Sitting around the table, Charlotte ate her toast silently, peering at the book that she was reading. Her eyes scanned the words on the page as she remained focused on the words. She had nearly finished the book. She was so close to the end that she didn't want to put the story down. Jane Eyre had proven to be a particularly good purchase from the book store in Charlottetown. She earned her own money and therefore she was entitled to purchase whatever book she saw fit. Chewing down on her bottom lip, she almost startled when she heard her mother enter the dining room.
"For heaven's sake, Charlotte, you are getting crumbs on your shirt."
Looking down at her shirt, Charlotte rolled her eyes and brushed the crumbs from her shirt. Her mother tutted at her before taking a seat in the chair next to hers. She reached for her own slice of toast as Charlotte placed her book down on the table and looked to her mother.
"Honestly, Charlotte, and you wonder why you are still single?"
"No, mother, I know why I am still single," she responded, moving to her feet and sipping on her milk. She let out a soft sigh after she had finished and then looked to her mother. "It is because I do not wish to marry for the sake of marrying."
"You are in your prime, Charlotte," Eliza Barry informed her eldest daughter who rolled her eyes behind her back. She had had this discussion numerous times with her mother. Her father had attempted to present many eligible bachelors to her, but Charlotte had no intention of marrying any of them. She did not want to marry yet. "The eligible bachelors in Avonlea are lining up to court you."
"And they are only lining up to court me because father is rich," Charlotte said, holding onto her mother's shoulders as she stood behind her and bent down. "And I do not intend to marry for money," she concluded, pecking her mother's cheek as Eliza once again made a tutting noise towards her daughter.
Straightening up, Charlotte tugged on her blue skirt, letting it flow to her feet as she saw her father make his way into the dining room, dressed in a three piece brown suit. Looking to his wife, he managed a smile over to her before noticing his daughter.
"Father," Charlotte greeted him.
"Charlotte," William responded, keeping the smile on his face as he looked to his daughter. "Are you going to work?"
"Work," Eliza echoed, her voice showing some disdain as Charlotte rolled her eyes behind her back. "Tell her that she does not need to work, William. Her husband could provide for her if she refused to stop being stubborn."
"Father, please do inform mother that I have no intention of marrying simply to be a kept woman," Charlotte urged from her father, holding onto his arm and standing on her toes to peck him on the cheek.
"Your mother has a point, Charlotte," William said, looking to his daughter as her eyes widened and he moved a hand to hold onto her cheek. "I keep being asked why I have yet to secure you an engagement."
"Tell people what you wish, but I am not marrying for the sake of marrying," Charlotte said. "Now, I have to go to and find Diana and leave for school."
"Be careful," Eliza demanded from her daughter.
Charlotte moved into the hallway in time to see Diana move down the staircase. Reaching for her red coat from the coat rack, Charlotte shrugged into it and buttoned it up, picking up her satchel from the ground after she had deposited it there. Slinging it over her shoulder, she looked at her little sister who wore a dark blue dress with a blue bow in her hair. Charlotte looked at her and felt a smile move onto her face. She adored Diana terribly. Her little sister was clever and excellent at playing the piano. A part of Charlotte worried that Diana was too much like mother and what mother wanted her to be. She worried that she would want to marry and settle down instead of forging a path of her own.
"Charlotte, is it today we are supposed to be reading Camelot?" Diana enquired, adjusting the bolero on her shoulders as she reached for her hat with the blue ribbon, placing it on her head.
"I believe so," Charlotte said. "Come along, we should get going. Do you have your milk and lunch?"
"In the basket."
"Excellent," Charlotte said. "Goodbye, mother and father."
Eliza and William called out their goodbyes to their children as Charlotte and Diana left the house. The sun was shining and the air felt more humid than usual, making Charlotte wonder if she even needed a coat. Wandering along the quiet path towards the school, Charlotte continued to look up to the sky as she wandered by her sister's side.
"I know that Mr Phillips is our teacher, but why can you not teach us all of the time?" Diana asked and Charlotte let her lips quirk for a moment as she heard her sister. She would ask this question at least three times in a week.
"You know why," Charlotte said. "I have just come back from finishing school and I am nowhere near as experienced in teaching as Mr Phillips is. Besides, I only help assist him."
"You are a better teacher," Diana said and Charlotte looked down to her with an arched brow as Diana shrugged her shoulders. "It is true. You are a better teacher. Everyone knows that."
"Do not let Mr Phillips hear you say that," Charlotte urged her sister, moving to squeeze her shoulder.
"Charlotte, you are clever. You are better at math than Mr Phillips. You love math."
"I do," Charlotte said. A part of her had wanted to go to college and not finishing school as her parents had insisted. She had spent time in France and she knew that she should be grateful, but all of her friends had gone on the college. She had returned home and most of them had married and moved away. But she had gone home. She had returned home and had not wanted to marry as her parents had envisioned. That had caused numerous arguments.
"Then why do you not tell the board that you want to be a teacher and not his assistant?"
"Because the board will always side with Mr Phillips," Charlotte said. "He is a man and I am a woman. That is how it is right now while he is here."
"I do not like it," Diana said and Charlotte wrapped an arm around her sister's shoulders.
"I love you, Diana," Charlotte said to her sister.
"I love you too," Diana responded, peering up to her sister for a moment. "I want you to be happy, Charlotte."
"And am I not happy?"
"You are," Diana said, "but does this make you happy? Are you happy working in the school? Maybe you would be happier if you did marry-"
"-Diana," Charlotte interrupted her. "Did mother ask you to speak to me?"
