The closer they got to Lancer, the worse that Charlie found that she felt. She was feeling all prickly inside, just thinking about Katherine, and
having to see her that evening. And prickly, too, at the fact that Scott had agreed to her coming at all.
The main reason she had the sinking feeling in her belly, though, was due to the silence between she and Scott. And, more than silence, too. It
was a silence full of disappointment. Misunderstanding.
Once they were home again, and paused in front of the corrals, Scott, without speaking, held out his arm to Charlie again. She took it, sliding
off, to the ground.
"Maybe Murdoch won't be happy about Katherine coming here," Charlie felt bound to point out, looking up at Scott. "I know Johnny won't be-"
Scott dismounted, his eyes never leaving her face. The look on his face made Charlie stop talking, her words trailing off.
Rather than addressing her interrupted comment about Murdoch and Johnny, however, Scott said only, "Go and change your clothes. Then I'm sure Maria can
use your help getting lunch on the table." His tone was terse, his expression, somewhat stern, Charlie felt.
Charlie felt her emotions bubbling up, up, up. She thought, very briefly, about saying something more, but that expression on Scott's
face had her changing her mind about that.
She turned and headed to the house, going into the welcome coolness. The smell of just-baked bread wafted thru the air. Once upstairs in
her bedroom, Charlie changed to her comfortable denim overalls. She was just finishing fastening the clasp on the second strap when she
heard footsteps she knew were Teresa's in the hall.
She went to the door, opening it, and stepping out into the hall.
"Where did you and Scott disappear to?" Teresa asked, coming to a stop beside Charlie. She, too, had changed into her pants and an older
blouse.
"I saw Katherine," Charlie said, pausing for effect. "So, Scott went into the hotel to talk to her."
Teresa was quite plainly surprised. "Really? What is she doing here?"
Pleased by Teresa's reaction, Charlie said, "She said she's passing thru town, and she wanted to have supper with us!"
"Really?" Teresa asked, again.
"Yes. And Scott said for her to come over here to have supper!" Charlie finished, with heightened indignance.
"He did? Did he tell Maria?" Teresa asked, now. "She'll want to know, so she can add a bit more to the meal for Katherine-"
"Who cares if she has enough to eat?" Charlie demanded. "She's too fat already!"
"Charlie," Teresa said, looking as though half-amused, half-disapproving.
"I don't see why she wants to come here!" Charlie went on. "I don't think she should! It's not right!"
"What's not right?" came a deep voice from behind the girls, and Charlie turned to see Murdoch, coming down the hall from
his own room.
They continued on their way down the stairs, as Charlie explained to Murdoch about Katherine.
"Hmm," Murdoch said, descending the stairs, and sounding unoffended, Charlie felt.
"I don't want her to come," Charlie complained, just as they came face to face with Scott in the front hall. Charlie felt her
face get hot. Scott, though, didn't address Charlie's complaint, if he'd overheard it at all.
"We're having a guest for supper this evening, I hear," Murdoch said, to Scott.
"Yes. We are," Scott said. He looked as though he was going to say more, but he paused, looking at Charlie. His voice, when he spoke,
wasn't so much stern, as it was simply firm. "Charlie, go on along and help Maria."
Again, Charlie felt that imp of frustration rear his head, and the urge to sass Scott was strong. But, the several months of being at Lancer,
and under Scott's, and the rest of the family's, structure and insistence for respect, won out. At least for the moment.
That didn't stop Charlie from heaving deep sighs, and stomping her feet a good bit harder than necessary on her way to the
kitchen.
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At lunch, Charlie was subdued, eating her meal, but not contributing to the conversation at the table. Katherine's impending
visit that evening was not mentioned. Charlie found that her appetite was not at all what it typically was. She kept sending glances
towards Scott, feeling nervous and upset.
After lunch, Charlie helped Teresa clear the table, and then helped with the dishes. She was quiet, drying the dishes as Teresa washed them,
her mind full of swirling thoughts.
It was while the girls were doing this chore, that Scott came into the kitchen. He took down two cups, filled them with coffee, and then
paused by the sink. "Maria leave?" he asked.
"Yes," Teresa answered. "She went home. I told her we could manage supper. Do you think baked chicken would be alright to serve, while
Katherine is here?"
"No need for you to do that," Scott said. "Cold sandwiches would be fine. We have some turkey and ham, don't we?"
"We do," Teresa said, looking doubtful. "Are you sure, though? I mean, cold sandwiches aren't really what we serve to guests-"
"It's fine," Scott said. He smiled briefly at Teresa, and then his glance shifted to Charlie.
Charlie, who'd been surprised, a bit, by the conversation between Scott and Teresa, had listened carefully to the exchanged words, and
now met Scott's eyes. She felt somehow small in the face of that look. It wasn't that Scott was looking ferocious, or even angry. The look was
more of a questioning one. Charlie had the feeling, somehow, that he was requesting something from her. But, he said nothing, at least in words.
