charlie asked.

In response, Scott held out his left arm to steady her as she made the transition from buggy to the spot behind him on

the horse.

"All set?" he asked her, when she was settled, her skirts spread out and her arms around his waist.

"All set."

"We'll see you back at the house," Scott said, addressing his father and Teresa, and he urged the horse into

a run.

Watching them ride away, her eyes following, Teresa gave a sigh.

"Trouble?" Murdoch asked her.

"No. Nothing like that," Teresa said. "It's just-well, I can't get Charlie to tell me even a simple thing, such as what she thought

of Lucy Stone, or would she want to be friends with her. She keeps dodging and answering another way until I'm not even sure what

I asked."

"Did the girls not get on together?" Murdoch asked.

"They neither one seemed to talk much to the other. I was hoping it was just shyness on both their parts." Teresa looked thoughtful for a moment.

"There was a little bit of time when they were alone together, but I don't think there was an argument or anything."

"Hmm," Murdoch said.

"I so wanted her and Lucy to hit it off," Teresa said, and sighed again.

"Well, you made the first step possible. Perhaps it will work out," Murdoch said.

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Charlie went horseback riding with Johnny late in the afternoon, and Teresa took her opportunity to talk to Scott about

the visit to the Stone's.

"Did Charlie mention it at all to you?" Teresa asked, leaning against the fence.

Scott took off his hat, wiping the sweat from his forehead with his arm, and then putting the hat back on.

"No. She didn't seem to want to talk about it. Why?"

Teresa listed her concerns, and observations, and Charlie's cryptic answers.

"Well, maybe they just didn't take a liking to one another," Scott said. "It's not the end of the world, is it?"

"She needs a friend, Scott. You know that, better than anyone. What did you tell us you talked with her about? Finding a friend

that was midway between a thug and a dressmaker's dummy?" Teresa asked.

Scott gave a smile at her description.

"Did you not?" Teresa prompted him.

"I don't think I used those words, exactly, but yes, I did."

"Well, then," Teresa said, lifting her palms.

Scott looked thoughtful. "Is it possible that Lucy wasn't kind? And maybe that's the trouble?"

"I don't think she was unkind. She wasn't raised that way."

"Kids act differently away from their parents sometimes," Scott said, and bent to pick up another sack of feed from the back of the wagon,

and walking with it over his shoulder into the barn.

"I don't know what her reasons would be, for being unkind, though." Teresa objected, following him.

"It's just a suggestion," Scott told her, and added the sack of feed to the stack against the wall.

He paused to brush his hands together, and gave Teresa a look. "I'll talk to Charlie about it. See if I can get anywhere."

"Alright. Good," Teresa said. She turned and then paused at the barn door.

"We're having a guest for supper tonight. Cole's going to join us."

"I see," Scott said, and smiled at her. But just a little. He didn't want Teresa to think he was teasing.

"Yes. So I'd appreciate it if you talked to Johnny, as well. Stress to him the merits of leaving suspicion and hostility at the

door. Will you, please?" she asked.

"You really do think I'm a miracle worker, don't you?" Scott accused.

Teresa grinned impishly, and then blew him a kiss, as she started towards the house.

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Teresa's new beau came to supper. He was a quiet, young man who seemed very fond of Teresa. Charlie was mostly quiet during

the meal, taking in the atmosphere and the exchanges between the adults.

Johnny offered his hand to Cole in greeting, and asked him a few pointed questions that seemed to both embarrass and irritate Teresa.

"Johnny," she protested at one such question, and narrowed her eyes at him across the table.

Charlie could tell that even though Teresa was giving Johnny the 'evil eye', she was trying to appear still ladylike in front of

Cole. Charlie giggled a little, softly, at Teresa's expression, but Murdoch heard, and he reached over and tapped her knee under the table.

When she looked towards Murdoch, he gave a slight shake of his head, and Charlie went back to concentrating on her food.

Upstairs, later, Charlie was pulling her nightgown over her head, when there was a knock on the door. She stood up, pulling it down

and trying to tug her hair caught in the neckline.

"Yes," she said, and Scott came in.

"Wash your face?" he asked her, coming to sit down on the bed.

"Yes. And I brushed my teeth."

"Ready to read, then?" he asked, and Charlie took her customary place beside him, snuggling into his side, and watching the

pages as he read.

Since finishing Ivanhoe, their new reading project was 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'. After reading nearly a chapter, Scott put

the bookmark in, and closed the book.

"Do you like it?" Charlie asked, looking at him curiously.

"It's alright," Scott said. "It's definitely got some twists and turns to it."

"You don't like it as much as you do Ivanhoe, though, do you?"

