The second day

The next day began as boring as the previous one. Charlotte tried to take care of the plants, but apparently without much success. The strangest noise from the living room made Challenger stick his noise out of the laboratory, only to find the girl in the middle of the room between two almost broken pots unable to move without causing more damage.
"What happened here?"
"I ...I´m so sorry. I will clean it up. The problem was there wasn´t enough space for me and I don´t know how much water this lilac flower needs ... and thought I´d give it some water at the farside, but the red and the yellow one turned upside down."
"Well, my Dear. That lilac is a zygopethalon and it´s a hybrid. It´s color is special because most are dark brown and white. It requires a lot of steam, that´s why you have to spray it instead of watering. "
"I see. Like this?" And she sprayed the plant a little.
"Yes, that's enough. It´s rather hot today."
Charlotte bent down, to pick up the other flower pots.
"And what are these?"
"The yellow one is called Bougainvillea and it´s also a hybrid. Take it out to the balcony, it likes sunshine."
"And this?" She held the red in front of her.
"This is my favorite, the Orchidea Summerleecea. It was found by Arthur Summerlee."
"Mr. Malone talked about him. He must be a special man."
"Yes, he is. And what you can see here it mostly his collection. Veronica takes care of them."
"Than I shall also do so, at least for a week..."
"I´m sure you will be successful" He allowed himself tosmile a little to himself. "Maybe I can tell you something more about them."
"Only if I don´t keep you from your work."
"Nonsense. It will be my pleasure. It´s a rare occasion when I have someone's full attention here." He responded with a hidden smile and took the flower from the girl.

"So I´ll be the next" sighed Roxton as he, Ned, and Richard made their way home. Richard went ahead giving the other two some time to speak alone .
"You will see, you can survive it. I was pleasantly surprised."
"Ned! Can Veronica be jealous?"
"Don´t joke with it! I only said that on my part I´ve forgiven her the lie. When you get to know her, you´ll understand why. "
"Why? I´m curious."
"Do you want an honest answer?"
The lord nodded yes.
"Let it be. Don´t take it as an insult, but at first the girl seems like any other women from London high society. She is elegant, pleasant, and a little bit shy. In one word a little lady."
"You haven't said anything new. I've already knew this. Plus she is a very good actress."
"This damn upbringing is the cause of her lie. You know she always did what her parents told her to do. For once in her life she wanted to rule her own life and she finds trouble. In the middle of an Amazonian jungle with four men and two women. It can be shocking for a girl who never saw a duck in nature... So I think that she..."
"Regrets it?"
"Yes. And we are partly the cause of this. But mostly Richard."
The lord only nodded again.
"Maybe you´re right Ned. Marguerite tried to tell me the same for weeks."
"Veronica too. Maybe we should have listened to them."
"Maybe. But don´t you dare tell this to Marguerite!"
Their attention suddenly went away from this conversation as they heard first a big splashing, than a long and loud cursing. Richard stood under the treehouse wet and Challenger and Charlotte could be seem up on the balcony, Charlotte with a bucket in her hand."

"Professor" The girl turned toward Challenger as the others stepped into the elevator. "Richard will shoot me through." She stated with a deadly face.
"Believe me, he won´t." Than added with a chuckle. "We must spare the ammo."
The girl went paler if that was possible, when they stepped out of the elevator.
"I´m so sorry. I swear it was an accident. I just wanted to drop out the remaining water and..." She couldn´t finish her sentence, because Richard stormed into his room without a word. As he disappeared, all three broke out in laughter. But Charlotte remained pale.
"I´ll give him fresh towels."
She took the towels and went after him.

She knocked then without waiting opened the door. Richard stood in front of the washbasin without a shirt washing his face. When he blindly reached out for a towel, she handed one to him.
"Thanks" He said automatically, but as soon as he looked at her, his breath caught in his throat. Like always, she was nice. She wore a long peach colored skirt, with a white blouse that showed her long neck perfectly. Her hair was in a bun at the nape of her neck but some unruly curls framed her face. As water dripped from his wet hair he thought the girl looked beautiful.
Charlotte was also finding the situation difficult. She wasn´t accustomed to seeing half naked men and she was embarrassed. Finally she broke their eye contact and the silence.
"Please forgive me! It was an accident. I wasn't paying attention when I threw the water and it just..."
The man turned away and rubbed himself with the soft towel. Then went past her and searched for a new shirt. He was still angry and confused.
"Don´t continue! It wasn´t intended. Just like lying for weeks to everyone. Thank you for the towels, but now leave me to change!"
She stood there without moving. She wasn´t counting on that. She didn´t answer, she just couldn´t. After a minute of extreme tension, when she felt tears forming in her eyes she left.
Everyone was in the living room. Challenger stood on the balcony, Ned sat halfway on the table while Roxton sat at the table holding a glass.
"Is everything all right?" Asked Ned.
"Of course." She answered automatically. " Oh...my head hurts a little. Dinner is ready in the kitchen. Please dine without me, I want to lie down. Good night gentlemen!" And she went away leaving three wondering men behind.

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