He gave a half-smile, and then took the two cups of coffee and left the kitchen.
As soon as he'd gone, and was safely out of hearing range, Teresa turned to look at Charlie.
"What's going on?" she asked, without preamble.
"Huh?" Charlie asked, her eyes widening.
"Don't do that," Teresa said, impatiently. "I know something's going on between you and Scott. Is it about Katherine coming here?"
Charlie turned away, carefully taking another plate from the drainer to wipe dry.
"Charlie," Teresa prompted, sounding irritated.
"I just don't want her to come here," Charlie said.
"Well, of course not, but, it's only one meal, after all. You don't have to go anywhere with her. Right?" Teresa pointed out.
"Right."
Teresa was quiet for a few moments, and Charlie put the dried plate into the cabinet, and then looked at Teresa, who was studying her intently.
"It will be over before you know it," Teresa said, in encouragement.
Charlie was silent, and Teresa said, "Are you upset with Scott because he told her she could come?" And then, still studying Charlie, she went on, "You are. Aren't you?"
Charlie decided she was not going to say anything more than what she'd said already. Teresa had that tone to her voice. The tone that
suggested that Charlie was wrong, somehow.
"I just don't want to see her," Charlie settled for saying.
As Charlie looked away, reaching for another plate to dry, Teresa caught at her wrist, turning her eyes back again.
"Do you think that Scott would do anything that was wrong for you? Anything at all?" Teresa demanded.
When Charlie was silent, only looking at her, Teresa went on, insistently, "I know you wish she wasn't coming at all-but do you think
Scott would let her come here and do anything to hurt you? I don't mean annoy you, but really hurt you? Do you think he'd allow that?"
"No!" Charlie said, immediately, in response.
"Well," Teresa said, letting go of Charlie's wrist. "There you go, then."
That was all she said, and the girls finished the dishes in silence.
L
After that, Charlie went outside. She sat on her swing for awhile, only swinging idly, though, and not at her usual full-out way.
It was while she was doing that, that she overheard, and saw, something that she was not meant to.
The voices from the front of the house, wafted thru the air. Charlie couldn't hear every word, but she could hear some. It was Scott, and Johnny, and
they were discussing something. Charlie stood up, still beside her swing, her hand on the rope, listening. She could see them now, as they'd
stepped a bit away from the house. Johnny was waving his hands around, and he looked mad. At least, it seemed to Charlie that he looked that way.
Scott, meanwhile, was standing there, his hands on his hips, just listening to Johnny. When Johnny finished speaking, Scott said something, and
then Johnny started up again. Whatever it was about, it was something that Johnny felt strongly about, Charlie mused.
Charlie had never really seen the two of them argue with one another. A comment here and there, said in impatience or irritation, yes, but never
a full-out argument.
She felt her stomach knot a bit. It felt wrong, somehow, seeing them at odds this way. At least, Charlie thought they were at odds. Maybe not, she told
herself. Maybe they were discussing something that had nothing to do with them, really. Like the wildcat that had been spotted nearby. Or something like that. She didn't
want them to be really, seriously, arguing with one another.
The words that she could catch were these from Johnny, "shouldn't blame", "waste of time", and "entitled".
Scott's return words were harder to make out. She did catch a couple. "No intention", and "well aware".
Charlie went closer, slipping over to the side of the house, and keeping her hands on the coolness.
They were done now, though. Johnny's expression was, Charlie thought, somewhat regretful, and he gave Scott's shoulder an affectionate
slap. Scott, in return, reached out to cusp his hand around Johnny's neck for a moment. Also in affection.
Then, Scott went back into the house. Johnny, meanwhile, stood there for a couple of minutes, facing the corrals. Charlie heard him heave
a deep sigh. And, then, though she hadn't moved, or made a sound at all, Charlie was shocked when Johnny spoke, without turning
around.
"What're you doin' there, pequeno?"
Charlie felt a chill go down her back at his perceptiveness. It was eerie.
"How do you do that?" she asked him, from where she stood. He turned, just slightly, to look over towards her.
"Do what?" he asked, looking out towards the corrals again.
"Know things. Like how I was standing there," Charlie said.
"It wasn't a hard thing to know," Johnny said.
"Did you see me?' Charlie asked.
"No."
"Hear me?"
"No."
Charlie came out from beside the house, and came over to stand nearer to him.
Johnny looked down at her. "It's not a good thing to eavesdrop, ya know."
Charlie felt her face flush hot. "I wasn't trying to eavesdrop. Not really. Besides, you were done when I walked over there, anyway."
"Ah," he said, and looked away again.
Charlie studied him for a long few moments. He looked serious, thoughtful, but not really irritated, or upset.