"No. Not as much as Ivanhoe," Scott affirmed.

Charlie hooked her arm thru his, pressed to his side.

"Why did Johnny ask Cole so many questions?" she asked.

"Well, because he loves Teresa," Scott said.

"That's why he asked all those things? Because he loves Teresa?"

"Mostly, yes. He wants to make sure that Cole is a good person," Scott explained.

"Oh," Charlie said, leaning her head against him.

"So what about the get-together at the Stone's today?" Scott asked. "Teresa got the impression that you

didn't have a very good time."

"I tried not to be rude," Charlie said.

"Nobody is accusing you of being rude," Scott said. He waited a couple of moments and then looked down at Charlie. "What happened?"

Charlie sighed heavily. "When we went upstairs to her bedroom, she said some things. That's all."

"What things?" he asked.

"Do I have to say?" Charlie asked.

"No. I guess you don't. Not if you don't want to. But," he added, "If it was something that shouldn't have been said by Lucy,

then I'd like you to tell me. Then we could discuss it with her parents-"

Charlie looked at him, alarmed. "I wouldn't want you to do that. She might get punished-"

"If it's something that deserves a punishment, then that would be due to her own actions. Not yours," Scott pointed out.

Charlie looked contemplative. "I'd just as soon not say. Not right now, anyway." She looked at Scott, a little worried.

"Is that alright?" she asked.

"Is it something that's going to worry you? Cause you upset?" he asked, before answering her question.

Charlie shook her head in denial.

"Well, we'll let it go for right now then," Scott said.

He, as had become another nightly custom for the two of them, brushed out Charlie's long auburn hair.

As he worked out the tangles and snarls, Charlie spoke up quietly. "Have you heard anything from Katherine? About when I have

to go back?"

"No. I haven't," Scott said, just as quietly. "If I had, I'd have told you. I wouldn't keep that from you."

"Oh."

There was something in her tone, a hesitation. A new worry. Scott heard it.

"Did you think that I would? Not tell you?" he asked.

"I thought you might think-that you wouldn't tell me until you had to," Charlie said.

Scott hesitated, the hairbrush paused in mid-air. Before he could answer, Charlie went on. "I mean, you'd do it because you're

so nice."

Scott began brushing again, and said in as calm a tone as he could muster, so as to reassure her, "I'd tell you. Because I know

you'd be strong enough to handle it."

"I'm not strong, though, Scott," Charlie said, barely able to be heard.

Scott handed the brush over her shoulder to her. Charlie stood up to go and lay it on the top of the dresser. She kept her back to

him, fiddling with things there.

"I know you're wrong about that," Scott said. "You're a very strong little girl."

Charlie shook her head. "No," he heard her say.

"Come here," he told her.

Charlie stood where she was a moment longer, then looked in the mirror at his reflection.

When she hesitated, he prompted, "Charlie."

She turned and came to him, and he sat her down on his knee. He looked at her downtrodden expression, and

tried teasing.

"So this is what we've come to, is it?" he asked. "Contradiction?"

"What's that?" she asked him.

"When I say I believe that you're strong, and you tell me that's not so. That's contradiction."

"Oh," she said, and kept her big eyes on his face.

Scott saw that the teasing had fallen flat, so instead he said, "You have strength that you don't even know you have yet."

"Do you think so?"

"Absolutely," he said.

Charlie reached her fingers up and began to fiddle with the top button on his shirt.

"I don't want to go back, Scott."

"I know."

"Is there a way that I could give all the money to someone else?" she asked, and looked at Scott. "Then she wouldn't have me

back again. The money's the only reason."

Though his heart was hurting at her question, Scott resolved to be truthful with her. At least as far as he was able.

"As a child, you can't make that sort of decision," he said gently.

"But it's about me," she protested.

"It's difficult to understand, I know."

Charlie sighed heavily, and got off his knee to climb onto the bed, and under the quilt.

Charlie reached out to give him a hug, and then laid back. Scott tucked the covers up around her.

As he reached to turn down the lamp, Charlie said, "Could I stay here, though? If it was possible, I mean."

Not sure how to answer, Scott hesitated. He didn't intend to give her any false hope, even though he wanted to.

"There's so many things, adult things, that would have to be considered in something like this. A lot of different folks would

need to honor what your mother wanted for you. With an inheritance like what your father left, decisions aren't something

to be taken lightly-"

Charlie reached out, in the semi-darkness, to take his hand. She squeezed it hard.

"I just meant, that IF I could stay here, would you want me to?"

Scott tried to force his voice to remain steady. He ran a hand down her cheek, and said, very quietly,

"Yes, Charlie. I would."

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