Diana went silent then as Charlotte laughed loudly at that and shook her head. She let go of her sister and turned on her heel, walking backwards as she continued watching Diana. The young girl shrugged her shoulders once more.
"She asked me to talk to you about marriage."
"She has recruited you as her spy," Charlotte said, pointing to her sister. "Well, tell mother that the reason I have not married is because I am madly in love with the footman…and that we have been involved in an illicit affair and intend to run away at the end of the year when we have both saved up enough money to elope."
"Charlotte!" Diana scolded her older sister.
Charlotte laughed at her little sister and fell back into step beside her. Diana's cheeks turned red slightly following her sister's bold words. Charlotte's smile remained on her face and she shook her head.
"Just tell mother not to make you spy on me."
"I will," Diana said.
"Good," Charlotte said as they came to the school. "Now go and find Ruby and Jane before the bell rings."
"Fine," Diana said. "I will see you later."
"Be good," Charlotte urged her sister, hand on her back before Diana rushed off towards the small stream.
Wandering up the steps into the school, Charlotte's smile remained on her face as she walked down the middle of the desks and past the stove towards the small room at the back of the building. The door was already open and Mr Phillips was in the room, sat in the chair with a book in front of him. Charlotte kept her smile on her face, knowing that nothing annoyed him more than seeing someone happy. Entering the room, she tugged her satchel from her shoulder.
"Good morning, Mr Phillips," she said, voice cheery as he peered up from his book and allowed his eyes to roam over the young woman.
Charlotte Barry had proven to be a thorn in his side. Her approach to teaching differed from his. She was stern, but she showed more empathy than he ever would. He was not there to pander to children, but to educate them. Charlotte, on the other hand, spent too much time pandering to their every needs.
"Miss Barry," Mr Phillips said, closing his book as he watched her remove her coat, hanging it up alongside his. "I trust you had chance to prepare your lesson for today."
"My lesson?" she asked him, turning around to look at him.
He watched as she made the quick motion, wisps of her dark, black hair falling from the neat up do it was held in. Her skin was fair, but slightly too pale, especially so considering the sun outside. Her face was slightly round and became even rounder whenever she puffed her cheeks in exasperation with him. Pursing her thin lips, she turned to face him completely and folded her arms over her chest.
"Yes," Mr Phillips said, moving to his feet and she knew what he was doing. He towered over her. His frame was broad and lanky, but he was much taller than Charlotte. He took a step closer towards her, watching her as she continued to stare up at him. "I believe it is your turn to teach math this morning, is it not?"
"I had thought that you were giving the children a spelling test this morning," Charlotte said.
"No, Miss Barry," he responded. "There was a change of plan yesterday."
"A change of plan that you did not happen to mention?" she asked, jutting her chin out slightly as he continued to glower down at her.
"Are you accusing me of something?"
"Of course not," Charlotte said. She was not going to let him do this. She would not let him intimidate her. "That is fine. I am well prepared. Why not spend this morning looking at the papers the children wrote on their family tree?"
"I thought that you could those this afternoon. I have much more pressing matters to address."
"Of course," she said, knowing that he was lying as the bell began to ring.
She moved out then as Mr Phillips watched her go, his eyes lingering on her as she stood in front of the blackboard as the children entered and moved to their seats.
"Settle down," Charlotte urged from them. "Come on now, settle down."
The room went quiet then and Charlotte looked over the sea of familiar faces as they remained silent. Boys on one side and girls on the other side. She let her hands move into the folds of her skirt as she wandered along the front of the classroom.
"Good morning, everyone," she said, the smile moving back to her face as Mr Phillips remained stood in the doorway, watching her move across the classroom. "Today we will beginning the day with math. As you all have your workbooks, we will start off with some simple algebra equations. I will write them on the board. Ensure you-"
"-Miss Barry," she was interrupted by Billy and she looked over to him, knowing how disruptive he could be alongside being cocksure of himself. "I thought that we were having a spelling test."
"I believe you were supposed to," Charlotte said and then looked to Mr Phillips as he folded his arms over his chest. "However, due to unforeseen circumstances we are beginning the day with math. Mr Phillips can explain why."
Looking at her, Mr Phillips felt his face warm up at her words. She would dare to challenge him? She would dare to make him explain himself to children? He said nothing, moving further into the classroom and standing behind Charlotte as she remained upright.
"You are doing math this morning because I have declared so," Mr Phillips said, voice slightly deadly as he looked down at Charlotte again, but she kept her gaze on the class. "Miss Barry will continue with her class."
"As we were," Charlotte said and went back to the chalkboard as Diana watched her sister, wondering how she remained so calm and collected. Diana let her gaze move back to Mr Phillips who continued to watch her. Diana didn't like the way he watched her sister. She was scared for her sister whenever he lowered his voice and looked at her, his gaze intense. He often spoke to her with a harsh and low tone. Something did not feel right. It never did.
After the lesson had ended there was a short break. The class ran outside and began charging around as Charlotte cleared the board of the equations. Looking to the side as she saw Mr Phillips leave the small backroom, she frowned as he moved towards her once more.
"I do not appreciate being questioned," he hissed.
"I did not question you," Charlotte said, voice innocent. "I merely asked you to explain why the schedule for the day had changed."
"To children."
"Well they are the ones here," she said and did her best not to snap louder at him.
"Perhaps your parents concerns about you were correct," Mr Phillips said as he looked to her and she stopped clearing the board, folding her arms over her chest.
"About what?"
"Perhaps marriage would be a better option for you," he said and Charlotte said nothing in response to that as he continued to watch her and she placed the eraser down on the board and gulped, her throat clenching slightly as she moved past him and his stare, not knowing exactly what his point was.
…
A/N: Do let me know what you think!