A few days later, Charlotte had just returned from a walk on the cliffs when she received a note from Mr. Colbourne. She was already windblown and breathless. Her heart was beating into her throat just looking at the handwriting on the envelope. She knew it would not be anything related to their particular "situation", Mr Colbourne was too honorable for that. Still, she took it to her room before opening it. Hat in hand she sped up the stairs. When she sat on her bed, she extracted the note with trembling hands.
Miss Heywood,
I hope you will accept an invitation to tea for tomorrow. It is short notice, but I have received an interesting reply regarding Miss Lamb's family connections and I think that it would be best to share the information as quickly as possible. Therefore, the pleasure of your presence is requested at 4pm tomorrow at Heyrick Hall.
Sincere Regards,
Alexander Colbourne
She breathed a sigh of relief. She had no idea what she was going to do about her engagement to Ralph and her feelings for Mr. Colbourne. She would have felt exceedingly awkward and inappropriate to visit his home under normal circumstances. Before composing a reply, she went to speak with Mary. She was relieved that the same invitation was extended to Miss Lamb and Tom and Mary Parker. Arthur Parker had just returned from London where he had left Tom to complete some business, so he elected to come in his brother's place. Charlotte smiled quietly to herself. Arthur was devoted to Georgiana and would always be there to protect her best interests. Charlotte had just sat at the escritoire to compose her acceptance when a missive arrived from Georgiana saying that she would attend. At that moment, she realized what this might mean for her friend. Gifted with such a large family, Charlotte could only imagine how important this might be for Georgiana, who had so much wealth and so few people. Her excitement took on a completely different tone than before, praying for the first of many steps on the right path for her dear friend.