"What were you and Scott arguing about?" she asked him, quietly, worrying over his answer.
"If you didn't hear anything, what makes you think we were arguin'?" Johnny countered.
"From the way that you were standing. The way you were both-" Charlie hesitated. "Well," she said, "It just seemed as though you were."
Johnny raised an eyebrow, but didn't answer right away.
"What was it about, Johnny?" Charlie persisted.
"Whatever it was about, it's done now," Johnny said. "And whatever it was, it's between Scott and I, anyway." He reached out to tap a finger
on her nose. "Not your worry, pequeno, and not your business, either."
"Was it about me?" Charlie asked, with a sinking feeling. Somehow, she knew that it had been.
Johnny turned those vivid blue eyes on her, and Charlie should have been worried he might scold her for persisting, after he'd told her that it wasn't
her business. She should have been, and she was, a bit, but she had to know.
Johnny surveyed her seriously, intensely, and then he said, "Scott and I have our ways of workin' things out. Mostly, because he's a lot more
patient with me than I am with him. Now, no more about it. Hear me?"
There was no denying the authority in his tone, and Charlie succumbed to it. She nodded in agreement.
L
After that, Johnny went off towards the corrals. Charlie got the feeling that he wanted to be alone, so she didn't tag along with him.
Besides, she felt all stirred up inside, still. She couldn't shake the feeling that Scott and Johnny had indeed, been talking about her. What had she
done to have caused them to have words, though? Maybe she was wrong. Just the thought of it being a possibility made her stomach ache.
When she went back into the house, it seemed very quiet. No voices or sounds anywhere.
Charlie went to her bedroom, and curled up on her window seat, to read. She couldn't seem to focus on the words on the page very well,
though. She kept thinking over everything. The fact that Katherine was coming tonight. What Teresa had said in the kitchen earlier. Seeing
Scott and Johnny as they had been. The feeling that something was wrong between she and Scott.
Charlie had given up entirely on her reading, and was just sitting, looking out the window. There was a tap on her bedroom door, which she'd
left halfway ajar. She looked and saw Scott there, and sat up straight, looking over at him.
"You feeling alright?" he asked.
Charlie nodded. "Yes."
Scott came on into the room, walking over to the window seat. "I wondered if you were, since you're sitting up here. It's nice out, and I thought you'd
be with the kittens or your horse, taking advantage of the weather."
"I was just trying to read," Charlie said.
Scott nodded. He looked pensive, thoughtful, serious. "I wanted to talk to you, before it got any later."
Charlie felt her stomach knot tighter. He looked so serious. He was getting ready to get onto her for the way she'd been so sassy earlier, or
how she'd complained to Teresa and Murdoch about Katherine. And, she had been sassy. She knew that she had.
"About tonight, as far as Katherine coming here, this is what I'm thinking of," Scott began. "I want you to come to the table, for the meal, and
I expect you to greet her, and answer anything she asks you. I expect you to use your manners, and be polite to her. Understood?"
Nothing that he said was a surprise to Charlie. She'd known he would expect all of those things. So, she only nodded, and said,
"Yes," in answer.
It was his next set of words that caught Charlie by surprise.
"When supper's over, though, you can excuse yourself, and bring your dessert, and come back up here to your bedroom." He paused, and nodded
toward the book she'd been reading. "You can read until it's time for bed. I'll come up as soon as I can to say goodnight, and read with you, if you
want me to."
Charlie found herself staring at him, wide-eyed. "I don't have to stay down there with her?" she questioned.
"No. Not if you don't want to."
"What if she says she wants to talk to me?" Charlie asked.
"Like I said, if she asks you something at the table, during the meal, then I want you to answer her. Beyond that, you don't have to
talk with her," Scott said.
Knowing, that after supper, the family would likely gather in the library with Katherine for a time, Charlie couldn't fathom his permission
that she didn't have to be a part of that. For a long moment, Charlie found it hard to swallow. She wasn't sure just why Scott was saying
this, but she was glad. So very glad.
"Are we clear on things?" Scott asked then. He still looked extra-serious, even for Scott, but his voice was kind.
Charlie nodded. She wanted to ask him why he'd decided this, but she just couldn't. It didn't seem the right time. And, she didn't want
him to change his mind.
"Thank you," she managed, weakly.
Scott gave her a half-smile., "You're welcome," he said. And, then he said, "See you later, then," and he was gone.
Charlie sat there for a few minutes longer, just looking at the door he gone out of, and feeling rattled. Unsettled, somehow.
She should be over the moon, happy, that she wasn't forced into Katherine's presence for too long of a time. And, she was. But, too,
there was something else. She felt ashamed, somehow. She slipped down the stairs, and outside, going to her swing, and pumping herself
high into the air, while she tried to work it out.
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